initial commit of ebook 23747HEADmain

288 files changed, 30798 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/23747-8.txt b/23747-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf6f9a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10219 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Destruction and Reconstruction:, by Richard
+Taylor
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Destruction and Reconstruction:
+       Personal Experiences of the Late War
+
+
+Author: Richard Taylor
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2007  [eBook #23747]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Graeme Mackreth, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:
+
+Personal Experiences of the Late War.
+
+by
+
+RICHARD TAYLOR,
+
+Lieutenant-General in the Confederate Army.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York:
+D. Appleton and Company,
+549 and 551 Broadway.
+1879.
+
+Copyright by
+D. Appleton and Company,
+1879.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+These reminiscences of Secession, War, and Reconstruction it has seemed
+to me a duty to record. An actor therein, accident of fortune afforded
+me exceptional advantages for an interior view.
+
+The opinions expressed are sincerely entertained, but of their
+correctness such readers as I may find must judge. I have in most cases
+been a witness to the facts alleged, or have obtained them from the best
+sources. Where statements are made upon less authority, I have carefully
+endeavored to indicate it by the language employed.
+
+R. TAYLOR.
+
+
+_December, 1877._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                       PAGE
+
+PREFACE                                                                  3
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+SECESSION.                                                               9
+
+Causes of the Civil War--The Charleston Convention--Convention
+of Louisiana--Temper of the People.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR.                                                15
+
+Blindness of the Confederate Government--General Bragg occupies
+Pensacola--Battle of Manassas--Its Effects on the North and the
+South--"Initiative" and "Defensive" in War.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AFTER MANASSAS.                                                         22
+
+General W.H.T. Walker--The Louisiana Brigade--The "Tigers"--Major
+Wheat--General Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis--Alexander
+H. Stephens.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.                                     31
+
+McClellan as an Organizer--The James River Route to
+Richmond--Army of Northern Virginia moved to Orange Court
+House--Straggling--General Ewell--Bugeaud's "Maxims"--Uselessness
+of Tents--Counsels to Young Officers.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN.                                                    42
+
+The Army moved to Gordonsville--Joseph E. Johnston as a
+Commander--Valley of Virginia--Stonewall Jackson--Belle
+Boyd--Federals routed at Front Royal--Cuirassiers strapped to their
+Horses--Battle of Winchester--A "Walk Over" at Strasburg--General
+Ashby--Battle of Port Republic.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND."                                       83
+
+Clever Strategy--The Valley Army summoned to the Defense of
+Richmond--Battles of Cold Harbor, Frazier's Farm, Malvern
+Hill--Ignorance of the Topography--McClellan as a Commander--General
+R.E. Lee--His magnificent Strategy--His Mistakes.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.                                              99
+
+General Bragg--Invasion of Kentucky--Western Louisiana--Its
+Topography and River Systems--The Attakapas, Home of the
+Acadians--The Creole Population.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI.                        111
+
+Federal Post at Bayou Des Allemands Surprised--Marauding by
+the Federals--Salt Mines at Petit Anse--General Pemberton--Major
+Brent Chief of Artillery--Federal Operations on the Lafourche--Gunboat
+Cotton--General Weitzel Advances up the Teche--Capture of Federal
+Gunboats--General Kirby Smith.
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTURE
+OF BERWICK'S BAY.                                                      129
+
+Federal Advance against Bisland--Retreat of the
+Confederates--Banks's Dispatches--Relief of Vicksburg
+impracticable--Capture of Federal Post at Berwick's Bay--Attack
+on Fort Butler--Fall of Vicksburg and of Port Hudson.
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER--CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS.                     148
+
+The Confederate Losses at Vicksburg and Port Hudson--Federals
+beaten at Bayou Bourbeau--Trans-Mississippi Department, its Bureaux
+and Staff--A Federal Fleet and Army ascend Red River--Battle of
+Pleasant Hill--Success of the Confederates--Perilous Situation
+of Banks's Army and the Fleet.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER.                                            176
+
+The Fleet descends Red River to Grand Ecore--Banks concentrates
+his Army there--Taylor's Force weakened by General Kirby
+Smith--Confederates harass Rear of Federal Column--The Federals
+cross the River at Monette's Ferry and reach Alexandria--Retreat
+of the Fleet harassed--It passes over the Falls at Alexandria.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.                                               196
+
+The Mississippi controlled by the Federals--Taylor assigned
+to the Command of Alabama, Mississippi, etc.--Forrest's
+Operations--General Sherman in Georgia--Desperate Situation
+of Hood--Remnant of his Army sent to North Carolina.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR--SURRENDER.                              221
+
+Fall of Mobile--Last Engagement of the War--Johnston-Sherman
+Convention--Taylor surrenders to General Canby--Last Hours of the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS.                                            230
+
+Gettysburg--Shiloh--Albert Sidney Johnston--Lack of
+Statesmanship in the Confederacy--"King Cotton"--Carpet-Baggers.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON.                                          239
+
+Interceding for Prisoners--Debauchery and Corruption in
+Washington--General Grant--Andrew Johnson--Stevens, Winter
+Davis, Sumner--Setting up and pulling down State Governments--The
+"Ku-Klux"--Philadelphia Convention.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT.                                            256
+
+Demoralization at the North--a Corrupt Vice-President--a
+Hypocritical Banker--a Great Preacher profiting by his own
+Evil Reputation--Knaves made Plenipotentiaries--A Spurious
+Legislature installed in the Louisiana State House--General
+Sheridan in New Orleans--An American Alberoni--Presidential
+Election of 1876--Congress over-awed by a Display of Military
+Force.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+CONCLUSION.                                                            268
+
+The Financial Crisis--Breaches of Trust--Labor
+Troubles--Destitution--Negro Suffrage fatal to the South.
+
+
+
+
+DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+SECESSION.
+
+
+The history of the United States, as yet unwritten, will show the causes
+of the "Civil War" to have been in existence during the Colonial era,
+and to have cropped out into full view in the debates of the several
+State Assemblies on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in which
+instrument Luther Martin, Patrick Henry, and others, insisted that they
+were implanted. African slavery at the time was universal, and its
+extinction in the North, as well as its extension in the South, was due
+to economic reasons alone.
+
+The first serious difficulty of the Federal Government arose from the
+attempt to lay an excise on distilled spirits. The second arose from the
+hostility of New England traders to the policy of the Government in the
+war of 1812, by which their special interests were menaced; and there is
+now evidence to prove that, but for the unexpected peace, an attempt to
+disrupt the Union would then have been made.
+
+The "Missouri Compromise" of 1820 was in reality a truce between
+antagonistic revenue systems, each seeking to gain the balance of power.
+For many years subsequently, slaves--as domestic servants--were taken to
+the Territories without exciting remark, and the "Nullification"
+movement in South Carolina was entirely directed against the tariff.
+
+Anti-slavery was agitated from an early period, but failed to attract
+public attention for many years. At length, by unwearied industry, by
+ingeniously attaching itself to exciting questions of the day, with
+which it had no natural connection, it succeeded in making a lodgment in
+the public mind, which, like a subject exhausted by long effort, is
+exposed to the attack of some malignant fever, that in a normal
+condition of vigor would have been resisted. The common belief that
+slavery was the cause of civil war is incorrect, and Abolitionists are
+not justified in claiming the glory and spoils of the conflict and in
+pluming themselves as "choosers of the slain."
+
+The vast immigration that poured into the country between the years 1840
+and 1860 had a very important influence in directing the events of the
+latter year. The numbers were too great to be absorbed and assimilated
+by the native population. States in the West were controlled by German
+and Scandinavian voters, while the Irish took possession of the seaboard
+towns. Although the balance of party strength was not much affected by
+these naturalized voters, the modes of political thought were seriously
+disturbed, and a tendency was manifested to transfer exciting topics
+from the domain of argument to that of violence.
+
+The aged and feeble President, Mr. Buchanan, unfitted for troublous
+times, was driven to and fro by ambitious leaders of his own party, as
+was the last weak Hapsburg who reigned in Spain by the rival factions of
+France and Austria.
+
+Under these conditions the National Democratic Convention met at
+Charleston, South Carolina, in the spring of 1860, to declare the
+principles on which the ensuing presidential campaign was to be
+conducted, and select candidates for the offices of President and
+Vice-President. Appointed a delegate by the Democracy of my State,
+Louisiana, in company with others I reached Charleston two days in
+advance of the time. We were at once met by an invitation to join in
+council delegates from the Gulf States, to agree upon some common ground
+of action in the Convention, but declined for the reason that we were
+accredited to the National Convention, and had no authority to
+participate in other deliberations. This invitation and the terms in
+which it was conveyed argued badly for the harmony of the Convention
+itself, and for the preservation of the unity of the Democracy, then the
+only organization supported in all quarters of the country.
+
+It may be interesting to recall the impression created at the time by
+the tone and temper of different delegations. New England adhered to the
+old tenets of the Jefferson school. Two leaders from Massachusetts,
+Messrs. Caleb Cushing and Benjamin F. Butler, of whom the former was
+chosen President of the Convention, warmly supported the candidacy of
+Mr. Jefferson Davis. New York, under the direction of Mr. Dean Richmond,
+gave its influence to Mr. Douglas. Of a combative temperament, Mr.
+Richmond was impressed with a belief that "secession" was but a bugbear
+to frighten the northern wing of the party. Thus he failed to appreciate
+the gravity of the situation, and impaired the value of unusual common
+sense and unselfish patriotism, qualities he possessed to an eminent
+degree. The anxieties of Pennsylvania as to candidates were accompanied
+by a philosophic indifference as to principles. The Northwest was ardent
+for Douglas, who divided with Guthrie Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
+
+Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana held moderate
+opinions, and were ready to adopt any honorable means to preserve the
+unity of the party and country. The conduct of the South Carolina
+delegates was admirable. Representing the most advanced constituency in
+the Convention, they were singularly reticent, and abstained from adding
+fuel to the flames. They limited their rôle to that of dignified,
+courteous hosts, and played it as Carolina gentlemen are wont to do.
+From Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas came the fiery
+spirits, led by Mr. William L. Yancey of Alabama, an able rhetorician.
+This gentleman had persuaded his State Convention to pass a resolution,
+directing its delegates to withdraw from Charleston if the Democracy
+there assembled refused to adopt the extreme Southern view as to the
+rights of citizens in the territories. In this he was opposed by
+ex-Governor Winston, a man of conservative tendencies, and long the
+rival of Mr. Yancey in State politics. Both gentlemen were sent to
+Charleston, but the majority of their co-delegates sustained Mr. Yancey.
+
+Several days after its organization the National Convention reached a
+point which made the withdrawal of Alabama imminent. Filled with anxious
+forebodings, I sought after nightfall the lodgings of Messrs. Slidell,
+Bayard, and Bright, United States senators, who had come to Charleston,
+not as delegates, but under the impulse of hostility to the principles
+and candidacy of Mr. Douglas. There, after pointing out the certain
+consequences of Alabama's impending action, I made an earnest appeal for
+peace and harmony, and with success. Mr. Yancey was sent for, came into
+our views after some discussion, and undertook to call his people
+together at that late hour, and secure their consent to disregard
+instructions. We waited until near dawn for Yancey's return, but his
+efforts failed of success. Governor Winston, originally opposed to
+instructions as unwise and dangerous, now insisted that they should be
+obeyed to the letter, and carried a majority of the Alabama delegates
+with him. Thus the last hope of preserving the unity of the National
+Democracy was destroyed, and by one who was its earnest advocate.
+
+The withdrawal of Alabama, followed by other Southern States, the
+adjournment of a part of the Convention to Baltimore and of another part
+to Richmond, and the election of Lincoln by votes of Northern States,
+require no further mention.
+
+In January, 1861, the General Assembly of Louisiana met. A member of the
+upper branch, and chairman of its Committee on Federal Relations, I
+reported, and assisted in passing, an act to call a Convention of the
+people of the State to consider of matters beyond the competency of the
+Assembly. The Convention met in March, and was presided over by
+ex-Governor and ex-United States Senator Alexander Mouton, a man of high
+character. I represented my own parish, St. Charles, and was appointed
+chairman of the Military and Defense Committee, on behalf of which two
+ordinances were reported and passed: one, to raise two regiments; the
+other, to authorize the Governor to expend a million of dollars in the
+purchase of arms and munitions. The officers of the two regiments were
+to be appointed by the Governor, and the men to be enlisted for five
+years, unless sooner discharged. More would have been desirable in the
+way of raising troops, but the temper of men's minds did not then
+justify the effort. The Governor declined to use his authority to
+purchase arms, assured as he was on all sides that there was no danger
+of war, and that the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge, completely in
+our power, would furnish more than we could need. It was vainly urged in
+reply that the stores of the arsenal were almost valueless, the arms
+being altered flintlock muskets, and the accouterments out of date. The
+current was too strong to stem.
+
+The Convention, by an immense majority of votes, adopted an ordinance
+declaring that Louisiana ceased to be a State within the Union. Indeed,
+similar action having already been taken by her neighbors, Louisiana of
+necessity followed. At the time and since, I marveled at the joyous and
+careless temper in which men, much my superiors in sagacity and
+experience, consummated these acts. There appeared the same general
+_gaîté de coeur_ that M. Ollivier claimed for the Imperial Ministry
+when war was declared against Prussia. The attachment of northern and
+western people to the Union; their superiority in numbers, in wealth,
+and especially in mechanical resources; the command of the sea; the lust
+of rule and territory always felt by democracies, and nowhere to a
+greater degree than in the South--all these facts were laughed to scorn,
+or their mention was ascribed to timidity and treachery.
+
+As soon as the Convention adjourned, finding myself out of harmony with
+prevailing opinion as to the certainty of war and necessity for
+preparation, I retired to my estate, determined to accept such
+responsibility only as came to me unsought.
+
+The inauguration of President Lincoln; the confederation of South
+Carolina, Georgia, and the five Gulf States; the attitude of the border
+slave States, hoping to mediate; the assembling of Confederate forces
+at Pensacola, Charleston, and other points; the seizure of United States
+forts and arsenals; the attack on "Sumter"; war--these followed with
+bewildering rapidity, and the human agencies concerned seemed as
+unconscious as scene-shifters in some awful tragedy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR.
+
+
+I was drawn from my retreat by an invitation from General Bragg, a
+particular friend, to visit Pensacola, where he commanded the southern
+forces, composed of volunteers from the adjacent States. Full of
+enthusiasm for their cause, and of the best material, officers and men
+were, with few exceptions, without instruction, and the number of
+educated officers was, as in all the southern armies, too limited to
+satisfy the imperious demands of the staff, much less those of the
+drill-master. Besides, the vicious system of election of officers struck
+at the very root of that stern discipline without which raw men cannot
+be converted into soldiers.
+
+The Confederate Government, then seated at Montgomery, weakly receded
+from its determination to accept no volunteers for short terms of
+service, and took regiments for twelve months. The same blindness smote
+the question of finance. Instead of laying taxes, which the general
+enthusiasm would have cheerfully endured, the Confederate authorities
+pledged their credit, and that too for an amount which might have
+implied a pact with Mr. Seward that, should war unhappily break out, its
+duration was to be strictly limited to sixty days. The effect of these
+errors was felt throughout the struggle.
+
+General Bragg occupied Pensacola, the United States navy yard, and Fort
+Barrancas on the mainland; while Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa island, was
+held by Federal troops, with several war vessels anchored outside the
+harbor. There was an understanding that no hostile movement would be
+made by either side without notice. Consequently, Bragg worked at his
+batteries bearing on Pickens, while Major Brown, the Federal commander,
+strengthened with sand bags and earth the weak landward curtain of his
+fort; and time was pleasantly passed by both parties in watching each
+other's occupation.
+
+Some months before this period, when Florida enforced her assumed right
+to control all points within her limits, a small company of United
+States artillery, under Lieutenant Slemmer, was stationed at Barrancas,
+where it was helpless. After much manoeuvring, the State forces of
+Florida induced Slemmer to retire from Barrancas to Pickens, then
+_garrisoned_ by one ordnance sergeant, and at the mercy of a corporal's
+guard in a rowboat. Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, was in a similar
+condition before Anderson retired to it with his company. The early
+seizure of these two fortresses would have spared the Confederates many
+serious embarrassments; but such small details were neglected at that
+time.
+
+My visit to Pensacola was brought to a close by information from the
+Governor of Louisiana of my appointment to the colonelcy of the 9th
+Louisiana infantry, a regiment just formed at camp on the railway some
+miles north of New Orleans, and under orders for Richmond. Accepting the
+appointment, I hastened to the camp, inspected the command, ordered the
+Lieutenant Colonel--Randolph, a well-instructed officer for the time--to
+move by rail to Richmond as rapidly as transportation was furnished, and
+went on to New Orleans, as well to procure equipment, in which the
+regiment was deficient, as to give some hours to private affairs. It was
+known that there was a scarcity of small-arm ammunition in Virginia,
+owing to the rapid concentration of troops; and I was fortunate in
+obtaining from the Louisiana authorities a hundred thousand rounds, with
+which, together with some field equipment, I proceeded by express to
+Richmond, where I found my command, about a thousand strong, just
+arrived and preparing to go into camp. The town was filled with rumor of
+battle away north at Manassas, where Beauregard commanded the
+Confederate forces. A multitude of wild reports, all equally inflamed,
+reached my ears while looking after the transportation of my ammunition,
+of which I did not wish to lose sight. Reaching camp, I paraded the
+regiment, and stated the necessity for prompt action, and my purpose to
+make application to be sent to the front immediately. Officers and men
+were delighted with the prospect of active service, and largely supplied
+want of experience by zeal. Ammunition was served out, three days'
+rations were ordered for haversacks, and all camp equipage not
+absolutely essential was stored.
+
+These details attended to, at 5 P.M. I visited the war office, presided
+over by General Pope Walker of Alabama. When the object of my visit was
+stated, the Secretary expressed much pleasure, as he was anxious to send
+troops forward, but had few in readiness to move, owing to the lack of
+ammunition, etc. As I had been in Richmond but a few hours, my desire to
+move and adequate state of preparation gained me some "red-letter" marks
+at the war office. The Secretary thought that a train would be in
+readiness at 9 o'clock that night. Accordingly, the regiment was marched
+to the station, where we remained several weary hours. At length, long
+after midnight, our train made its appearance. As the usual time to
+Manassas was some six hours, we confidently expected to arrive in the
+early forenoon; but this expectation our engine brought to grief. It
+proved a machine of the most wheezy and helpless character, creeping
+snail-like on levels, and requiring the men to leave the carriages to
+help it up grades. As the morning wore on, the sound of guns, reëchoed
+from the Blue Ridge mountains on our left, became loud and constant. At
+every halt of the wretched engine the noise of battle grew more and more
+intense, as did our impatience. I hope the attention of the recording
+angel was engrossed that day in other directions. Later we met men,
+single or in squads, some with arms and some without, moving south, in
+which quarter they all appeared to have pressing engagements.
+
+At dusk we gained Manassas Junction, near the field where, on that day,
+the battle of first "Manassas" had been fought and won. Bivouacking the
+men by the roadside, I sought through the darkness the headquarters of
+General Beauregard, to whom I was instructed to report. With much
+difficulty and delay the place was found, and a staff officer told me
+that orders would be sent the following morning. By these I was directed
+to select a suitable camp, thus indicating that no immediate movement
+was contemplated.
+
+The confusion that reigned about our camps for the next few days was
+extreme. Regiments seemed to have lost their colonels, colonels their
+regiments. Men of all arms and all commands were mixed in the wildest
+way. A constant fusillade of small arms and singing of bullets were kept
+up, indicative of a superfluity of disorder, if not of ammunition. One
+of my men was severely wounded in camp by a "stray," and derived no
+consolation from my suggestion that it was a delicate attention of our
+comrades to mitigate the disappointment of missing the battle. The
+elation of our people at their success was natural. They had achieved
+all, and more than all, that could have been expected of raw troops; and
+some commands had emulated veterans by their steadiness under fire.
+Settled to the routine of camp duty, I found many opportunities to go
+over the adjacent battle field with those who had shared the action,
+then fresh in their memories. Once I had the privilege of so doing in
+company with Generals Johnston and Beauregard; and I will now give my
+opinion of this, as I purpose doing of such subsequent actions, and
+commanders therein, as came within the range of my personal experience
+during the war.
+
+Although since the days of Nimrod war has been the constant occupation
+of men, the fingers of one hand suffice to number the great commanders.
+The "unlearned" hardly think of usurping Tyndall's place in the lecture
+room, or of taking his cuneiform bricks from Rawlinson; yet the world
+has been much more prolific of learned scientists and philologers than
+of able generals. Notwithstanding, the average American (and, judging
+from the dictatorship of Maître Gambetta, the Frenchman) would not have
+hesitated to supersede Napoleon at Austerlitz or Nelson at Trafalgar.
+True, Cleon captured the Spartan garrison, and Narses gained victories,
+and Bunyan wrote the "Pilgrim's Progress;" but pestilent demagogues and
+mutilated guardians of Eastern zenanas have not always been successful
+in war, nor the great and useful profession of tinkers written allegory.
+As men without knowledge have at all times usurped the right to
+criticise campaigns and commanders, they will doubtless continue to do
+so despite the protests of professional soldiers, who discharge this
+duty in a reverent spirit, knowing that the greatest is he who commits
+the fewest blunders.
+
+General McDowell, the Federal commander at Manassas, and a trained
+soldier of unusual acquirement, was so hounded and worried by ignorant,
+impatient politicians and newspapers as to be scarcely responsible for
+his acts. This may be said of all the commanders in the beginning of the
+war, and notably of Albert Sidney Johnston, whose early fall on the
+field of Shiloh was irreparable, and mayhap determined the fate of the
+South. McDowell's plan of battle was excellent, and its execution by his
+mob no worse than might have been confidently expected. The late
+Governor Andrew of Massachusetts observed that his men thought they were
+going to a town meeting, and this is exhaustive criticism. With soldiers
+at his disposal, McDowell would have succeeded in turning and
+overwhelming Beauregard's left, driving him from his rail communications
+with Richmond, and preventing the junction of Johnston from the valley.
+It appears that Beauregard was to some extent surprised by the attack,
+contemplating movements by his own centre and right. His exposed and
+weak left stubbornly resisted the shock of attacking masses, while he,
+with coolness and personal daring most inspiriting to his men, brought
+up assistance from centre and right; and the ground was held until
+Johnston, who had skillfully eluded Patterson, arrived and began feeding
+our line, when the affair was soon decided.
+
+There can be little question that with a strong brigade of soldiers
+Johnston could have gone to Washington and Baltimore. Whether, with his
+means, he should have advanced, has been too much and angrily discussed
+already. Napoleon held that, no matter how great the confusion and
+exhaustion of a victorious army might be, a defeated one must be a
+hundred-fold worse, and action should be based on this. Assuredly, if
+there be justification in disregarding an axiom of Napoleon, the wild
+confusion of the Confederates after Manassas afforded it.
+
+The first skirmishes and actions of the war proved that the Southron,
+untrained, was a better fighter than the Northerner--not because of more
+courage, but of the social and economic conditions by which he was
+surrounded. Devoted to agriculture in a sparsely populated country, the
+Southron was self-reliant, a practiced horseman, and skilled in the use
+of arms. The dense population of the North, the habit of association for
+commercial and manufacturing purposes, weakened individuality of
+character, and horsemanship and the use of arms were exceptional
+accomplishments. The rapid development of railways and manufactures in
+the West had assimilated the people of that region to their eastern
+neighbors, and the old race of frontier riflemen had wandered to the far
+interior of the continent. Instruction and discipline soon equalized
+differences, and battles were decided by generalship and numbers; and
+this was the experience of our kinsmen in their great civil war. The
+country squires who followed the banners of Newcastle and Rupert at
+first swept the eastern-counties yeomanry and the London train-bands
+from the field; but fiery and impetuous valor was at last overmatched by
+the disciplined purpose and stubborn constancy of Cromwell's Ironsides.
+
+The value of the "initiative" in war cannot be overstated. It surpasses
+in power mere accession of numbers, as it requires neither transport nor
+commissariat. Holding it, a commander lays his plans deliberately, and
+executes them at his own appointed time and in his own way. The
+"defensive" is weak, lowering the morale of the army reduced to it,
+enforcing constant watchfulness lest threatened attacks become real, and
+keeping commander and troops in a state of anxious tension. These
+truisms would not deserve mention did not the public mind ignore the
+fact that their application is limited to trained soldiers, and often
+become impatient for the employment of proved ability to sustain sieges
+and hold lines in offensive movements. A collection of untrained men is
+neither more nor less than a mob, in which individual courage goes for
+nothing. In movement each person finds his liberty of action merged in a
+crowd, ignorant and incapable of direction. Every obstacle creates
+confusion, speedily converted into panic by opposition. The heroic
+defenders of Saragossa could not for a moment have faced a battalion of
+French infantry in the open field. Osman's solitary attempt to operate
+outside of Plevna met with no success; and the recent defeat of Moukhtar
+may be ascribed to incaution in taking position too far from his line of
+defense, where, when attacked, manoeuvres of which his people were
+incapable became necessary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AFTER MANASSAS.
+
+
+After the action at Manassas, the summer and winter of 1861 wore away
+without movements of special note in our quarter, excepting the defeat
+of the Federals at Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac, by a detached brigade
+of Confederates, commanded by General Evans of South Carolina, a
+West-Pointer enjoying the sobriquet of _Shanks_ from the thinness of his
+legs.
+
+In the organization of our army, my regiment was brigaded with the 6th,
+7th, and 8th regiments of the Louisiana infantry, and placed under
+General William H.T. Walker of Georgia. Graduated from West Point in the
+summer of 1837, this officer joined the 6th United States infantry
+operating against the Seminoles in Florida. On Christmas day following
+was fought the battle of Okeechobee, the severest fight of that Indian
+war. The savages were posted on a thickly jungled island in the lake,
+through the waters of which, breast-high, the troops advanced several
+hundred yards to the attack. The loss on our side was heavy, but the
+Indians were so completely routed as to break their spirit. Colonel
+Zachary Taylor commanded, and there won his yellow sash and grade.
+Walker was desperately wounded, and the medical people gave him up; but
+he laughed at their predictions and recovered. In the war with Mexico,
+assaulting Molino del Rey, he received several wounds, all pronounced
+fatal, and science thought itself avenged. Again he got well, as he
+said, to spite the doctors. Always a martyr to asthma, he rarely enjoyed
+sleep but in a sitting posture; yet he was as cheerful and full of
+restless activity as the celebrated Earl of Peterborough. Peace with
+Mexico established, Walker became commandant of cadets at West Point.
+His ability as an instructor, and his lofty, martial bearing, deeply
+impressed his new brigade and prepared it for stern work. Subsequently
+Walker died on the field near Atlanta, defending the soil of his native
+State--a death of all others he would have chosen. I have dwelt somewhat
+on his character, because it was one of the strangest I have met. No
+enterprise was too rash to awaken his ardor, if it necessitated daring
+courage and self-devotion. Truly, he might have come forth from the
+pages of old Froissart. It is with unaffected feeling that I recall his
+memory and hang before it my humble wreath of immortelles.
+
+In camp our army experienced much suffering and loss of strength. Drawn
+almost exclusively from rural districts, where families lived isolated,
+the men were scourged with mumps, whooping-cough, and measles, diseases
+readily overcome by childhood in urban populations. Measles proved as
+virulent as smallpox or cholera. Sudden changes of temperature drove the
+eruption from the surface to the internal organs, and fevers, lung and
+typhoid, and dysenteries followed. My regiment was fearfully smitten,
+and I passed days in hospital, nursing the sick and trying to comfort
+the last moments of many poor lads, dying so far from home and friends.
+Time and frequent changes of camp brought improvement, but my own health
+gave way. A persistent low fever sapped my strength and impaired the use
+of my limbs. General Johnston kindly ordered me off to the Fauquier
+springs, sulphur waters, some twenty miles to the south. There I was
+joined and carefully nursed by a devoted sister, and after some weeks
+slowly regained health.
+
+On the eve of returning to the army, I learned of my promotion to
+brigadier, to relieve General Walker, transferred to a brigade of
+Georgians. This promotion seriously embarrassed me. Of the four colonels
+whose regiments constituted the brigade, I was the junior in commission,
+and the other three had been present and "won their spurs" at the recent
+battle, so far the only important one of the war. Besides, my known
+friendship for President Davis, with whom I was connected by his first
+marriage with my elder sister, would justify the opinion that my
+promotion was due to favoritism. Arrived at headquarters, I obtained
+leave to go to Richmond, where, after an affectionate reception, the
+President listened to the story of my feelings, the reasons on which
+they were based, and the request that the promotion should be revoked.
+He replied that he would take a day for reflection before deciding the
+matter. The following day I was told that the answer to my appeal would
+be forwarded to the army, to which I immediately returned. The President
+had employed the delay in writing a letter to the senior officers of the
+brigade, in which he began by stating that promotions to the grade of
+general officer were by law intrusted to him, and were made for
+considerations of public good, of which he alone was judge. He then, out
+of abundant kindness for me, went on to soothe the feelings of these
+officers with a tenderness and delicacy of touch worthy a woman's hand,
+and so effectually as to secure me their hearty support. No wonder that
+all who enjoy the friendship of Jefferson Davis love him as Jonathan did
+David.
+
+Several weeks without notable incident were devoted to instruction,
+especially in marching, the only military quality for which Southern
+troops had no aptitude. Owing to the good traditions left by my
+predecessor, Walker, and the zeal of officers and men, the brigade made
+great progress.
+
+With the army at this time was a battalion of three companies from
+Louisiana, commanded by Major Wheat. These detached companies had been
+thrown together previous to the fight at Manassas, where Wheat was
+severely wounded. The strongest of the three, and giving character to
+all, was called the "Tigers." Recruited on the levee and in the alleys
+of New Orleans, the men might have come out of "Alsatia," where they
+would have been worthy subjects of that illustrious potentate, "Duke
+Hildebrod." The captain, who had succeeded to the immediate command of
+these worthies on the advancement of Wheat, enjoying the luxury of many
+aliases, called himself White, perhaps out of respect for the purity of
+the patriotic garb lately assumed. So villainous was the reputation of
+this battalion that every commander desired to be rid of it; and
+General Johnston assigned it to me, despite my efforts to decline the
+honor of such society. He promised, however, to sustain me in any
+measures to enforce discipline, and but a few hours elapsed before the
+fulfillment of the promise was exacted. For some disorder after tattoo,
+several "Tigers" were arrested and placed in charge of the brigade
+guard. Their comrades attempted to force the guard and release them. The
+attempt failed, and two ringleaders were captured and put in irons for
+the night. On the ensuing morning an order for a general court-martial
+was obtained from army headquarters, and the court met at 10 A.M. The
+prisoners were found guilty, and sentenced to be shot at sunset. I
+ordered the "firing party" to be detailed from their own company; but
+Wheat and his officers begged to be spared this hard duty, fearing that
+the "Tigers" would refuse to fire on their comrades. I insisted for the
+sake of the example, and pointed out the serious consequences of
+disobedience by their men. The brigade, under arms, was marched out; and
+as the news had spread, many thousands from other commands flocked to
+witness the scene. The firing party, ten "Tigers," was drawn up fifteen
+paces from the prisoners, the brigade provost gave the command to fire,
+and the unhappy men fell dead without a struggle. This account is given
+because it was the first military execution in the Army of Northern
+Virginia; and punishment, so closely following offense, produced a
+marked effect. But Major "Bob" Wheat deserves an extended notice.
+
+In the early summer of 1846, after the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca
+de la Palma, the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor lay
+near the town of Matamoros. Visiting the hospital of a recently joined
+volunteer corps from the States, I remarked a bright-eyed youth of some
+nineteen years, wan with disease, but cheery withal. The interest he
+inspired led to his removal to army headquarters, where he soon
+recovered health and became a pet. This was Bob Wheat, son of an
+Episcopal clergyman, who had left school to come to the war. He next
+went to Cuba with Lopez, was wounded and captured, but escaped the
+garrote to follow Walker to Nicaragua. Exhausting the capacities of
+South American patriots to _pronounce_, he quitted their society in
+disgust, and joined Garibaldi in Italy, whence his keen scent of combat
+summoned him home in convenient time to receive a bullet at Manassas.
+The most complete Dugald Dalgetty possible, he had "all the defects of
+the good qualities" of that doughty warrior.
+
+Some months after the time of which I am writing, a body of Federal
+horse was captured in the valley of Virginia. The colonel commanding,
+who had been dismounted in the fray, approached me. A stalwart man, with
+huge mustaches, cavalry boots adorned with spurs worthy of a
+_caballero_, slouched hat, and plume, he strode along with the
+nonchalant air of one who had wooed Dame Fortune too long to be cast
+down by her frowns. Suddenly Major Wheat, near by, sprang from his horse
+with a cry of "Percy! old boy!" "Why, Bob!" was echoed back, and a warm
+embrace was exchanged. Colonel Percy Wyndham, an Englishman in the
+Federal service, had last parted from Wheat in Italy, or some other
+country where the pleasant business of killing was going on, and now
+fraternized with his friend in the manner described.
+
+Poor Wheat! A month later, and he slept his last sleep on the bloody
+field of Cold Harbor. He lies there in a soldier's grave. Gallant
+spirit! let us hope that his readiness to die for his cause has made
+"the scarlet of his sins like unto wool."
+
+As the autumn of the year 1861 passed away, the question of army
+organization pressed for solution, while divergent opinions were held by
+the Government at Richmond and General Johnston. The latter sent me to
+President Davis to explain his views and urge their adoption. My mission
+met with no success; but in discharging it, I was made aware of the
+estrangement growing up between these eminent persons, which
+subsequently became "the spring of woes unnumbered." An earnest effort
+made by me to remove the cloud, then "no greater than a man's hand,"
+failed; though the elevation of character of the two men, which made
+them listen patiently to my appeals, justified hope. Time but served to
+widen the breach. Without the knowledge and despite the wishes of
+General Johnston, the descendants of the ancient dwellers in the cave
+of Adullam gathered themselves behind his shield, and shot their arrows
+at President Davis and his advisers, weakening the influence of the head
+of the cause for which all were struggling.
+
+Immediately after the birth of the Confederacy, a resolution was adopted
+by the "Provisional Congress" declaring that military and naval
+officers, resigning the service of the United States Government to enter
+that of the Confederate, would preserve their relative rank. Later on,
+the President was authorized to make five appointments to the grade of
+general. These appointments were announced after the battle of Manassas,
+and in the following order of seniority: Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney
+Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and G.T. Beauregard.
+
+Near the close of President Buchanan's administration, in 1860, died
+General Jesup, Quartermaster-General of the United States army; and
+Joseph E. Johnston, then lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, was appointed to
+the vacancy. Now the Quartermaster-General had the rank, pay, and
+emoluments of a brigadier-general; but the rank was staff, and by law
+this officer could not exercise command over troops unless by special
+assignment. When, in the spring of 1861, the officers in question
+entered the service of the Confederacy, Cooper had been Adjutant-General
+of the United States Army, with the rank of colonel; Albert Sidney
+Johnston, colonel and brigadier-general by brevet, and on duty as such;
+Lee, lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, senior to Joseph E. Johnston in the
+line before the latter's appointment above mentioned; Beauregard, major
+of engineers. In arranging the order of seniority of generals, President
+Davis held to the superiority of line to staff rank, while Joseph E.
+Johnston took the opposite view, and sincerely believed that injustice
+was done him.
+
+After the grave and wondrous scenes through which we have passed, all
+this seems like "a tempest in a tea-pot;" but it had much influence and
+deserves attention.
+
+General Beauregard, who about this time was transferred to the army in
+the West, commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston, was also known to have
+grievances. Whatever their source, it could not have been _rank_; but it
+is due to this General--a gentleman of taste--to say that no utterances
+came from him. Indiscreet persons at Richmond, claiming the privilege
+and discharging the duty of friendship, gave tongue to loud and frequent
+plaints, and increased the confusion of the hour.
+
+As the year 1862 opened, and the time for active movements drew near,
+weighty cares attended the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
+The folly of accepting regiments for the short period of twelve months,
+to which allusion has been made, was now apparent. Having taken service
+in the spring of 1861, the time of many of the troops would expire just
+as the Federal host in their front might be expected to advance. A large
+majority of the men were willing to reënlist, provided that they could
+first go home to arrange private affairs; and fortunately, the fearful
+condition of the country permitted the granting of furloughs on a large
+scale. Except on a few pikes, movements were impossible, and an army
+could no more have marched across country than across Chesapeake bay.
+Closet warriors in cozy studies, with smooth macadamized roadways before
+their doors, sneer at the idea of military movements being arrested by
+mud. I apprehend that these gentlemen have never served in a bad country
+during the rainy season, and are ignorant of the fact that, in his
+Russian campaign, the elements proved too strong for the genius of
+Napoleon.
+
+General Johnston met the difficulties of his position with great
+coolness, tact, and judgment; but his burden was by no means lightened
+by the interference of certain politicians at Richmond. These were
+perhaps inflamed by the success that had attended the tactical efforts
+of their Washington peers. At all events, they now threw themselves upon
+military questions with much ardor. Their leader was Alexander H.
+Stephens of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confederacy, who is entitled
+to a place by himself.
+
+Like the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke, Mr. Stephens has an acute
+intellect attached to a frail and meagre body. As was said by the witty
+Canon of St. Paul's of Francis Jeffrey, his mind is in a state of
+indecent exposure. A trained and skillful politician, he was for many
+years before the war returned to the United States House of
+Representatives from the district in which he resides, and his "device"
+seems always to have been, "Fiat justitia, ruat coelum." When, in
+December, 1849, the Congress assembled, there was a Whig administration,
+and the same party had a small majority in the lower House, of which Mr.
+Stephens, an ardent Whig, was a member; but he could not see his way to
+support his party's candidate for Speaker, and this inability to find a
+road, plain mayhap to weaker organs, secured the control of the House to
+his political adversaries. During the exciting period preceding
+"secession" Mr. Stephens held and avowed moderate opinions; but, swept
+along by the resistless torrent surrounding him, he discovered and
+proclaimed that "slavery was the corner-stone of the confederacy." In
+the strong vernacular of the West, this was "rather piling the agony" on
+the humanitarians, whose sympathies were not much quickened toward us
+thereby. As the struggle progressed, Mr. Stephens, with all the
+impartiality of an equity judge, marked many of the virtues of the
+Government north of the Potomac, and all the vices of that on his own
+side of the river. Regarding the military questions in hand he
+entertained and publicly expressed original opinions, which I will
+attempt to convey as accurately as possible. The war was for principles
+and rights, and it was in defense of these, as well as of their
+property, that the people had taken up arms. They could always be relied
+on when a battle was imminent; but, when no fighting was to be done,
+they had best be at home attending to their families and interests. As
+their intelligence was equal to their patriotism, they were as capable
+of judging of the necessity of their presence with the colors as the
+commanders of armies, who were but professional soldiers fighting for
+rank and pay, and most of them without property in the South. It may be
+observed that such opinions are more comfortably cherished by political
+gentlemen, two hundred miles away, than by commanders immediately in
+front of the enemy.
+
+In July, 1865, two months after the close of the great war, I visited
+Washington in the hope of effecting some change in the condition of
+Jefferson Davis, then ill and a prisoner at Fortress Monroe; and this
+visit was protracted to November before its object was accomplished. In
+the latter part of October of the same year Mr. Stephens came to
+Washington, where he was the object of much attention on the part of
+people controlling the Congress and the country. Desiring his
+coöperation in behalf of Mr. Davis, I sought and found him sitting near
+a fire (for he is of a chilly nature), smoking his pipe. He heard me in
+severe politeness, and, without unnecessary expenditure of enthusiasm,
+promised his assistance. Since the war Mr. Stephens has again found a
+seat in the Congress, where, unlike the rebel brigadiers, his presence
+is not a rock of offense to the loyal mind.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The foregoing sketch of Mr. Stephens appeared substantially
+in the "North American Review," but the date of the interview in
+Washington was not stated. Thereupon Mr. Stephens, in print, seized on
+July, and declared that, as he was a prisoner in Fort Warren during that
+month, the interview was a "Munchausenism." He also disputes the
+correctness of the opinions concerning military matters ascribed to him,
+although scores of his associates at Richmond will attest it. Again, he
+assumes the non-existence of twelve-months' regiments because some took
+service for the war, etc.
+
+Like other ills, feeble health has its compensations, especially for
+those who unite restless vanity and ambition to a feminine desire for
+sympathy. It has been much the habit of Mr. Stephens to date
+controversial epistles from "a sick chamber," as do ladies in a delicate
+situation. A diplomatist of the last century, the Chevalier D'Eon, by
+usurping the privileges of the opposite sex, inspired grave doubts
+concerning his own.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.
+
+
+Pursuing "the even tenor of his way," Johnston rapidly increased the
+efficiency of his army. Furloughed men returned in large numbers before
+their leaves had terminated, many bringing new recruits with them.
+Divisions were formed, and officers selected to command them. Some
+islands of dry land appeared amid the sea of mud, when the movement of
+the Federal forces in our front changed the theatre of war and opened
+the important campaign of 1862.
+
+When overtaken by unexpected calamity African tribes destroy the fetich
+previously worshiped, and with much noise seek some new idol in which
+they can incarnate their vanities and hopes. Stunned by the rout at
+Manassas, the North pulled down an old veteran, Scott, and his
+lieutenant, McDowell, and set up McClellan, who caught the public eye at
+the moment by reason of some minor successes in Western Virginia, where
+the Confederate General, Robert Garnett, was killed. It is but fair to
+admit that the South had not emulated the wisdom of Solomon nor the
+modesty of Godolphin. The capture of Fort Sumter, with its garrison of
+less than a hundred men, was hardly Gibraltar; yet it would put the
+grandiloquent hidalgoes of Spain on their mettle to make more clatter
+over the downfall of the cross of St. George from that historic rock.
+McClellan was the young Napoleon, the very god of war in his latest
+avatar. While this was absurd, and in the end injurious to McClellan, it
+was of service to his Government; for it strengthened his loins to the
+task before him--a task demanding the highest order of ability and the
+influence of a demigod. A great war was to be carried on, and a great
+army, the most complex of machines, was necessary.
+
+The cardinal principles on which the art of war is based are few and
+unchangeable, resembling in this the code of morality; but their
+application varies as the theatre of the war, the genius and temper of
+the people engaged, and the kind of arms employed. The United States had
+never possessed a great army. The entire force engaged in the war
+against Mexico would scarcely have made a respectable _corps d'armée_,
+and to study the organization of great armies and campaigns a recurrence
+to the Napoleonic era was necessary. The Governments of Europe for a
+half century had been improving armaments, and changing the tactical
+unit of formation and manoeuvre to correspond to such improvement. The
+Italian campaign of Louis Napoleon established some advance in field
+artillery, but the supreme importance of breech-loaders was not admitted
+until Sadowa, in 1866. All this must be considered in determining the
+value of McClellan's work. Taking the raw material intrusted to him, he
+converted it into a great military machine, complete in all its parts,
+fitted for its intended purpose. Moreover, he resisted the natural
+impatience of his Government and people, and the follies of politicians
+and newspapers, and for months refused to put his machine at work before
+all its delicate adjustments were perfected. Thus, much in its own
+despite, the North obtained armies and the foundation of success. The
+correctness of the system adopted by McClellan proved equal to all
+emergencies, and remained unchanged until the close of the war.
+Disappointed in his hands, and suffering painful defeats in those of his
+immediate successors, the "Army of the Potomac" always recovered, showed
+itself a vital organism, and finally triumphed. McClellan organized
+victory for his section, and those who deem the preservation of the
+"Union" the first of earthly duties should not cease to do him
+reverence.
+
+I have here written of McClellan, not as a leader, but an organizer of
+armies; and as such he deserves to rank with the Von Moltkes,
+Scharnhorsts, and Louvois of history.
+
+Constant struggle against the fatal interference of politicians with his
+military plans and duties separated McClellan from the civil department
+of his Government, and led him to adopt a policy of his own. The
+military road to Richmond, and the only one as events proved, was by the
+peninsula and the James river, and it was his duty so to advise. He
+insisted, and had his way; but not for long. A little of that
+selfishness which serves lower intelligences as an instinct of
+self-preservation would have shown him that his most dangerous enemies
+were not in his front. The Administration at Washington had to deal with
+a people blind with rage, an ignorant and meddlesome Congress, and a
+wolfish horde of place-hunters. A sudden dash of the Confederates on the
+capital might change the attitude of foreign powers. These political
+considerations weighed heavily at the seat of government, but were of
+small moment to the military commander. In a conflict between civil
+policy and military strategy, the latter must yield. The jealousy
+manifested by the Venetian and Dutch republics toward their commanders
+has often been criticised; but it should be remembered that they kept
+the military in strict subjection to the civil power; and when they were
+overthrown, it was by foreign invasion, not by military usurpation.
+Their annals afford no example of the declaration by their generals that
+the special purpose of republican armies is to preserve civil order and
+enforce civil law.
+
+After the battle of Chickamauga, in 1863, General Grant was promoted to
+the command of the armies of the United States, and called to
+Washington. In a conference between him, President Lincoln, and
+Secretary Stanton, the approaching campaign in Virginia was discussed.
+Grant said that the advance on Richmond should be made by the James
+river. It was replied that the Government required the interposition of
+an army between Lee and Washington, and could not consent at that late
+day to the adoption of a plan which would be taken by the public as a
+confession of previous error. Grant observed that he was indifferent as
+to routes; but if the Government preferred its own, so often tried, to
+the one he suggested, it must be prepared for the additional loss of a
+hundred thousand men. The men were promised, Grant accepted the
+governmental plan of campaign, and was supported to the end. The above
+came to me well authenticated, and I have no doubt of its
+correctness.[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: Some of the early pages of this work were published in the
+number of the "North American Review" for January, 1878, including the
+above account of a conference at Washington between President Lincoln,
+Secretary Stanton, and General Grant. In the "New York Herald" of May
+27, 1878, appears an interview with General Grant, in which the latter
+says, "The whole story is a fabrication, and whoever vouched for it to
+General Taylor vouched for a fiction." General Halleck, who was at the
+time in question Chief of Staff at the war office, related the story of
+this conference to me in New Orleans, where he was on a visit from
+Louisville, Ky., then his headquarters. Several years later General
+Joseph E. Johnston gave me the same account, which he had from another
+officer of the United States Army, also at the time in the war office. A
+letter from General Johnston, confirming the accuracy of my relation,
+has been published. Since, I have received a letter, dated New York,
+June 6, 1878, wherein the writer states that in Washington, in 1868 or
+1869, he had an account of this conference, as I give it, from General
+John A. Logan of Illinois. When calling for reënforcements, after his
+losses in the Wilderness, General Grant reminded Stanton of his
+opposition to the land route in their conference, but added that "he
+would now fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." The writer
+of this communication is quite unknown to me, but manifests his
+sincerity by suggesting that I should write to General Logan, who, he
+doubts not, will confirm his statement. I have not so written, because I
+have no acquaintance with General Logan, and no desire to press the
+matter further. From many sources comes evidence that _a conference_ was
+held, which General Grant seems to deny. Moreover, I cannot forget that
+in one notable instance a question of fact was raised against General
+Grant, with much burden of evidence; and while declaiming any wish or
+intent of entering on another, one may hold in all charity that General
+Grant's memory may be as treacherous about _facts_ as mine proved about
+a _date_, when, in a letter to the "Herald," I stupidly gave two years
+after General Halleck's death as the time of his conversation with me.
+These considerations have determined me to let the account of the
+conference stand as originally written.]
+
+During his operations on the peninsula and near Richmond, McClellan
+complained much of want of support; but the constancy with which
+President Lincoln adhered to him was, under the circumstances,
+surprising. He had drifted away from the dominant Washington sentiment,
+and alienated the sympathies of his Government. His fall was inevitable;
+the affection of the army but hastened it; even victory could not save
+him. He adopted the habit of saying, "My army," "My soldiers." Such
+phraseology may be employed by a Frederick or Napoleon, sovereigns as
+well as generals; but officers command the armies of their governments.
+General McClellan is an upright, patriotic man, incapable of
+wrong-doing, and has a high standard of morality, to which he lives more
+closely than most men do to a lower one; but it is to be remembered that
+the examples of the good are temptations and opportunities to the
+unscrupulous. The habit of thought underlying such language, or soon
+engendered by its use, has made Mexico and the South American republics
+the wonder and scorn of civilization.
+
+The foregoing account of McClellan's downfall is deemed pertinent
+because he was the central figure in the Northern field, and laid the
+foundation of Northern success. Above all, he and a gallant band of
+officers supporting him impressed a generous, chivalric spirit on the
+war, which soon faded away; and the future historian, in recounting some
+later operations, will doubt if he is dealing with campaigns of generals
+or expeditions of brigands.
+
+The intention of McClellan to transfer his base from Washington to some
+point farther south was known to Johnston, but there was doubt whether
+Fredericksburg or the Peninsula would be selected. To meet either
+contingency, Johnston in the spring of 1862 moved his army from Manassas
+to the vicinity of Orange Court House, where he was within easy reach of
+both Fredericksburg and Richmond. The movement was executed with the
+quiet precision characteristic of Johnston, unrivaled as a master of
+logistics.
+
+I was ordered to withdraw the infantry pickets from the lower Bull Run
+after nightfall, and move on a road through the county of Prince
+William, east of the line of railway from Manassas to Orange. This road
+was tough and heavy, and crossed by frequent streams, affluents of the
+neighboring Potomac. These furnished occupation and instruction to a
+small body of pioneers, recently organized, while the difficulties of
+the road drew heavily on the marching capacity--or rather incapacity--of
+the men. Straggling was then, and continued throughout to be, the vice
+of Southern armies. The climate of the South was not favorable to
+pedestrian exercise, and, centaur-like, its inhabitants, from infancy to
+old age, passed their lives on horseback, seldom walking the most
+insignificant distance. When brought into the field, the men were as
+ignorant of the art of marching as babes, and required for their
+instruction the same patient, unwearied attention. On this and
+subsequent marches frequent halts were made, to enable stragglers to
+close up; and I set the example to mounted officers of riding to the
+rear of the column, to encourage the weary by relieving them of their
+arms, and occasionally giving a footsore fellow a cast on my horse. The
+men appreciated this care and attention, followed advice as to the
+fitting of their shoes, cold bathing of feet, and healing of abrasions,
+and soon held it a disgrace to fall out of ranks. Before a month had
+passed the brigade learned how to march, and, in the Valley with
+Jackson, covered long distances without leaving a straggler behind.
+Indeed, in several instances it emulated the achievement of Crauford's
+"Light Brigade," whose wonderful march to join Wellington at Talavera
+remains the stoutest feat of modern soldiership.
+
+Arrived at the Rappahannock, I found the railway bridge floored for the
+passage of troops and trains. The army, with the exception of Ewell's
+division, composed of Elzey's, Trimball's, and my brigades, had passed
+the Rapidan, and was lying around Orange Court House, where General
+Johnston had his headquarters. Some horse, under Stuart, remained north
+of the Rappahannock, toward Manassas.
+
+For the first time Ewell had his division together and under his
+immediate command; and as we remained for many days between the rivers,
+I had abundant opportunities for studying the original character of
+"Dick Ewell." We had known each other for many years, but now our
+friendship and intercourse became close and constant. Graduated from
+West Point in 1840, Ewell joined the 1st regiment of United States
+dragoons, and, saving the Mexican war, in which he served with such
+distinction as a young cavalryman could gain, his whole military life
+had been passed on the plains, where, as he often asserted, he had
+learned all about commanding fifty United States dragoons, and forgotten
+everything else. In this he did himself injustice, as his career proves;
+but he was of a singular modesty. Bright, prominent eyes, a bomb-shaped,
+bald head, and a nose like that of Francis of Valois, gave him a
+striking resemblance to a woodcock; and this was increased by a
+bird-like habit of putting his head on one side to utter his quaint
+speeches. He fancied that he had some mysterious internal malady, and
+would eat nothing but frumenty, a preparation of wheat; and his
+plaintive way of talking of his disease, as if he were some one else,
+was droll in the extreme. His nervousness prevented him from taking
+regular sleep, and he passed nights curled around a camp-stool, in
+positions to dislocate an ordinary person's joints and drive the
+"caoutchouc man" to despair. On such occasions, after long silence, he
+would suddenly direct his eyes and nose toward me with "General Taylor!
+What do you suppose President Davis made me a major-general
+for?"--beginning with a sharp accent and ending with a gentle lisp.
+Superbly mounted, he was the boldest of horsemen, invariably leaving the
+roads to take timber and water. No follower of the "Pytchley" or "Quorn"
+could have lived with him across country. With a fine tactical eye on
+the battle field, he was never content with his own plan until he had
+secured the approval of another's judgment, and chafed under the
+restraint of command, preparing to fight with the skirmish line. On two
+occasions in the Valley, during the temporary absence of Jackson from
+the front, Ewell summoned me to his side, and immediately rushed forward
+among the skirmishers, where some sharp work was going on. Having
+refreshed himself, he returned with the hope that "old Jackson would not
+catch him at it." He always spoke of Jackson, several years his junior,
+as "old," and told me in confidence that he admired his genius, but was
+certain of his lunacy, and that he never saw one of Jackson's couriers
+approach without expecting an order to assault the north pole.
+
+Later, after he had heard Jackson seriously declare that he never ate
+pepper because it produced a weakness in his left leg, he was confirmed
+in this opinion. With all his oddities, perhaps in some measure because
+of them, Ewell was adored by officers and men.
+
+Orders from headquarters directed all surplus provisions, in the country
+between the Rappahannock and Rapidan, to be sent south of the latter
+stream. Executing these orders strictly, as we daily expected to rejoin
+the army, the division began to be straitened for supplies. The
+commissary of my brigade, Major Davis, was the very pearl of
+commissaries. Indefatigable in discharge of duty, he had as fine a nose
+for bullocks and bacon as Major Monsoon for sherry. The commissaries of
+the other brigades were less efficient, and for some days drew rations
+from Davis; but it soon became my duty to take care of my own command,
+and General Ewell's attention was called to the subject. The General
+thought that it was impossible so rich a country could be exhausted, and
+sallied forth on a cattle hunt himself. Late in the day he returned with
+a bull, jaded as was he of Ballyraggan after he had been goaded to the
+summit of that classic pass, and venerable enough to have fertilized the
+milky mothers of the herds of our early Presidents, whose former estates
+lie in this vicinity. With a triumphant air Ewell showed me his plunder.
+I observed that the bull was a most respectable animal, but would hardly
+afford much subsistence to eight thousand men. "Ah! I was thinking of my
+fifty dragoons," replied the General. The joke spread, and doubtless
+furnished sauce for the happy few to whose lot the bull fell.
+
+Meantime, the cavalry force in our front had been withdrawn, and the
+Federal pickets made their appearance on the north bank of the
+Rappahannock, occasionally exchanging a shot with ours across the
+stream. This served to enliven us for a day or two, and kept Ewell
+busy, as he always feared lest some one would get under fire before him.
+At length a fire of artillery and small arms was opened from the north
+end of the bridge, near the south end of which my brigade was camped.
+Ordering the command to move out, I galloped down to the river, where I
+found Ewell assisting with his own hands to place some guns in position.
+The affair was over in a few minutes. The enemy had quietly run up two
+pieces of artillery, supported by dismounted horsemen, and opened fire
+on my camp; but the promptness with which the men had moved prevented
+loss, saving one or two brush huts, and a few mess pans.
+
+The bridge had previously been prepared for burning, Ewell's orders
+being to destroy all railway bridges behind him, to prevent the use of
+the rails by the Federals. During the little _alerte_ mentioned, I saw
+smoke rising from the bridge, which was soon a mass of flame. Now, this
+was the only bridge for some miles up or down; and though the river was
+fordable at many points, the fords were deep and impassable after rains.
+Its premature destruction not only prevented us from scouting and
+foraging on the north bank, but gave notice to the enemy of our purpose
+to abandon the country. Annoyed, and doubtless expressing the feeling in
+my countenance, as I watched the flames, Ewell, after a long silence,
+said, "You don't like it." Whereupon I related the following from
+Bugeaud's "Maxims": At the close of the Napoleonic wars, Bugeaud, a
+young colonel, commanded a French regiment on the Swiss frontier. A
+stream spanned by a bridge, but fordable above and below, separated him
+from an Austrian force of four times his strength. He first determined
+to destroy the bridge, but reflected that if left it might tempt the
+enemy, whenever he moved, to neglect the fords. Accordingly, he masked
+his regiment as near his end of the bridge as the topography of the
+ground permitted, and waited. The Austrians moved by the bridge, and
+Bugeaud, seizing the moment, fell upon them in the act of crossing and
+destroyed the entire force. Moral: 'Tis easier to watch and defend one
+bridge than many miles of fordable water. "Why did you keep the story
+until the bridge was burnt?" exclaimed Ewell. Subsequently, alleging
+that he had small opportunity for study after leaving West Point, he
+drew from me whatever some reading and a good memory could supply; but
+his shrewd remarks changed many erroneous opinions I had formed, and our
+"talks" were of more value to me than to him.
+
+As our next move, hourly expected, would take us beyond the reach of
+railways, I here reduced the brigade to light marching order. My own
+kit, consisting of a change of underwear and a tent "fly," could be
+carried on my horse. A fly can be put up in a moment, and by stopping
+the weather end with boughs a comfortable hut is made. The men carried
+each his blanket, an extra shirt and drawers, two pairs of socks
+(woolen), and a pair of extra shoes. These, with his arm and ammunition,
+were a sufficient load for strong marching. Tents, especially in a
+wooded country, are not only a nuisance, involving much transportation,
+the bane of armies, but are detrimental to health. In cool weather they
+are certain to be tightly closed, and the number of men occupying them
+breeds a foul atmosphere. The rapidity with which men learn to shelter
+themselves, and their ingenuity in accomplishing it under unfavorable
+conditions, are surprising. My people grumbled no little at being
+"stripped", but soon admitted that they were better for it, and came to
+despise useless _impedimenta_.
+
+I early adopted two customs, and adhered to them throughout the war. The
+first was to examine at every halt the adjacent roads and paths, their
+direction and condition; distances of nearest towns and cross-roads; the
+country, its capacity to furnish supplies, as well as general
+topography, etc., all of which was embodied in a rude sketch, with notes
+to impress it on memory. The second was to imagine while on the march an
+enemy before me to be attacked, or to be received in my position, and
+make the necessary dispositions for either contingency. My imaginary
+manoeuvres were sad blunders, but I corrected them by experience drawn
+from actual battles, and can safely affirm that such slight success as I
+had in command was due to these customs. Assuredly, a knowledge of
+details will not make a great general; but there can be no greatness in
+war without such knowledge, for genius is but a capacity to grasp and
+apply details.
+
+These observations are not for the "heaven-born," who from their closets
+scan with eagle glance fields of battle, whose mighty pens slay their
+thousands and their tens of thousands, and in whose "Serbonian"
+inkstands "armies whole" disappear; but it is hoped that they may prove
+useful to the young adopting the profession of arms, who may feel
+assured that the details of the art of war afford "scope and verge" for
+the employment of all their faculties. Conscientious study will not
+perhaps make them great, but it will make them respectable; and when the
+responsibility of command comes, they will not disgrace their flag,
+injure their cause, nor murder their men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN.
+
+
+At length the expected order to march came, and we moved south to
+Gordonsville. In one of his letters to Madame du Deffand, Horace Walpole
+writes of the English spring as "coming in with its accustomed
+severity," and such was our experience of a Virginian spring; or rather,
+it may be said that winter returned with renewed energy, and we had for
+several days snow, sleet, rain, and all possible abominations in the way
+of weather. Arrived at Gordonsville, whence the army had departed for
+the Peninsula, we met orders to join Jackson in the Valley, and marched
+thither by Swift Run "Gap"--the local name for mountain passes. Swift
+Run, an affluent of the Rapidan, has its source in this gap. The orders
+mentioned were the last received from General Joseph E. Johnston, from
+whom subsequent events separated me until the close of the war; and
+occasion is thus furnished for the expression of opinion of his
+character and services.
+
+In the full vigor of mature manhood, erect, alert, quick, and decisive of
+speech, General Johnston was the beau ideal of a soldier. Without the least
+proneness to blandishments, he gained and held the affection and confidence
+of his men. Brave and impetuous in action, he had been often wounded, and
+no officer of the general staff of the old United States army had seen so
+much actual service with troops. During the Mexican war he was permitted to
+take command of a voltigeur regiment, and rendered brilliant service. In
+1854 he resigned from the engineers to accept the lieutenant-colonelcy of
+a cavalry regiment. When the civil war became certain, a Virginian by
+birth, he left the position of Quartermaster-General of the United States,
+and offered his sword to the Confederacy. To the East, as his great
+namesake Albert Sidney to the West, he was "the rose and fair expectancy"
+of our cause; and his timely march from Patterson's front in the Valley
+to assist Beauregard at Manassas confirmed public opinion of his capacity.
+Yet he cannot be said to have proved a fortunate commander. Leaving out
+of view Bentonville and the closing scenes in North Carolina, which were
+rather the spasmodic efforts of despair than regular military movements,
+General Johnston's "offensive" must be limited to Seven Pines or Fair Oaks.
+Here his plan was well considered and singularly favored of fortune. Some
+two corps of McClellan's army were posted on the southwest or Richmond side
+of the Chickahominy, and a sudden rise of that stream swept away bridges
+and overflowed the adjacent lowlands, cutting off these corps from their
+supports. They ought to have been crushed, but Johnston fell, severely
+wounded; upon which confusion ensued, and no results of importance were
+attained. Official reports fail, most unwisely, to fix the responsibility
+of the failure, and I do not desire to add to the gossip prevailing then
+and since.
+
+From his own account of the war we can gather that Johnston regrets he
+did not fight on the Oostenaula, after Polk had joined him. It appears
+that in a council two of his three corps commanders, Polk, Hardee, and
+Hood, were opposed to fighting there; but to call a council at all was a
+weakness not to be expected of a general of Johnston's ability and
+self-reliant nature.
+
+I have written of him as a master of logistics, and his skill in
+handling troops was great. As a retreat, the precision and coolness of
+his movements during the Georgia campaign would have enhanced the
+reputation of Moreau; but it never seems to have occurred to him to
+assume the offensive during the many turning movements of his flanks,
+movements involving time and distance. Dispassionate reflection would
+have brought him to the conclusion that Lee was even more overweighted
+in Virginia than he in Georgia; that his Government had given him every
+available man, only leaving small garrisons at Wilmington, Charleston,
+Savannah, and Mobile; that Forrest's command in Mississippi, operating
+on Sherman's communications, was virtually doing his work, while it was
+idle to expect assistance from the trans-Mississippi region. Certainly,
+no more egregious blunder was possible than that of relieving him from
+command in front of Atlanta. If he intended to fight there, he was
+entitled to execute his plan. Had he abandoned Atlanta without a
+struggle, his removal would have met the approval of the army and
+public, an approval which, under the circumstances of its action, the
+Richmond Government failed to receive.
+
+I am persuaded that General Johnston's mind was so jaundiced by the
+unfortunate disagreement with President Davis, to which allusion has
+been made in an earlier part of these reminiscences, as to seriously
+cloud his judgment and impair his usefulness. He sincerely believed
+himself the Esau of the Government, grudgingly fed on bitter herbs,
+while a favored Jacob enjoyed the flesh-pots. Having known him
+intimately for many years, having served under his command and studied
+his methods, I feel confident that his great abilities under happier
+conditions would have distinctly modified, if not changed, the current
+of events. Destiny willed that Davis and Johnston should be brought into
+collision, and the breach, once made, was never repaired. Each misjudged
+the other to the end.
+
+Ewell's division reached the western base of Swift Run Gap on a lovely
+spring evening, April 30, 1862, and in crossing the Blue Ridge seemed to
+have left winter and its rigors behind. Jackson, whom we moved to join,
+had suddenly that morning marched toward McDowell, some eighty miles
+west, where, after uniting with a force under General Edward Johnson, he
+defeated the Federal general Milroy. Some days later he as suddenly
+returned. Meanwhile we were ordered to remain in camp on the Shenandoah
+near Conrad's store, at which place a bridge spanned the stream.
+
+The great Valley of Virginia was before us in all its beauty. Fields of
+wheat spread far and wide, interspersed with woodlands, bright in their
+robes of tender green. Wherever appropriate sites existed, quaint old
+mills, with turning wheels, were busily grinding the previous year's
+harvest; and grove and eminence showed comfortable homesteads. The soft
+vernal influence shed a languid grace over the scene. The theatre of war
+in this region was from Staunton to the Potomac, one hundred and twenty
+miles, with an average width of some twenty-five miles; and the Blue
+Ridge and Alleghanies bounded it east and west. Drained by the
+Shenandoah with its numerous affluents, the surface was nowhere flat,
+but a succession of graceful swells, occasionally rising into abrupt
+hills. Resting on limestone, the soil was productive, especially of
+wheat, and the underlying rock furnished abundant metal for the
+construction of roads. Railway communication was limited to the Virginia
+Central, which entered the Valley by a tunnel east of Staunton and
+passed westward through that town; to the Manassas Gap, which traversed
+the Blue Ridge at the pass of that name and ended at Strasburg; and to
+the Winchester and Harper's Ferry, thirty miles long. The first extended
+to Richmond by Charlottesville and Gordonsville, crossing at the former
+place the line from Washington and Alexandria to Lynchburg; the second
+connected Strasburg and Front Royal, in the Valley, with the same line
+at Manassas Junction; and the last united with the Baltimore and Ohio at
+Harper's Ferry. Frequent passes or gaps in the mountains, through which
+wagon roads had been constructed, afforded easy access from east and
+west; and pikes were excellent, though unmetaled roads became heavy
+after rains.
+
+But the glory of the Valley is Massanutten. Rising abruptly from the
+plain near Harrisonburg, twenty-five miles north of Staunton, this
+lovely mountain extends fifty miles, and as suddenly ends near
+Strasburg. Parallel with the Blue Ridge, and of equal height, its sharp
+peaks have a bolder and more picturesque aspect, while the abruptness of
+its slopes gives the appearance of greater altitude. Midway of
+Massanutten, a gap with good road affords communication between
+Newmarket and Luray. The eastern or Luray valley, much narrower than the
+one west of Massanutten, is drained by the east branch of the
+Shenandoah, which is joined at Front Royal, near the northern end of the
+mountain, by its western affluent, whence the united waters flow north,
+at the base of the Blue Ridge, to meet the Potomac at Harper's Ferry.
+
+The inhabitants of this favored region were worthy of their inheritance.
+The north and south were peopled by scions of old colonial families, and
+the proud names of the "Old Dominion" abounded. In the central counties
+of Rockingham and Shenandoah were many descendants of German settlers.
+These were thrifty, substantial farmers, and, like their kinsmen of
+Pennsylvania, expressed their opulence in huge barns and fat cattle. The
+devotion of all to the Southern cause was wonderful. Jackson, a Valley
+man by reason of his residence at Lexington, south of Staunton, was
+their hero and idol. The women sent husbands, sons, lovers, to battle as
+cheerfully as to marriage feasts. No oppression, no destitution could
+abate their zeal. Upon a march I was accosted by two elderly sisters,
+who told me they had secreted a large quantity of bacon in a well on
+their estate, hard by. Federals had been in possession of the country,
+and, fearing the indiscretion of their slaves, they had done the work at
+night with their own hands, and now desired to _give_ the meat to their
+people. Wives and daughters of millers, whose husbands and brothers were
+in arms, worked the mills night and day to furnish flour to their
+soldiers. To the last, women would go distances to carry the modicum of
+food between themselves and starvation to a suffering Confederate.
+Should the sons of Virginia ever commit dishonorable acts, grim indeed
+will be their reception on the further shores of Styx. They can expect
+no recognition from the mothers who bore them.
+
+Ere the war closed, the Valley was ravaged with a cruelty surpassing
+that inflicted on the Palatinate two hundred years ago. That foul deed
+smirched the fame of Louvois and Turenne, and public opinion, in what
+has been deemed a ruder age, forced an apology from the "Grand
+Monarque." Yet we have seen the official report of a Federal general
+wherein are recounted the many barns, mills, and other buildings
+destroyed, concluding with the assertion that "a crow flying over the
+Valley must take rations with him." In the opinion of the admirers of
+the officer making this report, the achievement on which it is based
+ranks with Marengo. Moreover, this same officer, General Sheridan, many
+years after the close of the war, denounced several hundred thousands of
+his fellow citizens as "banditti," and solicited permission of his
+Government to deal with them as such. May we not well ask whether
+religion, education, science and art combined have lessened the
+brutality of man since the days of Wallenstein and Tilly?
+
+While in camp near Conrad's store, the 7th Louisiana, Colonel Hays, a
+crack regiment, on picket down stream, had a spirited affair, in which
+the enemy was driven with the loss of a score of prisoners. Shortly
+after, for convenience of supplies, I was directed to cross the river
+and camp some miles to the southwest. The command was in superb
+condition, and a four-gun battery from Bedford county, Virginia, Captain
+Bowyer, had recently been added to it. The four regiments, 6th, 7th,
+8th, and 9th Louisiana, would average above eight hundred bayonets. Of
+Wheat's battalion of "Tigers" and the 7th I have written. The 6th,
+Colonel Seymour, recruited in New Orleans, was composed of Irishmen,
+stout, hardy fellows, turbulent in camp and requiring a strong hand, but
+responding to kindness and justice, and ready to follow their officers
+to the death. The 9th, Colonel Stafford, was from North Louisiana.
+Planters or sons of planters, many of them men of fortune, soldiering
+was a hard task to which they only became reconciled by reflecting that
+it was "niddering" in gentlemen to assume voluntarily the discharge of
+duties and then shirk. The 8th, Colonel Kelly, was from the
+Attakapas--"Acadians," the race of which Longfellow sings in
+"Evangeline." A home-loving, simple people, few spoke English, fewer
+still had ever before moved ten miles from their natal _cabanas_; and
+the war to them was "a liberal education," as was the society of the
+lady of quality to honest Dick Steele. They had all the light gayety of
+the Gaul, and, after the manner of their ancestors, were born cooks. A
+capital regimental band accompanied them, and whenever weather and
+ground permitted, even after long marches, they would waltz and "polk"
+in couples with as much zest as if their arms encircled the supple
+waists of the Célestines and Mélazies of their native Teche. The Valley
+soldiers were largely of the Presbyterian faith, and of a solemn, pious
+demeanor, and looked askant at the caperings of my Creoles, holding them
+to be "devices and snares."
+
+The brigade adjutant, Captain (afterward Colonel) Eustace Surget, who
+remained with me until the war closed, was from Mississippi, where he
+had large estates. Without the slightest military training, by study and
+zeal, he soon made himself an accomplished staff officer. Of singular
+coolness in battle, he never blundered, and, though much exposed, pulled
+through without a scratch. My aide, Lieutenant Hamilton, grandson of
+General Hamilton of South Carolina, was a cadet in his second year at
+West Point when war was declared, upon which he returned to his State--a
+gay, cheery lad, with all the pluck of his race.
+
+At nightfall of the second day in this camp, an order came from General
+Jackson to join him at Newmarket, twenty odd miles north; and it was
+stated that my division commander, Ewell, had been apprised of the
+order. Our position was near a pike leading south of west to
+Harrisonburg, whence, to gain Newmarket, the great Valley pike ran due
+north. All roads near our camp had been examined and sketched, and among
+them was a road running northwest over the southern foot-hills of
+Massanutten, and joining the Valley pike some distance to the north of
+Harrisonburg. It was called the Keazletown road, from a little German
+village on the flank of Massanutten; and as it was the hypothenuse of
+the triangle, and reported good except at two points, I decided to take
+it. That night a pioneer party was sent forward to light fires and
+repair the road for artillery and trains. Early dawn saw us in motion,
+with lovely weather, a fairish road, and men in high health and spirits.
+
+Later in the day a mounted officer was dispatched to report our approach
+and select a camp, which proved to be beyond Jackson's forces, then
+lying in the fields on both sides of the pike. Over three thousand
+strong, neat in fresh clothing of gray with white gaiters, bands playing
+at the head of their regiments, not a straggler, but every man in his
+place, stepping jauntily as on parade, though it had marched twenty
+miles and more, in open column with arms at "right shoulder shift," and
+rays of the declining sun flaming on polished bayonets, the brigade
+moved down the broad, smooth pike, and wheeled on to its camping ground.
+Jackson's men, by thousands, had gathered on either side of the road to
+see us pass. Indeed, it was a martial sight, and no man with a spark of
+sacred fire in his heart but would have striven hard to prove worthy of
+such a command.
+
+After attending to necessary camp details, I sought Jackson, whom I had
+never met. And here it may be remarked that he then by no means held the
+place in public estimation which he subsequently attained. His Manassas
+reputation was much impaired by operations in the Valley, to which he
+had been sent after that action. The winter march on Romney had resulted
+in little except to freeze and discontent his troops; which discontent
+was shared and expressed by the authorities at Richmond, and Jackson
+resigned. The influence of Colonel Alek Boteler, seconded by that of the
+Governor of Virginia, induced him to withdraw the resignation. At
+Kernstown, three miles south of Winchester, he was roughly handled by
+the Federal General Shields, and only saved from serious disaster by the
+failure of that officer to push his advantage, though Shields was
+usually energetic.
+
+The mounted officer who had been sent on in advance pointed out a figure
+perched on the topmost rail of a fence overlooking the road and field,
+and said it was Jackson. Approaching, I saluted and declared my name and
+rank, then waited for a response. Before this came I had time to see a
+pair of cavalry boots covering feet of gigantic size, a mangy cap with
+visor drawn low, a heavy, dark beard, and weary eyes--eyes I afterward
+saw filled with intense but never brilliant light. A low, gentle voice
+inquired the road and distance marched that day. "Keazletown road, six
+and twenty miles." "You seem to have no stragglers." "Never allow
+straggling." "You must teach my people; they straggle badly." A bow in
+reply. Just then my creoles started their band and a waltz. After a
+contemplative suck at a lemon, "Thoughtless fellows for serious work"
+came forth. I expressed a hope that the work would not be less well done
+because of the gayety. A return to the lemon gave me the opportunity to
+retire. Where Jackson got his lemons "no fellow could find out," but he
+was rarely without one. To have lived twelve miles from that fruit would
+have disturbed him as much as it did the witty Dean.
+
+Quite late that night General Jackson came to my camp fire, where he
+stayed some hours. He said we would move at dawn, asked a few questions
+about the marching of my men, which seemed to have impressed him, and
+then remained silent. If silence be golden, he was a "bonanza." He
+sucked lemons, ate hard-tack, and drank water, and praying and fighting
+appeared to be his idea of the "whole duty of man."
+
+In the gray of the morning, as I was forming my column on the pike,
+Jackson appeared and gave the route--north--which, from the situation of
+its camp, put my brigade in advance of the army. After moving a short
+distance in this direction, the head of the column was turned to the
+east and took the road over Massanutten gap to Luray. Scarce a word was
+spoken on the march, as Jackson rode with me. From time to time a
+courier would gallop up, report, and return toward Luray. An ungraceful
+horseman, mounted on a sorry chestnut with a shambling gait, his huge
+feet with outturned toes thrust into his stirrups, and such parts of his
+countenance as the low visor of his shocking cap failed to conceal
+wearing a wooden look, our new commander was not prepossessing. That
+night we crossed the east branch of the Shenandoah by a bridge, and
+camped on the stream, near Luray. Here, after three long marches, we
+were but a short distance below Conrad's store, a point we had left
+several days before. I began to think that Jackson was an unconscious
+poet, and, as an ardent lover of nature, desired to give strangers an
+opportunity to admire the beauties of his Valley. It seemed hard lines
+to be wandering like sentimental travelers about the country, instead
+of gaining "kudos" on the Peninsula.
+
+Off the next morning, my command still in advance, and Jackson riding
+with me. The road led north between the east bank of the river and the
+western base of the Blue Ridge. Rain had fallen and softened it, so as
+to delay the wagon trains in rear. Past midday we reached a wood
+extending from the mountain to the river, when a mounted officer from
+the rear called Jackson's attention, who rode back with him. A moment
+later, there rushed out of the wood to meet us a young, rather
+well-looking woman, afterward widely known as Belle Boyd. Breathless
+with speed and agitation, some time elapsed before she found her voice.
+Then, with much volubility, she said we were near Front Royal, beyond
+the wood; that the town was filled with Federals, whose camp was on the
+west side of the river, where they had guns in position to cover the
+wagon bridge, but none bearing on the railway bridge below the former;
+that they believed Jackson to be west of Massanutten, near Harrisonburg;
+that General Banks, the Federal commander, was at Winchester, twenty
+miles northwest of Front Royal, where he was slowly concentrating his
+widely scattered forces to meet Jackson's advance, which was expected
+some days later. All this she told with the precision of a staff officer
+making a report, and it was true to the letter. Jackson was possessed of
+these facts before he left Newmarket, and based his movements upon them;
+but, as he never told anything, it was news to me, and gave me an idea
+of the strategic value of Massanutten--pointed out, indeed, by
+Washington before the Revolution. There also dawned on me quite another
+view of our leader than the one from which I had been regarding him for
+two days past.
+
+Convinced of the correctness of the woman's statements, I hurried
+forward at "a double," hoping to surprise the enemy's idlers in the
+town, or swarm over the wagon bridge with them and secure it. Doubtless
+this was rash, but I felt immensely "cocky" about my brigade, and
+believed that it would prove equal to any demand. Before we had cleared
+the wood Jackson came galloping from the rear, followed by a company of
+horse. He ordered me to deploy my leading regiment as skirmishers on
+both sides of the road and continue the advance, then passed on. We
+speedily came in sight of Front Royal, but the enemy had taken the
+alarm, and his men were scurrying over the bridge to their camp, where
+troops could be seen forming. The situation of the village is
+surpassingly beautiful. It lies near the east bank of the Shenandoah,
+which just below unites all its waters, and looks directly on the
+northern peaks of Massanutten. The Blue Ridge, with Manassas Gap,
+through which passes the railway, overhangs it on the east; distant
+Alleghany bounds the horizon to the west; and down the Shenandoah, the
+eye ranges over a fertile, well-farmed country. Two bridges spanned the
+river--a wagon bridge above, a railway bridge some yards lower. A good
+pike led to Winchester, twenty miles, and another followed the river
+north, whence many cross-roads united with the Valley pike near
+Winchester. The river, swollen by rain, was deep and turbulent, with a
+strong current. The Federals were posted on the west bank, here somewhat
+higher than the opposite, and a short distance above the junction of
+waters, with batteries bearing more especially on the upper bridge.
+
+Under instructions, my brigade was drawn up in line, a little retired
+from the river, but overlooking it--the Federals and their guns in full
+view. So far, not a shot had been fired. I rode down to the river's
+brink to get a better look at the enemy through a field-glass, when my
+horse, heated by the march, stepped into the water to drink. Instantly a
+brisk fire was opened on me, bullets striking all around and raising a
+little shower-bath. Like many a foolish fellow, I found it easier to get
+into than out of a difficulty. I had not yet led my command into action,
+and, remembering that one must "strut" one's little part to the best
+advantage, sat my horse with all the composure I could muster. A
+provident camel, on the eve of a desert journey, would not have laid in
+a greater supply of water than did my thoughtless beast. At last he
+raised his head, looked placidly around, turned, and walked up the bank.
+
+This little incident was not without value, for my men welcomed me with
+a cheer; upon which, as if in response, the enemy's guns opened, and,
+having the range, inflicted some loss on my line. We had no guns up to
+reply, and, in advance as has been mentioned, had outmarched the troops
+behind us. Motionless as a statue, Jackson sat his horse some few yards
+away, and seemed lost in thought. Perhaps the circumstances mentioned
+some pages back had obscured his star; but if so, a few short hours
+swept away the cloud, and it blazed, Sirius-like, over the land. I
+approached him with the suggestion that the railway bridge might be
+passed by stepping on the cross-ties, as the enemy's guns bore less
+directly on it than on the upper bridge. He nodded approval. The 8th
+regiment was on the right of my line, near at hand; and dismounting,
+Colonel Kelly led it across under a sharp musketry fire. Several men
+fell to disappear in the dark water beneath; but the movement continued
+with great rapidity, considering the difficulty of walking on ties, and
+Kelly with his leading files gained the opposite shore. Thereupon the
+enemy fired combustibles previously placed near the center of the wagon
+bridge. The loss of this structure would have seriously delayed us, as
+the railway bridge was not floored, and I looked at Jackson, who, near
+by, was watching Kelly's progress. Again he nodded, and my command
+rushed at the bridge. Concealed by the cloud of smoke, the suddenness of
+the movement saved us from much loss; but it was rather a near thing. My
+horse and clothing were scorched, and many men burned their hands
+severely while throwing brands into the river. We were soon over, and
+the enemy in full flight to Winchester, with loss of camp, guns, and
+prisoners. Just as I emerged from flames and smoke, Jackson was by my
+side. How he got there was a mystery, as the bridge was thronged with my
+men going at full speed; but smoke and fire had decidedly freshened up
+his costume.
+
+In the angle formed by the two branches of the river was another camp
+held by a Federal regiment from Maryland. This was captured by a gallant
+little regiment of Marylanders, Colonel Bradley Johnson, on our side. I
+had no connection with this spirited affair, saving that these
+Marylanders had acted with my command during the day, though not
+attached to it. We followed the enemy on the Winchester road, but to
+little purpose, as we had few horsemen over the river. Carried away by
+his ardor, my commissary, Major Davis, gathered a score of mounted
+orderlies and couriers, and pursued until a volley from the enemy's rear
+guard laid him low on the road, shot through the head. During my service
+west of the Mississippi River, I sent for the colonel of a mounted
+regiment from western Texas, a land of herdsmen, and asked him if he
+could furnish men to hunt and drive in cattle. "Why! bless you, sir, I
+have men who can find cattle where there _aint any_," was his reply.
+Whatever were poor Davis's abilities as to non-existent supplies, he
+could find all the country afforded, and had a wonderful way of cajoling
+old women out of potatoes, cabbages, onions, and other garden stuff,
+giving variety to camp rations, and of no small importance in preserving
+the health of troops. We buried him in a field near the place of his
+fall. He was much beloved by the command, and many gathered quietly
+around the grave. As there was no chaplain at hand, I repeated such
+portions of the service for the dead as a long neglect of pious things
+enabled me to recall.
+
+Late in the night Jackson came out of the darkness and seated himself by
+my camp fire. He mentioned that I would move with him in the morning,
+then relapsed into silence. I fancied he looked at me kindly, and
+interpreted it into an approval of the conduct of the brigade. The
+events of the day, anticipations of the morrow, the death of Davis,
+drove away sleep, and I watched Jackson. For hours he sat silent and
+motionless, with eyes fixed on the fire. I took up the idea that he was
+inwardly praying, and he remained throughout the night.
+
+Off in the morning, Jackson leading the way, my brigade, a small body of
+horse, and a section of the Rockbridge (Virginia) artillery forming the
+column. Major Wheat, with his battalion of "Tigers," was directed to
+keep close to the guns. Sturdy marchers, they trotted along with the
+horse and artillery at Jackson's heels, and after several hours were
+some distance in advance of the brigade, with which I remained.
+
+A volley in front, followed by wild cheers, stirred us up to a
+"double," and we speedily came upon a moving spectacle. Jackson had
+struck the Valley pike at Middletown, twelve miles south of Winchester,
+along which a large body of Federal horse, with many wagons, was
+hastening north. He had attacked at once with his handful of men,
+overwhelmed resistance, and captured prisoners and wagons. The gentle
+Tigers were looting right merrily, diving in and out of wagons with the
+activity of rabbits in a warren; but this occupation was abandoned on my
+approach, and in a moment they were in line, looking as solemn and
+virtuous as deacons at a funeral. Prisoners and spoil were promptly
+secured. The horse was from New England, a section in which horsemanship
+was an unknown art, and some of the riders were strapped to their
+steeds. Ordered to dismount, they explained their condition, and were
+given time to unbuckle. Many breastplates and other protective devices
+were seen here, and later at Winchester. We did not know whether the
+Federals had organized cuirassiers, or were recurring to the customs of
+Gustavus Adolphus. I saw a poor fellow lying dead on the pike, pierced
+through breastplate and body by a rifle ball. Iron-clad men are of small
+account before modern weapons.
+
+A part of the Federal column had passed north before Jackson reached the
+pike, and this, with his mounted men, he pursued. Something more than a
+mile to the south a road left the pike and led directly west, where the
+Federal General Fremont, of whom we shall hear more, commanded "the
+Mountain Department." Attacked in front, as described, a body of
+Federals, horse, artillery, and infantry, with some wagons, took this
+road, and, after moving a short distance, drew up on a crest, with
+unlimbered guns. Their number was unknown, and for a moment they looked
+threatening. The brigade was rapidly formed and marched straight upon
+them, when their guns opened. A shell knocked over several men of the
+7th regiment, and a second, as I rode forward to an eminence to get a
+view, struck the ground under my horse and exploded. The saddle cloth on
+both sides was torn away, and I and Adjutant Surget, who was just behind
+me, were nearly smothered with earth; but neither man nor horse received
+a scratch. The enemy soon limbered up and fled west. By some
+well-directed shots, as they crossed a hill, our guns sent wagons flying
+in the air, with which "P.P.C." we left them and marched north.
+
+At dusk we overtook Jackson, pushing the enemy with his little mounted
+force, himself in advance of all. I rode with him, and we kept on
+through the darkness. There was not resistance enough to deploy
+infantry. A flash, a report, and a whistling bullet from some covert met
+us, but there were few casualties. I quite remember thinking at the time
+that Jackson was invulnerable, and that persons near him shared that
+quality. An officer, riding hard, overtook us, who proved to be the
+chief quartermaster of the army. He reported the wagon trains far
+behind, impeded by a bad road in Luray Valley. "The ammunition wagons?"
+sternly. "All right, sir. They were in advance, and I doubled teams on
+them and brought them through." "Ah!" in a tone of relief.
+
+To give countenance to this quartermaster, if such can be given of a
+dark night, I remarked jocosely: "Never mind the wagons. There are
+quantities of stores in Winchester, and the General has invited me to
+breakfast there to-morrow."
+
+Jackson, who had no more capacity for jests than a Scotchman, took this
+seriously, and reached out to touch me on the arm. In fact, he was of
+Scotch-Irish descent, and his unconsciousness of jokes was _de race_.
+Without physical wants himself, he forgot that others were differently
+constituted, and paid little heed to commissariat; but woe to the man
+who failed to bring up ammunition! In advance, his trains were left far
+behind. In retreat, he would fight for a wheelbarrow.
+
+Some time after midnight, by roads more direct from Front Royal, other
+troops came on the pike, and I halted my jaded people by the roadside,
+where they built fires and took a turn at their haversacks.
+
+Moving with the first light of morning, we came to Kernstown, three
+miles from Winchester, and the place of Jackson's fight with Shields.
+Here heavy and sustained firing, artillery and small arms, was heard. A
+staff officer approached at full speed to summon me to Jackson's
+presence and move up my command. A gallop of a mile or more brought me
+to him. Winchester was in sight, a mile to the north. To the east Ewell
+with a large part of the army was fighting briskly and driving the enemy
+on to the town. On the west a high ridge, overlooking the country to the
+south and southeast, was occupied by a heavy mass of Federals with guns
+in position. Jackson was on the pike, and near him were several
+regiments lying down for shelter, as the fire from the ridge was heavy
+and searching. A Virginian battery, Rockbridge artillery, was fighting
+at a great disadvantage, and already much cut up. Poetic authority
+asserts that "Old Virginny never tires," and the conduct of this battery
+justified the assertion of the muses. With scarce a leg or wheel for man
+and horse, gun or caisson, to stand on, it continued to hammer away at
+the crushing fire above.
+
+Jackson, impassive as ever, pointed to the ridge and said, "You must
+carry it." I replied that my command would be up by the time I could
+inspect the ground, and rode to the left for that purpose. A small
+stream, Abraham's creek, flowed from the west through the little vale at
+the southern base of the ridge, the ascent of which was steep, though
+nowhere abrupt. At one point a broad, shallow, trough-like depression
+broke the surface, which was further interrupted by some low copse,
+outcropping stone, and two fences. On the summit the Federal lines were
+posted behind a stone wall, along a road coming west from the pike. Worn
+somewhat into the soil, this road served as a countersink and
+strengthened the position. Further west, there was a break in the ridge,
+which was occupied by a body of horse, the extreme right of the enemy's
+line.
+
+There was scarce time to mark these features before the head of my
+column appeared, when it was filed to the left, close to the base of the
+ridge, for protection from the plunging fire. Meanwhile, the Rockbridge
+battery held on manfully and engaged the enemy's attention. Riding on
+the flank of my column, between it and the hostile line, I saw Jackson
+beside me. This was not the place for the commander of the army, and I
+ventured to tell him so; but he paid no attention to the remark. We
+reached the shallow depression spoken of, where the enemy could depress
+his guns, and his fire became close and fatal. Many men fell, and the
+whistling of shot and shell occasioned much ducking of heads in the
+column. This annoyed me no little, as it was but child's play to the
+work immediately in hand. Always an admirer of delightful "Uncle Toby,"
+I had contracted the most villainous habit of his beloved army in
+Flanders, and, forgetting Jackson's presence, ripped out, "What the
+h--are you dodging for? If there is any more of it, you will be halted
+under this fire for an hour." The sharp tones of a familiar voice
+produced the desired effect, and the men looked as if they had swallowed
+ramrods; but I shall never forget the reproachful surprise expressed in
+Jackson's face. He placed his hand on my shoulder, said in a gentle
+voice, "I am afraid you are a wicked fellow," turned, and rode back to
+the pike.
+
+The proper ground gained, the column faced to the front and began the
+ascent. At the moment the sun rose over the Blue Ridge, without cloud or
+mist to obscure his rays. It was a lovely Sabbath morning, the 25th of
+May, 1862. The clear, pure atmosphere brought the Blue Ridge and
+Alleghany and Massanutten almost overhead. Even the cloud of murderous
+smoke from the guns above made beautiful spirals in the air, and the
+broad fields of luxuriant wheat glistened with dew. It is remarkable
+how, in the midst of the most absorbing cares, one's attention may be
+fixed by some insignificant object, as mine was by the flight past the
+line of a bluebird, one of the brightest-plumaged of our feathered
+tribes, bearing a worm in his beak, breakfast for his callow brood.
+Birdie had been on the war path, and was carrying home spoil.
+
+As we mounted we came in full view of both armies, whose efforts in
+other quarters had been slackened to await the result of our movement. I
+felt an anxiety amounting to pain for the brigade to acquit itself
+handsomely; and this feeling was shared by every man in it. About half
+way up, the enemy's horse from his right charged; and to meet it, I
+directed Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholls, whose regiment, the 8th, was on
+the left, to withhold slightly his two flank companies. By one volley,
+which emptied some saddles, Nicholls drove off the horse, but was soon
+after severely wounded. Progress was not stayed by this incident.
+Closing the many gaps made by the fierce fire, steadied the rather by
+it, and preserving an alignment that would have been creditable on
+parade, the brigade, with cadenced step and eyes on the foe, swept
+grandly over copse and ledge and fence, to crown the heights from which
+the enemy had melted away. Loud cheers went up from our army, prolonged
+to the east, where warm-hearted Ewell cheered himself hoarse, and led
+forward his men with renewed energy. In truth, it was a gallant feat of
+arms, worthy of the pen of him who immortalized the charge of the
+"Buffs" at Albuera.
+
+Breaking into column, we pursued closely. Jackson came up and grasped my
+hand, worth a thousand words from another, and we were soon in the
+streets of Winchester, a quaint old town of some five thousand
+inhabitants. There was a little fighting in the streets, but the people
+were all abroad--certainly all the women and babies. They were frantic
+with delight, only regretting that so many "Yankees" had escaped, and
+seriously impeded our movements. A buxom, comely dame of some five and
+thirty summers, with bright eyes and tight ankles, and conscious of
+these advantages, was especially demonstrative, exclaiming, "Oh! you are
+too late--too late!" Whereupon, a tall Creole from the Teche sprang from
+the ranks of the 8th regiment, just passing, clasped her in his arms,
+and imprinted a sounding kiss on her ripe lips, with "Madame! je
+n'arrive jamais trop tard." A loud laugh followed, and the dame, with a
+rosy face but merry twinkle in her eye, escaped.
+
+Past the town, we could see the Federals flying north on the Harper's
+Ferry and Martinsburg roads. Cavalry, of which there was a considerable
+force with the army, might have reaped a rich harvest, but none came
+forward. Raised in the adjoining region, our troopers were gossiping
+with their friends, or worse. Perhaps they thought that the war was
+over. Jackson joined me, and, in response to my question, "Where is the
+cavalry?" glowered and was silent. After several miles, finding that we
+were doing no good--as indeed infantry, preserving its organization,
+cannot hope to overtake a flying enemy--I turned into the fields and
+camped.
+
+Here I will "say my say" about Confederate cavalry; and though there
+were exceptions to the following remarks, they were too few to qualify
+their general correctness. The difficulty of converting raw men into
+soldiers is enhanced manifold when they are mounted. Both man and horse
+require training, and facilities for rambling, with temptation so to do,
+are increased. There was but little time, and it may be said less
+disposition, to establish camps of instruction. Living on horseback,
+fearless and dashing, the men of the South afforded the best possible
+material for cavalry. They had every quality but discipline, and
+resembled Prince Charming, whose manifold gifts, bestowed by her
+sisters, were rendered useless by the malignant fairy. Scores of them
+wandered about the country like locusts, and were only less destructive
+to their own people than the enemy. The universal devotion of Southern
+women to their cause led them to give indiscriminately to all wearing
+the gray. Cavalry officers naturally desired to have as large commands
+as possible, and were too much indulged in this desire. Brigades and
+regiments were permitted to do work appropriate to squadrons and
+companies, and the cattle were unnecessarily broken down. Assuredly, our
+cavalry rendered much excellent service, especially when dismounted and
+fighting as infantry. Such able officers as Stuart, Hampton, and the
+younger Lees in the east, Forrest, Green, and Wheeler in the west,
+developed much talent for war; but their achievements, however
+distinguished, fell far below the standard that would have been reached
+had not the want of discipline impaired their efforts and those of their
+men.
+
+After the camp was established, I rode back to Winchester to look after
+my wounded and see my sister, the same who had nursed me the previous
+autumn. By a second marriage she was Mrs. Dandridge, and resided in the
+town. Her husband, Mr. Dandridge, was on duty at Richmond. Depot of all
+Federal forces in the Valley, Winchester was filled with stores.
+Prisoners, guns, and wagons, in large numbers, had fallen into our
+hands. Of especial value were ordnance and medical stores.
+
+The following day my command was moved ten miles north on the pike
+leading by Charlestown to Harper's Ferry, and after a day some miles
+east toward the Shenandoah. This was in consequence of the operations of
+the Federal General Shields, who, in command of a considerable force to
+the east of the Blue Ridge, passed Manassas Gap and drove from Front
+Royal a regiment of Georgians, left there by Jackson. Meanwhile, a part
+of the army was pushed forward to Martinsburg and beyond, while another
+part threatened and shelled Harper's Ferry. Jackson himself was engaged
+in forwarding captured stores to Staunton.
+
+On Saturday, May 31, I received orders to move through Winchester, clear
+the town of stragglers, and continue to Strasburg. Few or no stragglers
+were found in Winchester, whence the sick and wounded, except extreme
+cases, had been taken. I stopped for a moment, at a house near the field
+of the 25th, to see Colonel Nicholls. He had suffered amputation of the
+arm that morning, and the surgeons forbade his removal; so that, much to
+my regret and more to his own, he was left. We reached camp at Strasburg
+after dark, a march of thirty odd miles, weather very warm. Winder, with
+his brigade, came in later, after a longer march from the direction of
+Harper's Ferry. Jackson sat some time at my camp fire that night, and
+was more communicative than I remember him before or after. He said
+Fremont, with a large force, was three miles west of our present camp,
+and must be defeated in the morning. Shields was moving up Luray Valley,
+and might cross Massanutten to Newmarket, or continue south until he
+turned the mountain to fall on our trains near Harrisonburg. The
+importance of preserving the immense trains, filled with captured
+stores, was great, and would engage much of his personal attention;
+while he relied on the army, under Ewell's direction, to deal promptly
+with Fremont. This he told in a low, gentle voice, and with many
+interruptions to afford time, as I thought and believe, for inward
+prayer. The men said that his anxiety about the wagons was because of
+the lemons among the stores.
+
+Dawn of the following day (Sunday) was ushered in by the sound of
+Fremont's guns. Our lines had been early drawn out to meet him, and
+skirmishers pushed up to the front to attack. Much cannonading, with
+some rattle of small arms, ensued. The country was densely wooded, and
+little save the smoke from the enemy's guns could be seen. My brigade
+was in reserve a short distance to the rear and out of the line of fire;
+and here a ludicrous incident occurred. Many slaves from Louisiana had
+accompanied their masters to the war, and were a great nuisance on a
+march, foraging far and wide for "prog" for their owners' messes. To
+abate this, they had been put under discipline and made to march in rear
+of the regiments to which they pertained. They were now, some scores,
+assembled under a large tree, laughing, chattering, and cooking
+breakfast. On a sudden, a shell burst in the tree-top, rattling down
+leaves and branches in fine style, and the rapid decampment of the
+servitors was most amusing. But I must pause to give an account of my
+own servant, Tom Strother, who deserves honorable and affectionate
+mention at my hands, and serves to illustrate a phase of Southern life
+now passed away.
+
+As under feudal institutions the arms of heiresses were quartered with
+those of the families into which they married, in the South their slaves
+adopted the surname of the mistress; and one curious in genealogy could
+trace the descent and alliances of an old family by finding out the
+names used by different slaves on the estate. Those of the same name
+were a little clannish, preserving traditions of the family from which
+their fathers had come, and magnifying its importance. In childhood I
+often listened with credulous ears to wondrous tales of the magnificence
+of my forefathers in Virginia and Maryland, who, these imaginative
+Africans insisted, dwelt in palaces, surrounded by brave, handsome sons,
+lovely, virtuous daughters, and countless devoted servants. The
+characters of many Southern children were doubtless influenced by such
+tales, impressive from the good faith of the narrators. My paternal
+grandmother was Miss Sarah Strother of Virginia, and from her estate
+came these Strother negroes. Tom, three years my senior, was my foster
+brother and early playmate. His uncle, Charles Porter Strother (to give
+him his full name), had been body servant to my grandfather, Colonel
+Richard Taylor, whom he attended in his last illness. He then filled the
+same office to my father, following him through his Indian and Mexican
+campaigns, and dying at Washington a year before his master. Tom served
+in Florida and Mexico as "aide-de-camp" to his uncle, after which he
+married and became father of a large family. On this account I hesitated
+to bring him to Virginia, but he would come, and was a model servant.
+Tall, powerful, black as ebony, he was a mirror of truth and honesty.
+Always cheerful, I never heard him laugh or knew of his speaking unless
+spoken to. He could light a fire in a minute under the most unfavorable
+conditions and with the most unpromising material, made the best coffee
+to be tasted outside of a creole kitchen, was a "dab" at camp stews and
+roasts, groomed my horses (one of which he rode near me), washed my
+linen, and was never behind time. Occasionally, when camped near a
+house, he would obtain starch and flat-irons, and get up my extra shirt
+in a way to excite the envy of a professional clear-starcher; but such
+red-letter days were few.
+
+I used to fancy that there was a mute sympathy between General Jackson
+and Tom, as they sat silent by a camp fire, the latter respectfully
+withdrawn; and an incident here at Strasburg cemented this friendship.
+When my command was called into action, I left Tom on a hill where all
+was quiet. Thereafter, from a change in the enemy's dispositions, the
+place became rather hot, and Jackson, passing by, advised Tom to move;
+but he replied, if the General pleased, his master told him to stay
+there and would know where to find him, and he did not believe shells
+would trouble him. Two or three nights later, Jackson was at my fire
+when Tom came to give me some coffee; where upon Jackson rose and
+gravely shook him by the hand, and then told me the above.
+
+After the war was closed, Tom returned with me to New Orleans, found his
+wife and children all right, and is now prosperous. My readers have had
+so much fighting lately, and are about to have so much more, as to
+render unnecessary an apology for introducing Tom's history.
+
+To return. Cannonading continued without much effect, and Ewell summoned
+me to his presence, directing the brigade to remain in position till
+further orders. Jackson, busy with his trains, was not at the moment on
+the field, which he visited several times during the day, though I did
+not happen to see him. To reach Ewell, it was necessary to pass under
+some heavy shelling, and I found myself open to the reproach visited
+previously on my men. Whether from fatigue, loss of sleep, or what,
+there I was, nervous as a lady, ducking like a mandarin. It was
+disgusting, and, hoping that no one saw me, I resolved to take it out of
+myself the first opportunity. There is a story of Turenne, the greatest
+soldier of the Bourbons, which, if not true, is _ben trovato_. Of a
+nervous temperament, his legs on the eve of an action trembled to such
+an extent as to make it difficult to mount his horse. Looking at them
+contemptuously, he said: "If you could foresee the danger into which I
+am going to take you, you would tremble more." It was with a similar
+feeling, not only for my legs, but for my entire carcass, that I reached
+Ewell, and told him I was no more good than a frightened deer. He
+laughed, and replied: "Nonsense! 'tis Tom's strong coffee. Better give
+it up. Remain here in charge while I go out to the skirmishers. I can't
+make out what these people are about, for my skirmish line has stopped
+them. They won't advance, but stay out there in the wood, making a great
+fuss with their guns; and I do not wish to commit myself to much advance
+while Jackson is absent." With this, he put spurs to his horse and was
+off, and soon a brisk fusillade was heard, which seemed gradually to
+recede. During Ewell's absence, surrounded by his staff, I contrived to
+sit my horse quietly. Returning, he said: "I am completely puzzled. I
+have just driven everything back to the main body, which is large. Dense
+wood everywhere. Jackson told me not to commit myself too far. At this
+rate my attentions are not likely to become serious enough to commit any
+one. I wish Jackson was here himself." I suggested that my brigade might
+be moved to the extreme right, near the Capon road, by which Fremont had
+marched, and attempt to strike that road, as this would enable us to
+find out something. He replied: "Do so; that may stir them up, and I am
+sick of this fiddling about." Had Ewell been in command, he would have
+"pitched in" long before; but he was controlled by instructions not to
+be drawn too far from the pike.
+
+We found the right of our line held by a Mississippi regiment, the
+colonel of which told me that he had advanced just before and driven the
+enemy. Several of his men were wounded, and he was bleeding profusely
+from a hit in his leg, which he was engaged in binding with a
+handkerchief, remarking that "it did not pester him much." Learning our
+purpose, he was eager to go in with us, and was not at all pleased to
+hear that I declined to change General Ewell's dispositions. A plucky
+fellow, this colonel, whose name, if ever known, I cannot recall. The
+brigade moved forward until the enemy was reached, when, wheeling to the
+left, it walked down his line. The expression is used advisedly, for it
+was nothing but a "walk-over." Sheep would have made as much resistance
+as we met. Men decamped without firing, or threw down their arms and
+surrendered, and it was so easy that I began to think of traps. At
+length we got under fire from our own skirmishers, and suffered some
+casualties, the only ones received in the movement.
+
+Our whole skirmish line was advancing briskly as the Federals retired. I
+sought Ewell, and reported. We had a fine game before us, and the
+temptation to play it was great; but Jackson's orders were imperative
+and wise. He had his stores to save, Shields to guard against, Lee's
+grand strategy to promote; and all this he accomplished, alarming
+Washington, fastening McDowell's strong corps at Fredericksburg and
+preventing its junction with McClellan, on whose right flank he
+subsequently threw himself at Cold Harbor. He could not waste time
+chasing Fremont, but we, who looked from a lower standpoint, grumbled
+and shared the men's opinion about the _lemon wagons_.
+
+The prisoners taken in our promenade were Germans, speaking no English;
+and we had a similar experience a few days later. In the Federal Army
+was a German corps, the 11th, commanded by General O.O. Howard, and
+called by both sides "the Flying Dutchmen." Since the time of Arminius
+the Germans have been a brave people; to-day, in military renown, they
+lead the van of the nations; but they require a cause and leaders. In
+our Revolutionary struggle the Hessians were unfortunate at Bennington,
+Saratoga, and Trenton. We have millions of German citizens, and
+excellent citizens they are. Let us hope that the foregoing facts may be
+commended to them, so their ways may be ways of peace in their adopted
+land.
+
+Although the movement along the enemy's line was successful, as
+described, it was rash and foolish. Fremont had troops which, had they
+been in the place of these Germans, would have made us pass one of
+Rabelais's unpleasant quarters of an hour. Alarm and disgust at my own
+nervousness occasioned it, proving weak nerves to be the source of rash
+acts.
+
+Fremont made no further sign, and as the day declined the army was
+recalled to the pike and marched south. Jackson, in person, gave me
+instructions to draw up my brigade facing west, on some hills above the
+pike, and distant from it several hundred yards, where I was to remain.
+He said that the road was crowded, and he wanted time to clear it, that
+Fremont was safe for the night, and our cavalry toward Winchester
+reported Banks returned to that place from the Potomac, but not likely
+to move south before the following day; then rode off, and so rapidly as
+to give me no time to inquire how long I was to remain, or if the
+cavalry would advise me in the event that Banks changed his purpose.
+This was near sunset, and by the time the command was in position
+darkness fell upon us. No fires were allowed, and, stacking arms, the
+men rested, munching cold rations from their haversacks. It was their
+first opportunity for a bite since early morning.
+
+I threw myself on the ground, and tried in vain to sleep. No sound could
+be heard save the clattering of hoofs on the pike, which as the night
+wore on became constant. Hour after hour passed, when, thinking I heard
+firing to the north, I mounted and looked for the pike. The darkness was
+so intense that it could not have been found but for the white
+limestone. Some mounted men were passing, whom I halted to question.
+They said their command had gone on to rejoin the army, and, they
+supposed, had missed me in the dark; but there was a squadron behind,
+near the enemy's advance, which, a large cavalry force, had moved from
+Winchester at an early period of the day and driven our people south.
+This was pleasant; for Winder's brigade had marched several hours since,
+and a wide interval existed between us.
+
+More firing, near and distinct, was heard, and the command was ordered
+down to the pike, which it reached after much stumbling and swearing,
+and some confusion. Fortunately, the battery, Captain Bowyer, had been
+sent forward at dusk to get forage, and an orderly was dispatched to put
+it on the march. The 6th (Irish) regiment was in rear, and I took two
+companies for a rear guard. The column had scarce got into motion before
+a party of horse rushed through the guard, knocking down several men,
+one of whom was severely bruised. There was a little pistol-shooting and
+sabre-hacking, and for some minutes things were rather mixed. The
+enemy's cavalry had charged ours, and driven it on the infantry. One
+Federal was captured and his horse given to the bruised man, who
+congratulated the rider on his promotion to a respectable service. I
+dismounted, gave my horse to Tom to lead, and marched with the guard.
+From time to time the enemy would charge, but we could hear him coming
+and be ready. The guard would halt, about face, front rank with fixed
+bayonets kneel, rear rank fire, when, by the light of the flash, we
+could see emptied saddles. Our pursuers' fire was wild, passing over
+head; so we had few casualties, and these slight; but they were bold and
+enterprising, and well led, often charging close up to the bayonets. I
+remarked this, whereupon the Irishmen answered, "Devil thank 'em for
+that same." There was no danger on the flanks. The white of the pike
+alone guided us. Owls could not have found their way across the fields.
+The face of the country has been described as a succession of rolling
+swells, and later the enemy got up guns, but always fired from the
+summits, so that his shells passed far above us, exploding in the
+fields. Had the guns been trained low, with canister, it might have
+proved uncomfortable, for the pike ran straight to the south. "It was a
+fine night intirely for divarsion," said the Irishmen, with which
+sentiment I did not agree; but they were as steady as clocks and chirpy
+as crickets, indulging in many a jest whenever the attentions of our
+friends in the rear were slackened. They had heard of Shields's
+proximity, and knew him to be an Irishman by birth, and that he had
+Irish regiments with him. During an interlude I was asked if it was not
+probable that we would encounter Shields, and answering affirmatively,
+heard: "Them Germans is poor creatures, but Shields's boys will be after
+fighting." Expressing a belief that my "boys" could match Shields's any
+day, I received loud assurance from half a hundred Tipperary throats:
+"You may bet your life on that, sor." Thus we beguiled the weary hours.
+During the night I desired to relieve the guard, but was diverted from
+my purpose by scornful howls of "We are the boys to see it out." As
+Argyle's to the tartan, my heart has warmed to an Irishman since that
+night.
+
+Daylight came, and I tried to brace myself for hotter work, when a body
+of troops was reported in position to the south of my column. This
+proved to be Charles Winder with his (formerly Jackson's own) brigade.
+An accomplished soldier and true brother-in-arms, he had heard the
+enemy's guns during the night, and, knowing me to be in rear, halted and
+formed line to await me. His men were fed and rested, and he insisted on
+taking my place in the rear. Passing through Winder's line, we moved
+slowly, with frequent halts, so as to remain near, the enemy pressing
+hard during the morning. The day was uncommonly hot, the sun like fire,
+and water scarce along the road; and our men suffered greatly.
+
+Just after midday my brisk young aide, Hamilton, whom I had left with
+Winder to bring early intelligence, came to report that officer in
+trouble and want of assistance. My men were so jaded as to make me
+unwilling to retrace ground if it could be avoided; so they were ordered
+to form line on the crest of the slope at hand, and I went to Winder, a
+mile to the rear. His brigade, renowned as the "Stonewall," was deployed
+on both sides of the pike, on which he had four guns. Large masses of
+cavalry, with guns and some sharp-shooters, were pressing him closely,
+while far to the north clouds of dust marked the approach of troops. His
+line was on one of the many swells crossing the pike at right angles,
+and a gentle slope led to the next crest south, beyond which my brigade
+was forming. The problem was to retire without giving the enemy, eager
+and persistent, an opportunity to charge. The situation looked so blue
+that I offered to move back my command; but Winder thought he could pull
+through, and splendidly did he accomplish it. Regiment by regiment, gun
+by gun, the brigade was withdrawn, always checking the enemy, though
+boldly led. Winder, cool as a professor playing the new German game,
+directed every movement in person, and the men were worthy of him and of
+their first commander, Jackson. It was very close work in the vale
+before he reached the next crest, and heavy volleys were necessary to
+stay our plucky foes; but, once there, my command showed so strong as to
+impress the enemy, who halted to reconnoiter, and the two brigades were
+united without further trouble.
+
+The position was good, my battery was at hand, and our men were so
+fatigued that we debated whether it was not more comfortable to fight
+than retreat. We could hold the ground for hours against cavalry, and
+night would probably come before infantry got up, while retreat was
+certain to bring the cavalry on us. At this juncture up came General
+Turner Ashby, followed by a considerable force of horse, with guns. This
+officer had been engaged in destroying bridges in Luray Valley, to
+prevent Shields from crossing that branch of the Shenandoah, and now
+came, much to our satisfaction, to take charge of the rear. He proceeded
+to pay his respects to our friends, and soon took them off our hands. We
+remained an hour to rest the men and give Ashby time to make his
+dispositions, then moved on.
+
+Before sunset heavy clouds gathered, and the intense heat was broken by
+a regular downpour, in the midst of which we crossed the bridge over the
+west branch of the Shenandoah--a large stream--at Mount Jackson, and
+camped. There was not a dry thread about my person, and my boots would
+have furnished a respectable bath. Notwithstanding the flood, Tom soon
+had a fire, and was off to hunt forage for man and beast. Here we were
+less than ten miles from Newmarket, between which and this point the
+army was camped. Jackson was easy about Massanutten Gap. Shields must
+march south of the mountain to reach him, while the river, just crossed,
+was now impassable except by bridge.
+
+We remained thirty-six hours in this camp, from the evening of the 2d
+until the morning of the 4th of June--a welcome rest to all. Two days of
+light marching carried us thence to Harrisonburg, thirty miles. Here
+Jackson quitted the pike leading to Staunton, and took the road to Port
+Republic. This village, twelve miles southeast of Harrisonburg, lies at
+the base of the Blue Ridge, on the east bank of the Shenandoah. Several
+streams unite here to form the east (locally called south) branch of
+that river; and here too was the only bridge from Front Royal south, all
+others having been destroyed by Ashby to prevent Shields from crossing.
+This commander was pushing a part of his force south, from Front Royal
+and Luray, on the east bank.
+
+The army passed the night of June 5 in camp three miles from
+Harrisonburg toward Port Republic. Ewell's division, which I had
+rejoined for the first time since we met Jackson, was in rear; and the
+rear brigade was General George Stewart's, composed of one Maryland and
+two Virginia regiments. My command was immediately in advance of
+Stewart's. Ashby had burnt the bridge at Mount Jackson to delay Fremont,
+and was camped with his horse in advance of Harrisonburg. The road to
+Port Republic was heavy from recent rains, causing much delay to trains,
+so that we did not move on the morning of the 6th. Early in the day
+Fremont, reënforced from Banks, got up; and his cavalry, vigorously led,
+pushed Ashby through Harrisonburg, where a sharp action occurred,
+resulting in the capture of many Federals--among others, Colonel Percy
+Wyndham, commanding brigade, whose meeting with Major Wheat has been
+described. Later, while Ewell was conversing with me, a message from
+Ashby took him to the rear. Federal cavalry, supported by infantry, was
+advancing on Ashby. Stewart's brigade was lying in a wood, under cover
+of which Ewell placed it in position. A severe struggle ensued; the
+enemy was driven, and many prisoners were taken. I had ridden back with
+Ewell, and so witnessed the affair, uncommonly spirited, and creditable
+to both sides. Colonel Kane of Philadelphia was among the prisoners and
+painfully wounded. Having known his father, Judge Kane, as well as his
+brother, the Arctic explorer, I solicited and obtained from Jackson his
+parole.
+
+Colonel Nicholls, left wounded near Winchester, had married a short time
+previous to the war, and his young wife now appeared, seeking to join
+her husband. Jackson referred her request to Ewell, who passed it to me.
+Of this I was informed by Captain Nicholls, 8th regiment, brother to the
+colonel, killed a few days after at Cold Harbor. Much cavalry
+skirmishing was still going on around Harrisonburg, dangerous for a lady
+to pass through; and besides, she had come from Port Republic, seen our
+situation, and might be indiscreet. These considerations were stated to
+Captain Nicholls, but his sister-in-law insisted on seeing me. A small,
+fairy-like creature, plucky as a "Dandie Dinmont" terrier, and with a
+heart as big as Massanutten, she was seated in a nondescript trap, drawn
+by two mules, driven by a negro. One look from the great, tearful eyes
+made of me an abject coward, and I basely shuffled the refusal to let
+her pass on to Jackson. The Parthian glance of contempt that reached me
+through her tears showed that the lady understood and despised my
+paltering. Nicholls was speedily exchanged, became a general officer,
+lost a foot at Chancellorsville, and, after leading his people up out of
+captivity, is now the conservative Governor of Louisiana.
+
+The skirmishing spoken of in the above connection developed into severe
+work, in which General Ashby was killed. Alluding to his death in an
+official report, Jackson says, "As a partisan officer I never knew his
+superior." Like Claverhouse, "with a face that painters loved to limn
+and ladies look upon," he was the most daring and accomplished rider in
+a region of horsemen. His courage was so brilliant as to elicit applause
+from friend and foe, but he was without capacity or disposition to
+enforce discipline on his men. I witnessed his deep chagrin at the
+conduct of our troopers after the enemy had been driven from Winchester
+in May. With proper organization and discipline, his bold riders under
+his lead might have accomplished all that the lamented Nolan claimed as
+possible for light cavalry. Popular imagination, especially the female,
+is much in error as to these matters. Graceful young cavaliers, with
+flowing locks, leaping cannon to saber countless foes, make a
+captivating picture. In the language of Bosquet, "'Tis beautiful, but
+'tis not war"; and grave mishaps have been occasioned by this
+misconception. Valor is as necessary now as ever in war, but
+disciplined, subordinated valor, admitting the courage and energies of
+all to be welded and directed to a common end. It is much to be desired
+that the ladies would consent to correct their opinions; for, after all,
+their approval stimulates our best fighting.
+
+On the 7th of June we marched to a place within four miles of Port
+Republic, called Cross Keys, where several roads met. Near at hand was
+the meeting-house of a sect of German Quakers, Tunkers or Dunkards, as
+they are indifferently named. Here Jackson determined to await and fight
+Fremont, who followed him hard; but as a part of Shields's force was now
+unpleasantly near, he pushed on to Port Republic with Winder's and other
+infantry, and a battery, which camped on the hither bank of the river.
+Jackson himself, with his staff and a mounted escort, crossed the bridge
+and passed the night in the village.
+
+Ewell, in immediate charge at Cross Keys, was ready early in the morning
+of the 8th, when Fremont attacked. The ground was undulating, with much
+wood, and no extended view could be had. In my front the attack, if such
+it could be called, was feeble in the extreme--an affair of skirmishers,
+in which the enemy yielded to the slightest pressure. A staff officer of
+Jackson's, in hot haste, came with orders from his chief to march my
+brigade double-quick to Port Republic. Elzey's brigade, in second line
+to the rear, was asked to take my place and relieve my skirmishers;
+then, advising the staff officer to notify Ewell, whom he had not seen,
+we started on the run, for such a message from Jackson meant business.
+Two of the intervening miles were quickly passed, when another officer
+appeared with orders to halt. In half an hour, during which the sound of
+battle at Cross Keys thickened, Jackson came. As before stated, he had
+passed the night in the village, with his staff and escort. Up as usual
+at dawn, he started alone to recross the bridge, leaving his people to
+follow. The bridge was a few yards below the last house in the village,
+and some mist overhung the river. Under cover of this a small body of
+horse, with one gun, from Shields's forces, had reached the east end of
+the bridge and trained the gun on it. Jackson was within an ace of
+capture. As he spurred across, the gun was fired on him, but without
+effect, and the sound brought up staff and escort, when the horse
+retired north. This incident occasioned the order to me. After relating
+it (all save his own danger), Jackson passed on to Ewell. Thither I
+followed, to remain in reserve until the general forward movement in the
+afternoon, by which Fremont was driven back with loss of prisoners. We
+did not persist far, as Shields's force was near upon us. From Ewell I
+learned that there had been some pretty fighting in the morning, though
+less than might have been expected from Fremont's numbers. I know not if
+the presence of this commander had a benumbing influence on his troops,
+but certainly his advanced cavalry and infantry had proved bold and
+enterprising.
+
+In the evening we moved to the river and camped. Winder's and other
+brigades crossed the bridge, and during the night Ewell, with most of
+the army, drew near, leaving Trimble's brigade and the horse at Cross
+Keys. No one apprehended another advance by Fremont. The following
+morning, Sunday, June 9, my command passed the bridge, moved several
+hundred yards down the road, and halted. Our trains had gone east over
+the Blue Ridge. The sun appeared above the mountain while the men were
+quietly breakfasting. Suddenly, from below, was heard the din of
+battle, loud and sustained, artillery and small arms. The men sprang
+into ranks, formed column, and marched, and I galloped forward a short
+mile to see the following scene:
+
+From the mountain, clothed to its base with undergrowth and timber, a
+level--clear, open, and smooth--extended to the river. This plain was
+some thousand yards in width. Half a mile north, a gorge, through which
+flowed a small stream, cut the mountain at a right angle. The northern
+shoulder of this gorge projected farther into the plain than the
+southern, and on an elevated plateau of the shoulder were placed six
+guns, sweeping every inch of the plain to the south. Federal lines,
+their right touching the river, were advancing steadily, with banners
+flying and arms gleaming in the sun. A gallant show, they came on.
+Winder's and another brigade, with a battery, opposed them. This small
+force was suffering cruelly, and its skirmishers were driven in on their
+thin supporting line. As my Irishmen predicted, "Shields's boys were
+after fighting." Below, Ewell was hurrying his men over the bridge, but
+it looked as if we should be doubled up on him ere he could cross and
+develop much strength. Jackson was on the road, a little in advance of
+his line, where the fire was hottest, with reins on his horse's neck,
+seemingly in prayer. Attracted by my approach, he said, in his usual
+voice, "Delightful excitement." I replied that it was pleasant to learn
+he was enjoying himself, but thought he might have an indigestion of
+such fun if the six-gun battery was not silenced. He summoned a young
+officer from his staff, and pointed up the mountain. The head of my
+approaching column was turned short up the slope, and speedily came to a
+path running parallel with the river. We took this path, the guide
+leading the way. From him I learned that the plateau occupied by the
+battery had been used for a charcoal kiln, and the path we were
+following, made by the burners in hauling wood, came upon the gorge
+opposite the battery. Moving briskly, we reached the hither side a few
+yards from the guns. Infantry was posted near, and riflemen were in the
+undergrowth on the slope above. Our approach, masked by timber, was
+unexpected. The battery was firing rapidly, enabled from elevation to
+fire over the advancing lines. The head of my column began to deploy
+under cover for attack, when the sounds of battle to our rear appeared
+to recede, and a loud Federal cheer was heard, proving Jackson to be
+hard pressed. It was rather an anxious moment, demanding instant action.
+Leaving a staff officer to direct my rear regiment--the 7th, Colonel
+Hays--to form in the wood as a reserve, I ordered the attack, though the
+deployment was not completed, and our rapid march by a narrow path had
+occasioned some disorder. With a rush and shout the gorge was passed and
+we were in the battery. Surprise had aided us, but the enemy's infantry
+rallied in a moment and drove us out. We returned, to be driven a second
+time. The riflemen on the slope worried us no little, and two companies
+of the 9th regiment were sent up the gorge to gain ground above and
+dislodge them, which was accomplished. The fighting in and around the
+battery was hand to hand, and many fell from bayonet wounds. Even the
+artillerymen used their rammers in a way not laid down in the Manual,
+and died at their guns. As Conan said to the devil, "'Twas claw for
+claw." I called for Hays, but he, the promptest of men, and his splendid
+regiment, could not be found. Something unexpected had occurred, but
+there was no time for speculation. With a desperate rally, in which I
+believe the drummer-boys shared, we carried the battery for the third
+time, and held it. Infantry and riflemen had been driven off, and we
+began to feel a little comfortable, when the enemy, arrested in his
+advance by our attack, appeared. He had countermarched, and, with left
+near the river, came into full view of our situation. Wheeling to the
+right, with colors advanced, like a solid wall he marched straight upon
+us. There seemed nothing left but to set our backs to the mountain and
+die hard. At the instant, crashing through the underwood, came Ewell,
+outriding staff and escort. He produced the effect of a reënforcement,
+and was welcomed with cheers. The line before us halted and threw
+forward skirmishers. A moment later, a shell came shrieking along it,
+loud Confederate cheers reached our delighted ears, and Jackson, freed
+from his toils, rushed up like a whirlwind, the enemy in rapid retreat.
+We turned the captured guns on them as they passed, Ewell serving as a
+gunner. Though rapid, the retreat never became a rout. Fortune had
+refused her smiles, but Shields's brave "boys" preserved their
+organization and were formidable to the last; and had Shields himself,
+with his whole command, been on the field, we should have had tough work
+indeed.
+
+Jackson came up, with intense light in his eyes, grasped my hand, and
+said the brigade should have the captured battery. I thought the men
+would go mad with cheering, especially the Irishmen. A huge fellow, with
+one eye closed and half his whiskers burned by powder, was riding
+cock-horse on a gun, and, catching my attention, yelled out, "We told
+you to bet on your boys." Their success against brother Patlanders
+seemed doubly welcome. Strange people, these Irish! Fighting every one's
+battles, and cheerfully taking the hot end of the poker, they are only
+found wanting when engaged in what they believe to be their national
+cause. Excepting the defense of Limerick under brilliant Sarsfield, I
+recall no domestic struggle in which they have shown their worth.
+
+While Jackson pursued the enemy without much effect, as his cavalry,
+left in front of Fremont, could not get over till late, we attended to
+the wounded and performed the last offices to the dead, our own and the
+Federal. I have never seen so many dead and wounded in the same limited
+space. A large farmhouse on the plain, opposite the mouth of the gorge,
+was converted into a hospital. Ere long my lost 7th regiment, sadly cut
+up, rejoined. This regiment was in rear of the column when we left
+Jackson to gain the path in the woods, and before it filed out of the
+road his thin line was so pressed that Jackson ordered Hays to stop the
+enemy's rush. This was done, for the 7th would have stopped a herd of
+elephants, but at a fearful cost. Colonel Hays was severely wounded,
+among many others, and the number of killed was large. Upon my promotion
+to Major-General, Hays succeeded to the command of the brigade, served
+through the war, returned to the practice of the law, and died in New
+Orleans. He was brother to Colonel Jack Hays, formerly of Texas, now of
+California, and shared much of the fighting ability of that renowned
+partisan.
+
+The young officer who guided us through the wood deserves mention, as he
+was one of the first to reach the battery, where he was killed.
+Lieutenant English, near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, proved to be his name
+and place of birth.
+
+Many hours passed in discharge of sad duties to the wounded and dead,
+during which Fremont appeared on the opposite bank of the river and
+opened his guns; but, observing doubtless our occupation, he ceased his
+fire, and after a short time withdrew. It may be added here that Jackson
+had caused such alarm at Washington as to start Milroy, Banks, Fremont,
+and Shields toward that capital, and the great valley was cleared of the
+enemy.
+
+We passed the night high up the mountain, where we moved to reach our
+supply wagons. A cold rain was falling, and before we found them every
+one was tired and famished. I rather took it out of the train-master for
+pushing so far up, although I had lunched comfortably from the haversack
+of a dead Federal. It is not pleasant to think of now, but war _is_ a
+little hardening.
+
+On the 12th of June the army moved down to the river, above Port
+Republic, where the valley was wide, with many trees, and no enemy to
+worry or make us afraid. Here closed Jackson's wonderful Valley campaign
+of 1862.[3]
+
+[Footnote 3: A part of the foregoing text was published in the number of
+the "North American Review" for March, 1878, under the title of
+"Stonewall Jackson and the Valley Campaign." In a kind and friendly
+letter, dated New York, March 21, General Shields corrects some
+misapprehensions into which I had fallen, more especially concerning his
+_personal_ connection with the events described. I had been unable to
+procure a copy of General Shields's report, which, he informs me in the
+same letter, was suppressed by Secretary Stanton.]
+
+The Louisiana brigade marched from its camp near Conrad's store, to
+join Jackson at Newmarket, on the 21st of May. In twenty days it marched
+over two hundred miles, fought in five actions, of which three were
+severe, and several skirmishes, and, though it had suffered heavy loss
+in officers and men, was yet strong, hard as nails, and full of
+confidence. I have felt it a duty to set forth the achievements of the
+brigade, than which no man ever led braver into action, in their proper
+light, because such reputation as I gained in this campaign is to be
+ascribed to its excellence.
+
+For the first time since several weeks, friend Ewell and I had a chance
+to renew our talks; but events soon parted us again. Subsequently he was
+wounded in the knee at the second battle of Manassas, and suffered
+amputation of the leg in consequence. His absence of mind nearly proved
+fatal. Forgetting his condition, he suddenly started to walk, came down
+on the stump, imperfectly healed, and produced violent hæmorrhage.
+
+About the close of the war he married Mrs. Brown, a widow, and daughter
+of Judge Campbell, a distinguished citizen of Tennessee, who had
+represented the United States at the court of St. Petersburg, where this
+lady was born. She was a kinswoman of Ewell, and said to have been his
+early love. He brought her to New Orleans in 1866, where I hastened to
+see him. He took me by the hand and presented me to "my wife, Mrs.
+Brown." How well I remember our chat! How he talked of his plans and
+hopes and happiness, and of his great lot of books, which he was afraid
+he would never be able to read through. The while "my wife, Mrs. Brown,"
+sat by, handsome as a picture, smiling on her General, as well she
+might, so noble a gentleman. A few short years, and both he and his wife
+passed away within an hour of each other; but his last years were made
+happy by her companionship, and comfortable by the wealth she had
+brought him. Dear Dick Ewell! Virginia never bred a truer gentleman, a
+braver soldier, nor an odder, more lovable fellow.
+
+On the second day in this camp General Winder came to me and said that
+he had asked leave to go to Richmond, been refused, and resigned. He
+commanded Jackson's old brigade, and was aggrieved by some unjust
+interference. Holding Winder in high esteem, I hoped to save him to the
+army, and went to Jackson, to whose magnanimity I appealed, and to
+arouse this dwelt on the rich harvest of glory he had reaped in his
+brilliant campaign. Observing him closely, I caught a glimpse of the
+man's inner nature. It was but a glimpse. The curtain closed, and he was
+absorbed in prayer. Yet in that moment I saw an ambition boundless as
+Cromwell's, and as merciless. This latter quality was exhibited in his
+treatment of General Richard Garnett, cousin to Robert Garnett, before
+mentioned, and his codisciple at West Point. I have never met officer or
+soldier, present at Kernstown, who failed to condemn the harsh treatment
+of Garnett after that action. Richard Garnett was subsequently restored
+to command at my instance near Jackson, and fell on the field of
+Gettysburg.
+
+No reply was made to my effort for Winder, and I rose to take my leave,
+when Jackson said he would ride with me. We passed silently along the
+way to my camp, where he left me. That night a few lines came from
+Winder, to inform me that Jackson had called on him, and his resignation
+was withdrawn.
+
+Charles Winder was born in Maryland, graduated at West Point in 1850,
+embarked soon thereafter for California in charge of a detachment of
+recruits, was wrecked on the coast, and saved his men by his coolness
+and energy. He left the United States army to join the Confederacy, and
+was killed at Cedar Run some weeks after this period. Had he lived, he
+would have reached and adorned high position.
+
+And now a great weariness and depression fell upon me. I was threatened
+with a return of the illness experienced the previous autumn. For many
+weeks I had received no intelligence from my family. New Orleans had
+fallen, and my wife and children resided there or on an estate near the
+city. I hoped to learn of them at Richmond; change might benefit health,
+and matters were quiet in the Valley. Accordingly, a short leave was
+asked for and granted; and although I returned within three days to join
+my command on the march to Cold Harbor, we were absorbed in the larger
+army operating against McClellan, and I saw but little of Jackson.
+
+I have written that he was ambitious; and his ambition was vast,
+all-absorbing. Like the unhappy wretch from whose shoulders sprang the
+foul serpent, he loathed it, perhaps feared it; but he could not escape
+it--it was himself--nor rend it--it was his own flesh. He fought it with
+prayer, constant and earnest--Apollyon and Christian in ceaseless
+combat. What limit to set to his ability I know not, for he was ever
+superior to occasion. Under ordinary circumstances it was difficult to
+estimate him because of his peculiarities--peculiarities that would have
+made a lesser man absurd, but that served to enhance his martial fame,
+as those of Samuel Johnson did his literary eminence. He once observed,
+in reply to an allusion to his severe marching, that it was better to
+lose one man in marching than five in fighting; and, acting on this, he
+invariably surprised the enemy--Milroy at McDowell, Banks and Fremont in
+the Valley, McClellan's right at Cold Harbor, Pope at second Manassas.
+
+Fortunate in his death, he fell at the summit of glory, before the sun
+of the Confederacy had set, ere defeat, and suffering, and selfishness
+could turn their fangs upon him. As one man, the South wept for him;
+foreign nations shared the grief; even Federals praised him. With Wolfe
+and Nelson and Havelock, he took his place in the hearts of
+English-speaking peoples.
+
+In the first years of this century, a great battle was fought on the
+plains of the Danube. A determined charge on the Austrian center gained
+the victory for France. The courage and example of a private soldier,
+who there fell, contributed much to the success of the charge. Ever
+after, at the parades of his battalion, the name of Latour d'Auvergne
+was first called, when the oldest sergeant stepped to the front and
+answered, "Died on the field of honor." In Valhalla, beyond the grave,
+where spirits of warriors assemble, when on the roll of heroes the name
+of Jackson is reached, it will be for the majestic shade of Lee to
+pronounce the highest eulogy known to our race--"Died on the field of
+duty."
+
+I reached Richmond, by Charlottesville and Lynchburg, the day after
+leaving camp, and went to the war office, where I found letters from my
+family. My wife and children had left New Orleans on a steamer just as
+Farragut's fleet arrived, and were on the Atchafalaya River with
+friends, all well. While reading my letters, an acquaintance in high
+position in the office greeted me, but went on to say, if I knew what
+was afoot, my stay in Richmond would be short. Taking the hint, and
+feeling improved in health in consequence of relief from anxiety about
+my family, I returned to the station at once, and took rail to
+Charlottesville. Arrived there, I met the Valley army in march to the
+southeast, and joined my command.
+
+That night we camped between Charlottesville and Gordonsville, in Orange
+County, the birthplace of my father. A distant kinsman, whom I had never
+met, came to invite me to his house in the neighborhood. Learning that I
+always slept in camp, he seemed so much distressed as to get my consent
+to breakfast with him, if he would engage to have breakfast at the
+barbarous hour of sunrise. His house was a little distant from the road;
+so, the following morning, he sent a mounted groom to show the way. My
+aide, young Hamilton, accompanied me, and Tom of course followed. It was
+a fine old mansion, surrounded by well-kept grounds. This immediate
+region had not yet been touched by war. Flowering plants and rose trees,
+in full bloom, attested the glorious wealth of June. On the broad
+portico, to welcome us, stood the host, with his fresh, charming wife,
+and, a little retired, a white-headed butler. Greetings over with host
+and lady, this delightful creature, with ebon face beaming hospitality,
+advanced, holding a salver, on which rested a huge silver goblet filled
+with Virginia's nectar, mint julep. Quantities of cracked ice rattled
+refreshingly in the goblet; sprigs of fragrant mint peered above its
+broad rim; a mass of white sugar, too sweetly indolent to melt, rested
+on the mint; and, like rose buds on a snow bank, luscious strawberries
+crowned the sugar. Ah! that julep! Mars ne'er received such tipple from
+the hands of Ganymede. Breakfast was announced, and what a breakfast! A
+beautiful service, snowy table cloth, damask napkins, long unknown;
+above all, a lovely woman in crisp gown, with more and handsomer roses
+on her cheek than in her garden. 'Twas an idyl in the midst of the stern
+realities of war! The table groaned beneath its viands. Sable servitors
+brought in, hot and hot from the kitchen, cakes of wondrous forms,
+inventions of the tropical imagination of Africa, inflamed by Virginian
+hospitality. I was rather a moderate trencherman, but the performance of
+Hamilton was Gargantuan, alarming. Duty dragged us from this Eden; yet
+in hurried adieus I did not forget to claim of the fair hostess the
+privilege of a cousin. I watched Hamilton narrowly for a time. The youth
+wore a sodden, apoplectic look, quite out of his usual brisk form. A
+gallop of some miles put him right, but for many days he dilated on the
+breakfast with the gusto of one of Hannibal's veterans on the delights
+of Capua.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND."
+
+
+Leaving Gordonsville, we proceeded in a southeasterly direction, passing
+Louisa Court House and Frederickshall, and camped at Ashland on the
+Fredericksburg Railway, twelve miles north of Richmond, on the evening
+of the 25th of June. To deceive the enemy, General Lee had sent to the
+Valley a considerable force under Generals Whiting, Hood, and Lawton.
+The movement was openly made and speedily known at Washington, where it
+produced the desired impression, that Jackson would invade Maryland from
+the Valley. These troops reached Staunton by rail on the 17th, and,
+without leaving the train, turned back to Gordonsville, where they
+united with Jackson. The line from Gordonsville to Frederickshall, south
+of which point it had been interrupted, was used to facilitate our
+movement, but this was slow and uncertain. The advance frequently halted
+or changed direction. We were pushing between McDowell and McClellan's
+right, over ground recently occupied by the enemy. Bridges had been
+destroyed, and, to conceal the movement, no guides were trusted--an
+over-caution occasioning delay.
+
+During the day and night of the 25th I suffered from severe pains in the
+head and loins, and on the morning of the 26th found it impossible to
+mount my horse; so the brigade marched under the senior colonel,
+Seymour, 6th regiment. A small ambulance was left with me, and my staff
+was directed to accompany Seymour and send back word if an engagement
+was imminent. Several messages came during the day, the last after
+nightfall, reporting the command to be camped near Pole Green Church,
+beyond the Chickahominy; so far, no fighting. Lying on the floor of a
+vacant house at Ashland, I had scarce consciousness to comprehend these
+messages. Pains in head and back continued, with loss of power to move
+my limbs.
+
+Toward daylight of the 27th sleep came from exhaustion, and lasted some
+hours. From this I was aroused by sounds of artillery, loud and
+constant, brought by the easterly wind. Tom raised me into a sitting
+posture, and administered a cup of strong coffee. The sound of battle
+continued until it became unendurable, and I was put into the ambulance
+by Tom and the driver, the former following with the horses. We took the
+route by which the troops had marched, the din of conflict increasing
+with every mile, the rattle of small arms mingling with the thud of
+guns. After weary hours of rough road, every jolt on which threatened to
+destroy my remaining vitality, we approached Cold Harbor and met numbers
+of wounded. Among these was General Elzey, with a dreadful wound in the
+head and face. His aide was taking him to the rear in an ambulance, and,
+recognizing Tom, stopped a moment to tell of the fight. Ewell's
+division, to which Elzey and I belonged, had just been engaged with
+heavy loss. This was too much for any illness, and I managed somehow to
+struggle on to my horse and get into the action.
+
+It was a wild scene. Battle was raging furiously. Shot, shell, and ball
+exploded and whistled. Hundreds of wounded were being carried off, while
+the ground was strewn with dead. Dense thickets of small pines covered
+much of the field, further obscured by clouds of smoke. The first troops
+encountered were D.H. Hill's, and, making way through these, I came upon
+Winder's, moving across the front from right to left. Then succeeded
+Elzey's of Ewell's division, and, across the road leading to Gaines's
+Mill, my own. Mangled and bleeding, as were all of Ewell's, it was
+holding the ground it had won close to the enemy's line, but unable to
+advance. The sun was setting as I joined, and at the moment cheers came
+up from our left, raised by Winder's command, which had turned and was
+sweeping the Federal right, while Lawton's Georgians, fresh and eager,
+attacked in our front. The enemy gave way, and, under cover of the
+night, retired over the Chickahominy. Firing continued for two hours,
+though darkness concealed everything.
+
+The loss in my command was distressing. Wheat, of whom I have written,
+was gone, and Seymour, and many others. I had a wretched feeling of
+guilt, especially about Seymour, who led the brigade and died in my
+place. Colonel Seymour was born in Georgia, but had long resided in New
+Orleans, where he edited the leading commercial paper--a man of culture,
+respected of all. In early life he had served in Indian and Mexican
+wars, and his high spirit brought him to this, though past middle age.
+Brave old Seymour! I can see him now, mounting the hill at Winchester,
+on foot, with sword and cap in hand, his thin gray locks streaming,
+turning to his sturdy Irishmen with "Steady, men! dress to the right!"
+Georgia has been fertile of worthies, but will produce none more
+deserving than Colonel Seymour.
+
+The following morning, while looking to the burial of the dead and care
+of the wounded, I had an opportunity of examining the field of battle.
+The campaign around Richmond is too well known to justify me in entering
+into details, and I shall confine myself to events within my own
+experience, only enlarging on such general features as are necessary to
+explain criticism.
+
+The Chickahominy, a sluggish stream and subject to floods, flows through
+a low, marshy bottom, draining the country between the Pamunky or York
+and James Rivers, into which last it discharges many miles below
+Richmond. The upper portion of its course from the crossing of the
+Central Railroad, six miles north of Richmond, to Long Bridge, some
+three times that distance to the southeast, is parallel with both the
+above-mentioned rivers. The bridges with which we were concerned at and
+after Cold Harbor were the Federal military bridges, Grapevine, York
+River Railroad, Bottom's, and Long, the lowermost; after which the
+stream, affected by tide, spread over a marshy country. The upper or
+Grapevine Bridge was on the road leading due south from Cold Harbor,
+and, passing Savage's Station on York River Railroad, united with the
+Williamsburg road, which ran east from Richmond to Bottom's Bridge. A
+branch from this Williamsburg road continued on the south bank of the
+Chickahominy to Long Bridge, where it joined the Charles City,
+Darbytown, and Newmarket roads coming south-southeast from Richmond.
+Many other roads, with no names or confusing ones, crossed this region,
+which was densely wooded and intersected by sluggish streams, draining
+the marshes into both the Chickahominy and James. We came upon two of
+these country roads leading in quite different directions, but bearing
+the same name, Grapevine; and it will astound advocates of phonics to
+learn that the name of _Darby_ (whence Darbytown) was thus pronounced,
+while it was spelt and written _Enroughty_. A German philologist might
+have discovered, unaided, the connection between the sound and the
+letters; but it would hardly have occurred to mortals of less erudition.
+
+At the beginning of operations in this Richmond campaign, Lee had
+seventy-five thousand men, McClellan one hundred thousand. Round numbers
+are here given, but they are taken from official sources. A high opinion
+has been expressed of the strategy of Lee, by which Jackson's forces
+from the Valley were suddenly thrust between McDowell and McClellan's
+right, and it deserves all praise; but the tactics on the field were
+vastly inferior to the strategy. Indeed, it may be confidently asserted
+that from Cold Harbor to Malvern Hill, inclusive, there was nothing but
+a series of blunders, one after another, and all huge. The Confederate
+commanders knew no more about the topography of the country than they
+did about Central Africa. Here was a limited district, the whole of it
+within a day's march of the city of Richmond, capital of Virginia and
+the Confederacy, almost the first spot on the continent occupied by the
+British race, the Chickahominy itself classic by legends of Captain John
+Smith and Pocahontas; and yet we were profoundly ignorant of the
+country, were without maps, sketches, or proper guides, and nearly as
+helpless as if we had been suddenly transferred to the banks of the
+Lualaba. The day before the battle of Malvern Hill, President Davis
+could not find a guide with intelligence enough to show him the way
+from one of our columns to another; and this fact I have from him.
+People find a small cable in the middle of the ocean, a thousand fathoms
+below the surface. For two days we lost McClellan's great army in a few
+miles of woodland, and never had any definite knowledge of its
+movements. Let it be remembered, too, that McClellan had opened the
+peninsular campaign weeks before, indicating this very region to be the
+necessary theatre of conflict; that the Confederate commander (up to the
+time of his wound at Fair Oaks), General Johnston, had been a
+topographical engineer in the United States army; while his successor,
+General Lee--another engineer--had been on duty at the war office in
+Richmond and in constant intercourse with President Davis, who was
+educated at West Point and served seven years; and then think of our
+ignorance in a military sense of the ground over which we were called to
+fight. Every one must agree that it was amazing. Even now, I can
+scarcely realize it. McClellan was as superior to us in knowledge of our
+own land as were the Germans to the French in their late war, and owed
+the success of his retreat to it, although credit must be given to his
+ability. We had much praying at various headquarters, and large reliance
+on special providences; but none were vouchsafed, by pillar of cloud or
+fire, to supplement our ignorance; so we blundered on like people trying
+to read without knowledge of their letters.
+
+To return to the field of Cold Harbor, the morning (Saturday) after the
+battle. McClellan had chosen an excellent position, covering his
+military bridges over the Chickahominy. His left, resting on the river,
+and his center were covered by a small stream, one of its affluents,
+boggy and of difficult passage. His right was on high ground, near Cold
+Harbor, in a dense thicket of pine-scrub, with artillery massed. This
+position, three miles in extent, and enfiladed in front by heavy guns on
+the south bank of the Chickahominy, was held by three lines of infantry,
+one above the other on the rising ground, which was crowned with
+numerous batteries, concealed by timber. McClellan reported thirty-six
+thousand men present, including Sykes's and Porter's regulars; but
+reënforcements brought over during the action probably increased this
+number to fifty thousand. Lee had forty thousand on the field.
+
+Longstreet attacked on our right, near the river, A.P. Hill on his left.
+Jackson approached Cold Harbor from the north, his divisions in column
+on one road as follows: Ewell's, Whiting's, Lawton's (Georgians), and
+Winder's. At Cold Harbor Jackson united with the division of D.H. Hill,
+in advance of him, and directed it to _find_ and attack the enemy's
+right. His own divisions, in the order above named, were to come up on
+D.H. Hill's right and connect it with A.P. Hill's left. Artillery was
+only employed by the Confederates late in the day, and on their extreme
+left.
+
+D.H. Hill and Ewell were speedily engaged, and suffered heavily, as did
+A.P. Hill and Longstreet, all attacking in front. Ignorance of the
+ground, densely wooded, and want of guides occasioned confusion and
+delay in the divisions to Ewell's rear. Lawton came to Ewell's support,
+Whiting to A.P. Hill's; while of the three brigades of the last
+division, the second went to Longstreet's right, the third to A.P.
+Hill's center, and the first was taken by Winder, with a fine soldierly
+instinct, from right to left, across the battle, to reënforce D.H. Hill
+and turn the Federal position. This movement was decisive, and if
+executed earlier would have saved loss of men and time. So much for
+fighting on unknown ground.
+
+During the day of Saturday, McClellan remained on the south bank of the
+Chickahominy with guns in position guarding his bridges; and the only
+movement made by Lee was to send Stuart's cavalry east to the river
+terminus of the York Railway, and Ewell's division to the bridge of that
+line over the Chickahominy and to Bottom's, a short distance below. Late
+in the evening General Lee informed me that I would remain the following
+day to guard Bottom's and the railway bridges, while Stuart's cavalry
+watched the river below to Long Bridge and beyond. From all indications,
+he thought that McClellan would withdraw during the night, and expected
+to cross the river in the morning to unite with Magruder and Huger in
+pursuit. Holmes's division was to be brought from the south side of the
+James to bar the enemy's road; and he expressed some confidence that his
+dispositions would inflict serious loss on McClellan's army, if he could
+receive prompt and accurate information of that General's movements.
+Meantime, I would remain until the following (Sunday) evening, unless
+sooner convinced of the enemy's designs, when I would cross Grapevine
+Bridge and follow Jackson. It is to be presumed that General Lee
+disclosed so much of his plans to his subordinates as he deemed
+necessary to insure their intelligent execution.
+
+The morning light showed that the Federals had destroyed a part of the
+railway bridge near the center of the stream. We were opposite to
+Savage's Station (on the line toward Richmond), from which distinct
+sounds reached us, but dense forest limited vision to the margin of the
+river. Smoke rising above the trees, and explosions, indicated the
+destruction of stores. In the afternoon, a great noise of battle
+came--artillery, small arms, shouts. This, as we afterward learned, was
+Magruder's engagement at Savage's Station, but this din of combat was
+silenced to our ears by the following incident: A train was heard
+approaching from Savage's. Gathering speed, it came rushing on, and
+quickly emerged from the forest, two engines drawing a long string of
+carriages. Reaching the bridge, the engines exploded with terrific
+noise, followed in succession by explosions of the carriages, laden with
+ammunition. Shells burst in all directions, the river was lashed into
+foam, trees were torn for acres around, and several of my men were
+wounded. The enemy had taken this means of destroying surplus
+ammunition.
+
+After this queer action had ceased, as sunset was approaching, and all
+quiet at Bottom's Bridge, we moved up stream and crossed Grapevine
+Bridge, repaired by Jackson earlier in the day. Darkness fell as we
+bivouacked on the low ground south of the river. A heavy rain came down,
+converting the ground into a lake, in the midst of which a half-drowned
+courier, with a dispatch, was brought to me. With difficulty, underneath
+an ambulance, a light was struck to read the dispatch, which proved to
+be from Magruder, asking for reënforcements in front of Savage's
+Station, where he was then engaged. Several hours had elapsed since the
+courier left Magruder, and he could tell nothing beyond the fact of the
+engagement, the noise of which we had heard. It must be borne in mind
+that, during the operations north of the Chickahominy, the divisions of
+Magruder and Huger had remained in position between McClellan's left and
+Richmond.
+
+In the night the enemy disappeared from Savage's, near which we passed
+the following (Monday) morning, in march to rejoin Jackson. We
+encountered troops of Magruder's, Huger's, and other divisions, seeking
+to find their proper routes. Countless questions about roads were asked
+in vain. At length, we discovered that Jackson had followed the one
+nearest the Chickahominy, and about noon overtook the rear of his
+column, halted in the road. Artillery could be heard in front, and a
+staff officer was sent to find out the meaning of it.
+
+Enfeebled by pain, I used an ambulance to husband my little strength for
+emergencies; and I think it was here that General Wade Hampton,
+accompanied by Senator Wigfall, came up to me. Hampton had been promoted
+to brigadier for gallantry at Manassas, where he was wounded, but not
+yet assigned to a command. Wigfall had left the army to take a seat in
+the Confederate Congress as Senator from Texas, and from him I learned
+that he was in hopes some brigadier would be killed to make a place for
+Hampton, to whom, as volunteer aide, he proposed to attach himself and
+see the fun. Finding me extended in an ambulance, he doubtless thought
+he had met his opportunity, and felt aggrieved that I was not _in
+extremis_. Hampton took command of a brigade in Jackson's old division
+the next day, and perhaps his friend Wigfall enjoyed himself at Malvern
+Hill.
+
+The staff officer returned from the front and reported the situation.
+D.H. Hill's division was at White Oak Swamp Creek, a slough, and one of
+"despond" to us, draining to the Chickahominy. The enemy held the high
+ground beyond, and artillery fire was continuous, but no infantry was
+engaged. There was no change until nightfall, when we bivouacked where
+we were. Our loss, _one_ artilleryman mortally wounded, proved that no
+serious effort to pass the slough was made; yet a prize was in reach
+worth the loss of thousands. While we were idly shelling the wood,
+behind which lay Franklin's corps--the right of McClellan's army--scarce
+a rifle shot to the southwest, but concealed by intervening forest,
+Longstreet and A.P. Hill were fighting the bloody engagement of
+Frazier's Farm with Heintzelman and McCall, the Federal center and left.
+Again, fractions against masses; for of the two divisions expected to
+support them, Magruder's and Huger's, the latter did not get up, and the
+former was taken off by a misleading message from Holmes, who, from the
+south bank of the James, had reached the Newmarket road a day later than
+was intended. Longstreet and Hill fought into the night, held a large
+part of the field, and captured many prisoners (including General
+McCall) and guns, but their own loss was severe. After the action,
+Franklin quietly passed within a few yards of them, joined Heintzelman,
+and with him gained Malvern Hill, which McClellan had fortified during
+the day, employing for the purpose the commands of Keyes and Porter.
+
+On the succeeding morning (July 1), Jackson followed the enemy's track
+from White Oak Swamp Creek toward Malvern Hill, passing the field of
+Frazier's Farm, and Magruder's division, which had arrived in the night
+and relieved the exhausted commands of Longstreet and Hill.
+
+Malvern Hill was a desperate position to attack in front, though, like
+Cold Harbor, it could be turned on the right. Here McClellan was posted
+with his whole force. His right was covered by Turkey Creek, an affluent
+of the James; his left was near that river and protected by gunboats,
+which, though hidden by timber, threw shells across his entire front.
+Distance and uncertainty of aim saved us from much loss by these
+projectiles, but their shriek and elongated form astonished our landward
+men, who called them lamp posts. By its height, Malvern Hill dominated
+the ground to the north, the James River, and the Newmarket road on
+which we approached, and was crowned with a numerous and heavy
+artillery. On our side, from inferior elevation, artillery labored under
+a great disadvantage, and was brought into action in detail to be
+overpowered.
+
+The left attack was assigned to Jackson, the right to Magruder,
+supported by Huger and Holmes--Longstreet and A.P. Hill in reserve.
+Jackson's dispositions were as follows: On the extreme left, the
+division of Whiting, then artillery supported by a brigade under Wade
+Hampton, my brigade, and on my right the division of D.H. Hill. In
+reserve were the remainder of Ewell's division and the brigades of
+Winder, Lawton, and Cunningham. It was perhaps 3 o'clock of the
+afternoon before these dispositions were completed.
+
+As it was General Lee's intention to open from his right, Magruder was
+waited for, who, following Jackson on the road, was necessarily later in
+getting into position. Orders were for Hill to attack with the bayonet
+as soon as he heard the cheers of Magruder's charge. To be ready, Hill
+advanced over open ground to some timber within four hundred yards of
+the enemy's line, but suffered in doing so. Artillery sent to his
+support was crippled and driven off. It was 5 o'clock or after when a
+loud shout and some firing were heard on the right, and, supposing this
+to be Magruder's attack, Hill led his men to the charge. He carried the
+first line of the enemy, who, unoccupied elsewhere, reënforced at once,
+and Hill was beaten off with severe loss. The brigades of Trimble,
+Lawton, Winder, and Cunningham were sent to his assistance, but could
+accomplish nothing beyond holding the ground. About sunset, after Hill's
+attack had failed, Magruder got into position and led on his men with
+similar fortune. Like Hill, he and his troops displayed superb courage
+and suffered enormously; but it was not to be; such partial attacks were
+without the first element of success. My brigade was not moved from its
+position, but experienced some loss by artillery.
+
+After the action, Stuart arrived from the north side of the
+Chickahominy, where he had been since Cold Harbor. Had he been brought
+over the Long Bridge two days earlier, McClellan's huge trains on the
+Charles City road would have fallen an easy prey to his cavalry, and he
+could have blocked the roads through the forest.
+
+McClellan's guns continued firing long after nightfall, but the ensuing
+morning found him and his army at Harrison's Landing, in an impregnable
+position. Here ended the campaign around Richmond.
+
+The strategy displayed on the Confederate side was magnificent, and gave
+opportunity for resplendent success; but this opportunity was lost by
+tactical mistakes, occasioned by want of knowledge of the theatre of
+action, and it is to be feared that Time, when he renders his verdict,
+will declare the gallant dead who fell at Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor,
+Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill, to have been sacrificed on the altar
+of the bloodiest of all Molochs--Ignorance.
+
+The crisis of my illness now came in a paralysis of the lower limbs, and
+I was taken to Richmond, where I learned of my promotion to
+major-general, on the recommendation of Jackson, for services in the
+Valley, and assignment to a distant field.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Having expressed an opinion of McClellan as an organizer of armies, I
+will now treat of his conduct as a commander in this and his subsequent
+campaign. His first operations on the peninsula were marked by a
+slowness and hesitancy to be expected of an engineer, with small
+experience in handling troops. His opponent, General Magruder, was a man
+of singular versatility. Of a boiling, headlong courage, he was too
+excitable for high command. Widely known for social attractions, he had
+a histrionic vein, and indeed was fond of private theatricals. Few
+managers could have surpassed him in imposing on an audience a score of
+supernumeraries for a grand army. Accordingly, with scarce a tenth the
+force, he made McClellan reconnoiter and deploy with all the caution of
+old Melas, till Johnston came up. It is true that McClellan steadily
+improved, and gained confidence in himself and his army; yet he seemed
+to regard the latter as a parent does a child, and, like the first
+Frederick William's gigantic grenadiers, too precious for gunpowder.
+
+His position in front of Richmond, necessitated by the establishment of
+his base on York River, was vicious, because his army was separated by
+the Chickahominy, a stream subject to heavy floods, which swept away
+bridges and made the adjacent lowlands impassable. Attacked at Fair Oaks
+while the river was in flood, he displayed energy, but owed the escape
+of his two exposed corps to Johnston's wound and the subsequent blunders
+of the Confederates. To operate against Richmond on the north bank of
+the James, his proper plan was to clear that river and rest his left
+upon it, or to make the Potomac and Rappahannock his base, as the line
+of rail from Aquia and Fredericksburg was but little longer than the
+York River line. This, keeping him more directly between the Confederate
+army and Washington, would have given him McDowell's corps, the
+withdrawal of which from his direction he earnestly objected to. The
+true line of attack was on the south of the James, where Grant was
+subsequently forced by the ability of Lee; but it should be observed
+that after he took the field, McClellan had not the liberty of action
+accorded to Grant. That Lee caught his right "in the air" at Hanover and
+Cold Harbor, McClellan ascribes to his Government's interference with
+and withdrawal of McDowell's corps. Reserving this, he fought well at
+Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor, and Frazier's Farm. Always protecting his
+selected line of retreat, bringing off his movable stores, and
+preserving the organization of his army, he restored its spirit and
+_morale_ by turning at Malvern Hill to inflict a bloody repulse on his
+enemy. In his official report he speaks of his movement from the
+Chickahominy to Harrison's Landing on the James as a change of base,
+previously determined. This his detractors sneer at as an afterthought,
+thereby unwittingly enhancing his merit. Regarded as a change of base,
+carefully considered and provided for, it was most creditable; but if
+suddenly and unexpectedly forced upon him, he exhibited a courage,
+vigor, and presence of mind worthy of the greatest commanders.
+
+Safe at Harrison's Landing, in communication with the fleet, the army
+was transferred from McClellan to the command of General Pope; and the
+influence of McClellan on his troops can not be correctly estimated
+without some allusion to this officer, under whose command the Federal
+Army of the Potomac suffered such mortifying defeat. Of an effrontery
+while danger was remote equaled by helplessness when it was present, and
+mendacity after it had passed, the annals of despotism scarce afford an
+example of the elevation of such a favorite. It has been said that his
+talent for the relation of obscene stories engaged the attention and
+confidence of President Lincoln. However this may be, great was the
+consternation at Washington produced by his incapacity. The bitterness
+of official rancor was sweetened, and in honeyed phrase McClellan was
+implored to save the capital. He displayed an unselfish patriotism by
+accepting the task without conditions for himself, but it may be doubted
+if he was right in leaving devoted friends under the scalping-knife,
+speedily applied, as might have been foreseen.
+
+With vigor he restored order and spirit to the army, and led it, through
+the passes of South Mountain, to face Lee, who was stretched from
+Chambersburg to Harper's Ferry. Having unaccountably permitted his
+cavalry to separate from him, and deprived himself of adequate means of
+information, Lee was to some extent taken unawares. His thin lines at
+Antietam, slowly fed with men jaded by heavy marching, were sorely
+pressed. There was a moment, as Hooker's advance was stayed by the wound
+of its leader, when McClellan, with _storgé_ of battle, might have led
+on his reserves and swept the field. Hard would it have been for the
+Confederates, with the river in rear; but this seemed beyond McClellan
+or outside of his nature. Antietam was a drawn battle, and Lee recrossed
+into Virginia at his leisure.
+
+While it may be confidently believed that McClellan would have continued
+to improve by experience in the field, it is doubtful if he possessed
+that divine spark which impels a commander, at the accepted moment, to
+throw every man on the enemy and grasp complete victory. But his
+Government gave him no further opportunity. He disappeared from the war,
+to be succeeded by mediocrity, too well recognized to disturb the
+susceptibility of a War Secretary who, like Louvois, was able, but
+jealous of merit and lustful of power.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Although in the last months of the war, after he had assumed command of
+the armies of the Confederacy, I had some correspondence with General
+Lee, I never met him again, and indeed was widely separated from him,
+and it now behooves me to set forth an opinion of his place in Southern
+history. Of all the men I have seen, he was best entitled to the epithet
+of distinguished; and so marked was his appearance in this particular,
+that he would not have passed unnoticed through the streets of any
+capital. Reserved almost to coldness, his calm dignity repelled
+familiarity: not that he seemed without sympathies, but that he had so
+conquered his own weaknesses as to prevent the confession of others
+before him. At the outbreak of the war his reputation was exclusively
+that of an engineer, in which branch of the military service of the
+United States he had, with a short exception, passed his career. He was
+early sent to Western Virginia on a forlorn hope against Rosecrans,
+where he had no success; for success was impossible. Yet his lofty
+character was respected of all and compelled public confidence. Indeed,
+his character seemed perfect, his bath in Stygian waters complete; not a
+vulnerable spot remained: _totus teres atque rotundus_. His soldiers
+reverenced him and had unbounded confidence in him, for he shared all
+their privations, and they saw him ever unshaken of fortune. Tender and
+protecting love he did not inspire: such love is given to weakness, not
+to strength. Not only was he destitute of a vulgar greed for fame, he
+would not extend a hand to welcome it when it came unbidden. He was
+without ambition, and, like Washington, into whose family connection he
+had married, kept duty as his guide.
+
+The strategy by which he openly, to attract attention, reënforced
+Jackson in the Valley, to thrust him between McDowell and McClellan at
+Cold Harbor, deserves to rank with Marlborough's cross march in Germany
+and Napoleon's rapid concentration around Ulm; though his tactical
+manoeuvres on the field were inferior to the strategy. His wonderful
+defensive campaign in 1864 stands with that of Napoleon in 1813; and the
+comparison only fails by an absence of sharp returns to the offensive.
+The historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states (and, as far as
+I have seen, uncontradicted) that Grant's army, at second Cold Harbor,
+refused to obey the order to attack, so distressed was it by constant
+butchery. In such a condition of _morale_ an advance upon it might have
+changed history. In truth, the genius of Lee for offensive war had
+suffered by a too long service as an engineer. Like Erskine in the House
+of Commons, it was not his forte. In both the Antietam and Gettysburg
+campaigns he allowed his cavalry to separate from him, and was left
+without intelligence of the enemy's movements until he was upon him. In
+both, too, his army was widely scattered, and had to be brought into
+action by piecemeal. There was an abundance of supplies in the country
+immediately around Harper's Ferry, and had he remained concentrated
+there, the surrender of Miles would have been advanced, and McClellan
+met under favorable conditions. His own report of Gettysburg confesses
+his mistakes; for he was of too lofty a nature to seek scapegoats, and
+all the rambling accounts of that action I have seen published add but
+little to his report. These criticisms are written with unaffected
+diffidence; but it is only by studying the campaigns of great commanders
+that the art of war can be illustrated.
+
+Nevertheless, from the moment Lee succeeded to the command of the army
+in Virginia, he was _facile princeps_ in the war, towering above all on
+both sides, as the pyramid of Ghizeh above the desert. Steadfast to the
+end, he upheld the waning fortunes of the Confederacy as did Hector
+those of Troy. Last scene of all, at his surrender, his greatness and
+dignity made of his adversary but a humble accessory; and if departed
+intelligences be permitted to take ken of the affairs of this world, the
+soul of Light Horse Harry rejoices that his own eulogy of Washington,
+"First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen,"
+is now, by the united voice of the South, applied to his noble son.
+
+Foregoing criticisms have indicated the tendency of engineer service to
+unfit men for command. It was once said of a certain colonel that he was
+an admirable officer when absent from soldiers. No amount of theoretical
+training can supply the knowledge gained by direct and immediate
+association with troops. The ablest and most promising graduates from
+West Point are annually assigned to the engineer and ordnance corps.
+After some years they become scientists, perhaps pedants, but not
+soldiers. Whatever may be the ultimate destination of such young men,
+they should be placed on duty for at least one year with each arm of the
+service, and all officers of the general staff below the highest grades
+should be returned to the line for limited periods. In no other way can
+a healthy connection between line and staff be preserved. The United
+States will doubtless continue to maintain an army, however small, as a
+model, if for no other purpose, for volunteers, the reliance of the
+country in the event of a serious war. It ought to have the best
+possible article for the money, and, to secure this, should establish a
+camp of instruction, composed of all arms, where officers could study
+the actual movements of troops.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.
+
+
+A month of rest at Richmond restored my health, which subsequently
+remained good; but in leaving Virginia I was separated from my brigade,
+endeared by so many memories. It remained with Lee's army, and gained
+distinction in many battles. As the last preserved of Benjamin on the
+rock of Rimmon, scarce a handful survived the war; but its story would
+comprise much of that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and I hope some
+survivor, who endured till the end, will relate it. A braver command
+never formed line of battle.
+
+And now I turned my steps toward the West, where, beyond the "father of
+waters," two years of hard work and much fighting awaited me. The most
+direct route to the Southwest was by Chattanooga, where General Bragg
+was concentrating the Army of Tennessee. This officer had requested the
+War Department to assign me to duty with his army as chief of staff, and
+it was suggested to me to call on him _en route_. He had reached
+Chattanooga in advance of his troops, then moving from Tupelo in
+northern Mississippi. In the two days passed at Chattanooga, General
+Bragg communicated to me his plan of campaign into Kentucky, which was
+excellent, giving promise of large results if vigorously executed; and I
+think its failure may be ascribed to the infirmities of the commander.
+
+Born in North Carolina, graduated from West Point in 1837, Bragg served
+long and creditably in the United States artillery. In the war with
+Mexico he gained much celebrity, especially at Buena Vista, to the
+success of which action, under the immediate eye of General Zachary
+Taylor, he largely contributed. Resigning the service, he married a
+lady of Louisiana and purchased an estate on the Bayou Lafourche, where
+he resided at the outbreak of civil war. Promoted to the rank of general
+after the death of Albert Sidney Johnston, he succeeded Beauregard,
+retired by ill health, in command of the Army of Tennessee. Possessing
+experience in and talent for war, he was the most laborious of
+commanders, devoting every moment to the discharge of his duties. As a
+disciplinarian he far surpassed any of the senior Confederate generals;
+but his method and manner were harsh, and he could have won the
+affections of his troops only by leading them to victory. He furnished a
+striking illustration of the necessity of a healthy body for a sound
+intellect. Many years of dyspepsia had made his temper sour and
+petulant; and he was intolerant to a degree of neglect of duty, or what
+he esteemed to be such, by his officers. A striking instance of this
+occurred during my visit. At dinner, surrounded by his numerous staff, I
+inquired for one of his division commanders, a man widely known and
+respected, and received this answer: "General ---- is an old woman,
+utterly worthless." Such a declaration, privately made, would have been
+serious; but publicly, and certain to be repeated, it was astonishing.
+
+As soon as we had withdrawn to his private room, I asked by whom he
+intended to relieve General ----. "Oh! by no one. I have but one or two
+fitted for high command, and have in vain asked the War Department for
+capable people." To my suggestion that he could hardly expect hearty
+coöperation from officers of whom he permitted himself to speak
+contemptuously, he replied: "I speak the truth. The Government is to
+blame for placing such men in high position." From that hour I had
+misgivings as to General Bragg's success, and felt no regret at the
+refusal of the authorities to assign me to duty with him. It may be said
+of his subordinate commanders that they supported him wonderfully, in
+despite of his temper, though that ultimately produced dissatisfaction
+and wrangling. Feeble health, too, unfitted him to sustain
+long-continued pressure of responsibility, and he failed in the
+execution of his own plan.
+
+The movement into Kentucky was made by two lines. General Kirby Smith
+led a subordinate force from Knoxville, East Tennessee, through
+Cumberland Gap, and, defeating the Federals in a spirited action at
+Richmond, Kentucky, reached Lexington, in the center of the State, and
+threatened Cincinnati. Bragg moved on a line west of the Cumberland
+range toward Louisville, on the Ohio River; and this movement forced the
+Federal commander, Buell, to march north to the same point by a parallel
+road, farther west. Buell left garrisons at Nashville and other
+important places, and sought to preserve his communications with
+Louisville, his base. Weakened by detachments, as well as by the
+necessity of a retrograde movement, Bragg should have brought him to
+action before he reached Louisville. Defeated, the Federals would have
+been driven north of the Ohio to reorganize, and Bragg could have
+wintered his army in the fertile and powerful State of Kentucky,
+isolating the garrisons in his rear; or, if this was impossible, which
+does not appear, he should have concentrated against Buell when the
+latter, heavily reënforced, marched south from Louisville to regain
+Nashville. But he fought a severe action at Perryville with a fraction
+of his army, and retired to Central Tennessee. The ensuing winter, at
+Murfreesboro, he contested the field with Rosecrans, Buell's successor,
+for three days; and though he won a victory, it was not complete, and
+the summer of 1863 found him again at Chattanooga. In the mean time, a
+Federal force under General Burnside passed through Cumberland Gap, and
+occupied Knoxville and much of East Tennessee, severing the direct line
+of rail communication from Richmond to the Southwest.
+
+This condensed account of the Kentucky campaign, extending over many
+months, is given because of my personal intimacy with the commander, who
+apprised me of his plans. General Bragg died recently in Texas. I have
+rarely known a more conscientious, laborious man. Exacting of others, he
+never spared himself, but, conquering disease, showed a constant
+devotion to duty; and distinguished as were his services in the cause he
+espoused, they would have been far greater had he enjoyed the blessing
+of health.
+
+Leaving Chattanooga, I proceeded to my destination, western Louisiana,
+and crossed the Mississippi at the entrance of Red River. Some miles
+below, in the Atchafalaya, I found a steamer, and learned that the
+Governor of the State was at Opelousas, which could be reached by
+descending the last river to the junction of the Bayou Courtableau,
+navigable at high water to the village of Washington, six miles north of
+Opelousas. Embarking on the steamer, I reached the junction at sunset,
+but the water in Courtableau was too low for steam navigation. As my
+family had sought refuge with friends in the vicinity of Washington, I
+was anxious to get on, and hired a boat, with four negro oarsmen, to
+take me up the bayou, twenty miles. The narrow stream was overarched by
+trees shrouded with Spanish moss, the universal parasite of Southern
+forests. Heavy rain fell, accompanied by vivid lightning, the flashes of
+which enabled us to find our way; and before dawn I had the happiness to
+embrace wife and children after a separation of fourteen months. Some
+hours later I reached Opelousas, and met the Governor, Thomas O. Moore,
+with whom I had served in our State Assembly. This worthy gentleman, a
+successful and opulent planter, had been elected Governor in 1860. He
+was a man of moderate temper and opinions, but zealously aided the
+Confederate cause after his State had joined it. Forced to leave New
+Orleans by the approach of Farragut's fleet, he brought my family with
+him, and was unwearied in kind attentions.
+
+Melancholy indeed was the condition of the "District of Louisiana," to
+the command of which I was assigned.
+
+Confederate authority had virtually ceased with the fall of New Orleans
+in the previous April. Fortifications at Barataria, Berwick's Bay, and
+other Gulf-coast points had been abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn,
+works dismantled, and guns thrown into the water. The Confederate
+Government had no soldiers, no arms or munitions, and no money, within
+the limits of the district. Governor Moore was willing to aid me to the
+extent of his ability, but, deprived by the loss of New Orleans and the
+lower river parishes of half the population and three fourths of the
+resources of his State, he could do little.
+
+General Magruder had recently been assigned to command in Texas, and
+General Holmes, the senior officer west of the Mississippi, was far to
+the north in Arkansas. To him I at once reported my arrival and
+necessities. Many days elapsed before his reply was received, to the
+effect that he could give me no assistance, as he meditated a movement
+against Helena on the Mississippi River. Without hope of aid from
+abroad, I addressed myself to the heavy task of arousing public
+sentiment, apathetic if not hostile from disaster and neglect, and the
+creation of some means of defense. Such was the military destitution
+that a regiment of cavalry could have ridden over the State, while
+innumerable rivers and bayous, navigable a large part of the year, would
+admit Federal gunboats to the heart of every parish.
+
+To understand subsequent operations in this region, one must have some
+idea of its topography and river systems.
+
+Washed on the east, from the Arkansas line to the Gulf of Mexico, by the
+Mississippi, western Louisiana is divided into two not very unequal
+parts by the Red River, which, entering the State at its northwestern
+angle, near the boundaries of Texas and Arkansas, flows southeast to the
+Mississippi through a broad, fertile valley, then occupied by a
+population of large slave-owners engaged in the culture of cotton. From
+the southern slopes of the Ozark Mountains in Central Arkansas comes the
+Washita River to unite with the Red, a few miles above the junction of
+the latter with the Mississippi. Preserving a southerly course, along
+the eastern foot of the hills, the Washita enters the State nearly a
+hundred miles west of the Mississippi, but the westerly trend of the
+great river reduces this distance until the waters meet. The alluvion
+between these rivers, protected from inundation by levees along the
+streams, is divided by many bayous, of which the Tensas, with its branch
+the Macon, is the most important. These bayous drain the vast swamps
+into the Washita, and, like this river, are in the season of floods open
+to steam navigation. Here was one of the great cotton-producing regions
+of the South. Estates of 5,000 acres and more abounded, and, with the
+numerous slaves necessary to their cultivation, were largely under the
+charge of overseers, while the proprietors resided in distant and more
+healthy localities. Abundant facilities for navigation afforded by
+countless streams superseded the necessity for railways, and but one
+line of some eighty miles existed. This extended from Monroe on the
+Washita to a point opposite Vicksburg on the Mississippi; but the great
+flood of 1862 had broken the eastern half of the line. Finally, the
+lower Washita, at Trinity, where it receives the Tensas from the east
+and Little River from the west, takes the name of Black River. And it
+may be well to add that in Louisiana counties are called parishes, dikes
+levees, and streams bayous.
+
+South of the Red River, population and industries change. The first is
+largely composed of descendants of French colonists, termed creoles,
+with some Spanish intermixed, and the sugar cane is the staple crop,
+changing as the Gulf is approached to rice. At the point where the
+united Red and Washita Rivers join the Mississippi, which here changes
+direction to the east, the Atchafalaya leaves it, and, flowing due south
+through Grand Lake and Berwick's Bay, reaches the Gulf at Atchafalaya
+Bay, two degrees west of its parent stream, and by a more direct course.
+Continuing the line of the Red and Washita, it not only discharges much
+of their waters, but draws largely from the Mississippi when this last
+is in flood. Midway between the Atchafalaya and the city of New Orleans,
+some eighty miles from either point, another outlet of the great river,
+the Bayou Lafourche, discharges into the Gulf after passing through a
+densely populated district, devoted to the culture of sugar cane and
+rice. A large lake, Des Allemands, collects the waters from the higher
+lands on the river and bayou, and by an outlet of the same name carries
+them to Barataria Bay. Lying many feet below the flood level of the
+streams, protected by heavy dikes, with numerous steam-engines for
+crushing canes and pumping water, and canals and ditches in every
+direction, this region resembles a tropical Holland. At the lower end of
+Lake Des Allemands passed the only line of railway in southern
+Louisiana, from a point on the west bank of the river opposite New
+Orleans to Berwick's Bay, eighty miles. Berwick's Bay, which is but the
+Atchafalaya after it issues from Grand Lake, is eight hundred yards
+wide, with great depth of water, and soon meets the Gulf in Atchafalaya
+Bay. A few miles above the railway terminus at Berwick's there enters
+from the west the Teche, loveliest of Southern streams. Navigable for
+more than a hundred miles, preserving at all seasons an equal breadth
+and depth, so gentle is its flow that it might be taken for a canal, did
+not the charming and graceful curves, by which it separates the
+undulating prairies of Attakapas from the alluvion of the Atchafalaya,
+mark it as the handiwork of Nature. Before the war, the Teche for fifty
+miles, from Berwick's Bay to New Iberia, passed through one field of
+sugar canes, the fertile and well-cultivated estates succeeding each
+other. The mansions of the opulent planters, as well as the villages of
+their slaves, were situated on the west bank of the bayou overlooking
+the broad, verdant prairie, where countless herds roamed. On the east
+bank, the dense forest had given way to fields of luxuriant canes; and
+to connect the two parts of estates, floating bridges were constructed,
+with openings in the center for the passage of steamers. Stately live
+oaks, the growth of centuries, orange groves, and flowers of every hue
+and fragrance surrounded the abodes of the _seigneurs_; while within,
+one found the grace of the _salon_ combined with the healthy cheeriness
+of country life. Abundance and variety of game encouraged field sports,
+and the waters, fresh and salt, swarmed with fish. With the sky and
+temperature of Sicily, the breezes from prairie and Gulf were as
+health-giving as those that ripple the heather on Scotch moors. In all
+my wanderings, and they have been many and wide, I can not recall so
+fair, so bountiful, and so happy a land.
+
+The upper or northern Teche waters the parishes of St. Landry,
+Lafayette, and St. Martin's--the Attakapas, home of the "Acadians." What
+the gentle, contented creole was to the restless, pushing American, that
+and more was the Acadian to the creole. In the middle of the past
+century, when the victories of Wolfe and Amherst deprived France of her
+Northern possessions, the inhabitants of Nouvelle Acadie, the present
+Nova Scotia, migrated to the genial clime of the Attakapas, where
+beneath the flag of the lilies they could preserve their allegiance,
+their traditions, and their faith. Isolated up to the time of the war,
+they spoke no language but their own _patois_; and, reading and writing
+not having come to them by nature, they were dependent for news on their
+curés and occasional peddlers, who tempted the women with _chiffons_ and
+trinkets. The few slaves owned were humble members of the household,
+assisting in the cultivation of small patches of maize, sweet potatoes,
+and cotton, from which last the women manufactured the wonderful
+Attakapas _cotonnade_, the ordinary clothing of both sexes. Their little
+_cabanes_ dotted the broad prairie in all directions, and it was
+pleasant to see the smoke curling from their chimneys, while herds of
+cattle and ponies grazed at will. Here, unchanged, was the French
+peasant of Fénelon and Bossuet, of Louis le Grand and his successor le
+Bien-Aimé. Tender and true were his traditions of la belle France, but
+of France before Voltaire and the encyclopædists, the Convention and the
+Jacobins--ere she had lost faith in all things, divine and human, save
+the _bourgeoisie_ and _avocats_. Mounted on his pony, with lariat in
+hand, he herded his cattle, or shot and fished; but so gentle was his
+nature, that lariat and rifle seemed transformed into pipe and crook of
+shepherd. Light wines from the Médoc, native oranges, and home-made
+sweet cakes filled his largest conceptions of feasts; and violin and
+clarionet made high carnival in his heart.
+
+On an occasion, passing the little hamlet of Grand Coteau, I stopped to
+get some food for man and horse. A pretty maiden of fifteen springs,
+whose parents were absent, welcomed me. Her lustrous eyes and long
+lashes might have excited the envy of "the dark-eyed girl of Cadiz."
+Finding her alone, I was about to retire and try my fortune in another
+house; but she insisted that she could prepare "monsieur un dîner dans
+un tour de main," and she did. Seated by the window, looking modestly on
+the road, while I was enjoying her repast, she sprang to her feet,
+clapped her hands joyously, and exclaimed: "V'là le gros Jean Baptiste
+qui passe sur son mulet avec _deux_ bocals. Ah! nous aurons grand bal ce
+soir." It appeared that _one_ jug of claret meant a dance, but _two_
+very high jinks indeed. As my hostess declined any remuneration for her
+trouble, I begged her to accept a pair of plain gold sleeve buttons, my
+only ornaments. Wonder, delight, and gratitude chased each other across
+the pleasant face, and the confiding little creature put up her rose-bud
+mouth. In an instant the homely room became as the bower of Titania, and
+I accepted the chaste salute with all the reverence of a subject for his
+Queen, then rode away with uncovered head so long as she remained in
+sight. Hospitable little maiden of Grand Coteau, may you never have
+graver fault to confess than the innocent caress you bestowed on the
+stranger!
+
+It was to this earthly paradise, and upon this simple race, that the war
+came, like the tree of the knowledge of evil to our early parents.
+
+Some weeks before I reached my new field, General Van Dorn, who
+commanded the Confederate forces east of the Mississippi, had
+successfully resisted a bombardment of Vicksburg by Federal gunboats,
+during which the Confederate ram Arkansas, descending the Yazoo River,
+passed through the enemy's fleet, inflicting some damage and causing
+much alarm, and anchored under the guns of Vicksburg. To follow up this
+success, Van Dorn sent General Breckenridge with a division against
+Baton Rouge, the highest point on the river above New Orleans then held
+by the Federals, and the Arkansas was to descend to coöperate in the
+attack. Breckenridge reached Baton Rouge at the appointed time,
+assaulted, and was repulsed after a severe action; but the Arkansas,
+disabled by an accident to her machinery, was delayed, and, learning of
+Breckenridge's failure, her commander ran her ashore on the west bank of
+the river a few miles above Baton Rouge, and destroyed her.
+Strengthening their garrison in this town, the Federals employed many
+steamers on the river between it and New Orleans, a hundred and twenty
+miles, armed vessels of Farragut's fleet guarding the stream. From time
+to time parties of infantry were landed to plunder and worry the
+peaceful inhabitants, though after the fall of New Orleans no
+Confederate forces had been on that part of the river, and no resistance
+was made by the people.
+
+Two days were passed at Opelousas in consultation with Governor Moore,
+who transferred to me several small bodies of State troops which he had
+organized. Alexandria on the Red River, some seventy-five miles north of
+Opelousas, was the geographical center of the State and of steam
+navigation, and the proper place for the headquarters of the district.
+To escape the intense heat, I rode the distance in a night, and remained
+some days at Alexandria, engaged in the organization of necessary staff
+departments and in providing means of communication with different parts
+of the State. Great distances and the want of railway and telegraph
+lines made this last a heavy burden. Without trained officers, my
+presence was required at every threatened point, and I was seldom
+enabled to pass twenty-four consecutive hours at headquarters; but
+Adjutant Surget, of whom mention has been made, conducted the business
+of the district with vigor and discretion during my absence.
+Subsequently, by using an ambulance in which one could sleep, and with
+relays of mules, long distances were rapidly accomplished; and, like the
+Irishman's bird, I almost succeeded in being in two places at the same
+time.
+
+Leaving Alexandria, I went south to visit the Lafourche and intervening
+regions. At Vermilionville, in the parish of Lafayette, thirty miles
+south of Opelousas, resided ex-Governor Mouton, a man of much influence
+over the creole and Acadian populations, and an old acquaintance.
+Desiring his aid to arouse public sentiment, depressed since the fall of
+New Orleans, I stopped to see him. Past middle age, he had sent his sons
+and kindred to the war, and was eager to assist the cause in all
+possible ways. His eldest son and many of his kinsmen fell in battle,
+his estate was diminished by voluntary contributions and wasted by
+plunder, and he was taken to New Orleans and confined for many weeks;
+yet he never faltered in his devotion, and preserved his dignity and
+fortitude.
+
+In camp near New Iberia, seven and twenty miles south of Vermilionville,
+was Colonel Fournet, with a battalion of five companies raised in the
+parish, St. Martin's. The men were without instruction, and inadequately
+armed and equipped. Impressing on Fournet and his officers the
+importance of discipline and instruction, and promising to supply them
+with arms, I proceeded to the residence of Leclerc Fusilier, in the
+parish of St. Mary's, twenty miles below New Iberia. Possessor of great
+estates, and of a hospitable, generous nature, this gentleman had much
+weight in his country. His sons were in the army, and sixty years had
+not diminished his energy nor his enthusiasm. He desired to serve on my
+staff as volunteer aide, promising to join me whenever fighting was to
+be done; and he kept his promise. In subsequent actions on the Teche and
+Red River, the first gun seemed the signal for the appearance of Captain
+Fusilier, who, on his white pony, could be seen where the fight was the
+thickest, leading on or encouraging his neighbors. His corn bins, his
+flocks and herds, were given to the public service without stint; and no
+hungry, destitute Confederate was permitted to pass his door. Fusilier
+was twice captured, and on the first occasion was sent to Fortress
+Monroe, where he, with fifty other prisoners from my command, was
+embarked on the transport Maple Leaf for Fort Delaware. Reaching the
+capes of Chesapeake at nightfall, the prisoners suddenly attacked and
+overpowered the guard, ran the transport near to the beach in Princess
+Anne County, Virginia, landed, and made their way to Richmond, whence
+they rejoined me in Louisiana. Again taken, Fusilier escaped, while
+descending the Teche on a steamer, by springing from the deck to seize
+the overhanging branch of a live oak. The guard fired on him, but
+darkness and the rapid movement of the steamer were in his favor, and he
+got off unhurt.
+
+I have dwelt somewhat on the characters of Mouton and Fusilier, not only
+because of their great devotion to the Confederacy, but because there
+exists a wide-spread belief that the creole race has become effete and
+nerveless. In the annals of time no breed has produced nobler specimens
+of manhood than these two; and while descendants of the French colonists
+remain on the soil of Louisiana, their names and characters should be
+reverenced as are those of Hampden and Sidney in England.
+
+To Berwick's Bay, a hundred and seventy-five miles from Alexandria.
+Here, on the eastern shore, was the terminus of the New Orleans and
+Opelousas railroad. A deep, navigable arm of the bay, called Bayou
+Boeuf, flows east of the station, which is on the island fronting the
+bay proper. Some engines and plant had been saved from the general wreck
+at New Orleans, and the line was operated from the bay to Lafourche
+crossing, thirty miles. The intervening territory constitutes the parish
+of Terrebonne, with fertile, cultivated lands along the many bayous, and
+low swamps between. From Lafourche crossing to Algiers, opposite New
+Orleans, is fifty miles; and, after leaving the higher ground adjacent
+to the Lafourche, the line plunges into swamps and marshes, impassable
+except on the embankment of the line itself. Midway of the above points,
+the Bayou des Allemands, outlet of the large lake of the same name, is
+crossed; and here was a Federal post of some two hundred men with two
+field guns. On the west bank of the Lafourche, a mile or two above the
+railway crossing, and thirty-two miles below Donaldsonville, where the
+bayou leaves the Mississippi, lies the town of Thibodeaux, the most
+considerable place of this region. Navigable for steamers, whenever the
+waters of its parent river are high, restrained from inundation by
+levees on both banks, the Lafourche flows through the fertile and
+populous parishes of Assumption and Lafourche, and, after a sinuous
+course of some ninety miles, reaches the Gulf to the west of Barataria
+Bay. Above Thibodeaux there were no bridges, and communication between
+the opposite banks was kept up by ferries.
+
+One or two companies of mounted men, armed with fowling pieces, had been
+organized under authority from Governor Moore, and Colonel Waller's
+battalion of mounted riflemen had recently arrived from Texas. These
+constituted the Confederate army in this quarter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+Mention has been made of the plundering expeditions of the Federals, and
+the post at Bayou des Allemands was reported as the especial center from
+which raids on the helpless inhabitants were undertaken. I determined to
+attempt the surprise and capture of this post, which could be reached
+from the river at a point fifty miles below Donaldsonville. My estate
+was in the immediate vicinity of this point, and the roads and paths
+through plantations and swamps were well known to me. Colonel Waller was
+assigned to the duty, with minute instructions concerning roads and
+movements, and competent guides were furnished him. Moving rapidly by
+night, and, to escape observation, avoiding the road near the river,
+Waller with his Texans gained the enemy's rear, advanced on his camp,
+and, after a slight resistance, captured two companies of infantry and
+the guns. The captured arms and accouterments served to equip Waller's
+men, whose rifles were altered flintlocks and worthless, and the
+prisoners were sent to the Teche to be guarded by Fournet's Acadians.
+This trifling success, the first in the State since the loss of New
+Orleans, attracted attention, and the people rejoiced at the capture of
+the Des Allemands garrison as might those of Greece at the unearthing of
+the accomplished and classic thief Cacus. Indeed, the den of that worthy
+never contained such multifarious "loot" as did this Federal camp.
+Books, pictures, household furniture, finger rings, ear rings,
+breastpins and other articles of feminine adornment and wear, attested
+the catholic taste and temper of these patriots.
+
+Persuaded that the Federal commander at New Orleans, General Benjamin
+F. Butler, was ignorant of the practices of his outlying detachments, I
+requested ex-Governor Wickliffe of Louisiana, a non-combatant, to visit
+that officer under a flag of truce and call his attention to the
+subject. Duty to the suffering population would force me to deal with
+perpetrators of such misdeeds as robbers rather than as soldiers.
+General Butler received Governor Wickliffe politely, invited him to
+dine, and listened attentively to his statements, then dismissed him
+without committing himself to a definite reply. However, the conduct
+complained of was speedily stopped, and, as I was informed, by orders
+from General Butler. This was the only intercourse I had with this
+officer during the war. Some months later he was relieved from command
+at New Orleans by General Banks, whose blunders served to endear him to
+President Lincoln, as did those of Villeroy to his master, the
+fourteenth Louis. When the good Scotch parson finished praying for all
+created beings and things, he requested his congregation to unite in
+asking a blessing for the "puir deil," who had no friends; and General
+Butler has been so universally abused as to make it pleasant to say a
+word in his favor. Not that he needs assistance to defend himself; for
+in the war of epithets he has proved his ability to hold his ground
+against all comers as successfully as did Count Robert of Paris with
+sword and lance.
+
+Preservation of the abundant supplies of the Lafourche country, and
+protection of the dense population from which recruits could be drawn,
+were objects of such importance as to justify the attempt to secure them
+with inadequate means.
+
+A few days after the Des Allemands affair, I was called to the north,
+and will for convenience anticipate events in this quarter during my
+absence. Minute instructions for his guidance were given to Colonel
+Waller. The danger to be guarded against while operating on the river
+was pointed out, viz.: that the enemy might, from transports, throw
+forces ashore above and below him, at points where the swamps in the
+rear were impassable; and this trap Waller fell into. Most of his men
+escaped by abandoning arms, horses, etc. Immunity from attack for some
+days had made them careless. Nothing compensates for absence of
+discipline; and the constant watchfulness, even when danger seems
+remote, that is necessary in war, can only be secured by discipline
+which makes of duty a habit.
+
+Meanwhile, two skeleton regiments, the 18th Louisiana and Crescent, and
+a small battalion (Clack's) of infantry, with Semmes's and Ralston's
+batteries, reached me from east of the Mississippi, and were directed to
+the Lafourche. There also reported to me Brigadier Alfred Mouton, son of
+Governor Mouton, and a West Pointer. This officer had been wounded at
+Shiloh, and was now ordered to command on the Lafourche. His
+instructions were to make Thibodeaux his centre of concentration, to
+picket Bayou Des Allemands and Donaldsonville, thirty miles distant
+each, to secure early information of the enemy's movements, and to
+provide a movable floating bridge by which troops could cross the bayou,
+as the water was too low to admit steamers from the river. These same
+instructions had been given to the senior officer present before
+Mouton's arrival, but had been imperfectly executed. A feint on Des
+Allemands had induced the movement of nearly half the little force in
+that direction, and Mouton had scant time after he reached Thibodeaux to
+correct errors before the enemy was upon him.
+
+In the last days of October the Federal General, Weitzel, brought up a
+force of some 4,000 from New Orleans, landed at Donaldsonville, and
+advanced down the Lafourche, on the west bank. There were Confederates
+on both sides of the bayou, but, having neglected their floating bridge,
+they could not unite. With his own, the 18th, the Crescent, Colonel
+McPheeters, and the four-gun battery of Captain Ralston--in all 500
+men--Colonel Armand resisted Weitzel's advance at Labadieville, eight
+miles above Thibodeaux. The fighting was severe, and Armand only retired
+after his ammunition was exhausted; but he lost many killed and wounded,
+and some few prisoners. Colonel McPheeters was among the former, and
+Captains Ralston and Story among the latter. The loss of the Federals
+prevented Weitzel from attempting a pursuit; and Mouton, who deemed it
+necessary to retire across Berwick's Bay, was not interrupted in his
+movement. With his forces well in hand, Mouton would have defeated
+Weitzel and retained possession of the Lafourche country. The causes of
+his failure to concentrate have been pointed out. Information of these
+untoward events reached me on the road from the north, and I arrived at
+Berwick's Bay as Mouton was crossing.
+
+To return to the time of departure from the Lafourche. Several days were
+passed at New Iberia in attention to a matter of much interest. Some
+eight miles to the southwest of the village there rises from the low
+prairie and salt marsh, at the head of Vermilion Bay, an island of high
+land, near a thousand acres in extent. Connected with the mainland by a
+causeway of some length, the island was the property and residence of
+Judge Avery. A small bayou, Petit Anse, navigable for light craft,
+approached the western side and wound through the marsh to Vermilion
+Bay. Salt wells had long been known to exist on the island, and some
+salt had been boiled there. The want of salt was severely felt in the
+Confederacy, our only considerable source of supply being in
+southwestern Virginia, whence there were limited facilities for
+distribution. Judge Avery began to boil salt for neighbors, and,
+desiring to increase the flow of brine by deepening his wells, came
+unexpectedly upon a bed of pure rock salt, which proved to be of immense
+extent. Intelligence of this reached me at New Iberia, and induced me to
+visit the island. The salt was from fifteen to twenty feet below the
+surface, and the overlying soil was soft and friable. Devoted to our
+cause, Judge Avery placed his mine at my disposition for the use of the
+Government. Many negroes were assembled to get out salt, and a packing
+establishment was organized at New Iberia to cure beef. During
+succeeding months large quantities of salt, salt beef, sugar, and
+molasses were transported by steamers to Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and
+other points east of the Mississippi. Two companies of infantry and a
+section of artillery were posted on the island to preserve order among
+the workmen, and secure it against a sudden raid of the enemy, who later
+sent a gunboat up the Petit Anse to shell the mine, but the gunboat
+became entangled in the marsh and was impotent.
+
+At Alexandria, where every effort was made to collect material, but
+without funds and among a depressed people, progress was slow. It was
+necessary to visit Monroe, the chief place of the important Washita
+country; and I was further impelled thereto by dispatches from Richmond
+advising me that Lieutenant-General Pemberton had been assigned to
+command of the country east of the Mississippi, and that it was
+important for me to meet him, in order to secure coöperation on the
+river. I rode the distance, _via_ Monroe, to a point opposite Vicksburg,
+over two hundred miles, excepting forty miles east of Monroe, where the
+railway was in operation. The eastern half of the line, from Bayou Macon
+to the Mississippi, had been broken up by the great flood of the
+previous spring.
+
+Near Bayou Macon was encamped Colonel Henry Grey with his recently
+organized regiment, the 28th infantry. Without much instruction and
+badly equipped, its material was excellent, and there were several
+officers of some experience, notably Adjutant Blackman, who had
+accompanied my old regiment, the 9th, to Virginia, where he had seen
+service. The men were suffering from camp diseases incident to new
+troops, and Colonel Grey was directed to move by easy marches to the
+Teche. In the low country between the Macon and the Mississippi were
+some mounted men under Captain Harrison. Residents of this region, they
+understood the intricate system of swamps and bayous by which it is
+characterized, and furnished me guides to Vicksburg.
+
+Vicksburg lies on the hills where the river forms a deep reentering
+angle. The peninsula on the opposite or western bank is several miles in
+length, narrow, and, when the waters are up, impassable except along the
+river's bank. It was through this peninsula that the Federals attempted,
+by digging a canal, to pass their gunboats and turn the Vicksburg
+batteries. The position of the town with reference to approach from the
+west was marked by me at the time, and should be borne in mind.
+
+General Pemberton, who was at Jackson, came to Vicksburg to meet me, and
+we discussed methods of coöperation. It was of vital importance to
+control the section of the Mississippi receiving the Red and Washita
+Rivers. By so doing connection would be preserved between the two parts
+of the Confederacy, and troops and supplies crossed at will. Port
+Hudson, some forty miles below the entrance of Red River, was as
+favorably situated as Vicksburg above: for there again the hills touched
+the river and commanded it. My operations on the Lafourche had induced
+the enemy to withdraw from Baton Rouge, fifteen miles below, and one or
+two heavy guns were already mounted at Port Hudson. Pemberton engaged to
+strengthen the position at once. As there were many steamers in the Red
+and Washita, I undertook to supply Vicksburg and Port Hudson with corn,
+forage, sugar, molasses, cattle, and salt; and this was done beyond the
+ability of the garrisons to store or remove them. Quantities of these
+supplies were lying on the river's bank when the surrenders of the two
+places occurred.
+
+A Pennsylvanian by birth, Pemberton graduated from West Point in 1837,
+and was assigned to an artillery regiment. His first station was in
+South Carolina, and he there formed his early friendships. The storm of
+"nullification" had not yet subsided, and Pemberton imbibed the tenets
+of the Calhoun school. In 1843 or 1844 I met him for the first time on
+the Niagara frontier, and quite remember my surprise at his State-rights
+utterances, unusual among military men at that period. During the war
+with Mexico he was twice brevetted for gallantry in action. Later, he
+married a lady of Virginia, which may have tended to confirm his
+political opinions. At the beginning of civil strife he was in
+Minnesota, commanding a battalion of artillery, and was ordered to
+Washington. Arrived there with his command, he resigned his commission
+in the United States army, went to Richmond, and offered his sword to
+the Confederacy without asking for rank. Certainly he must have been
+actuated by principle alone; for he had everything to gain by remaining
+on the Northern side.
+
+In the summer of 1862 General Van Dorn, commanding east of the
+Mississippi, proclaimed martial law, which he explained to the people to
+be the will of the commander. Though a Mississippian by birth, such a
+storm was excited against Van Dorn in that State that President Davis
+found it necessary to supersede him, and Pemberton was created a
+lieutenant-general for the purpose. Davis could have known nothing of
+Pemberton except that his military record was good, and it is difficult
+to foresee that a distinguished subordinate will prove incompetent in
+command. Errors can only be avoided by confining the selection of
+generals to tradespeople, politicians, and newspaper men without
+military training or experience. These are all great commanders
+_d'état_, and universally succeed. The incapacity of Pemberton for
+independent command, manifested in the ensuing campaign, was a great
+misfortune to the Confederacy, but did not justify aspersions on his
+character and motives. The public howled, gnashed its teeth, and lashed
+itself into a beautiful rage. He had joined the South for the express
+purpose of betraying it, and this was clearly proven by the fact that he
+surrendered on the 4th of July, a day sacred to the Yankees. Had he
+chosen any other day, his guilt would not have been so well established;
+but this particular day lacerated the tenderest sensibilities of
+Southern hearts. President Davis should have known all about it; and yet
+he made a pet of Pemberton. "Vox populi, vox diaboli."
+
+Returned to Alexandria, I met my chief of artillery and ordnance, Major
+J.L. Brent, just arrived from the east with some arms and munitions,
+which he had remained to bring with him. This officer had served on the
+staff of General Magruder in the Peninsular and Richmond campaigns,
+after which, learning that I was ordered to Louisiana, where he had
+family connections, he applied to serve with me. Before leaving Richmond
+I had several interviews with him, and was favorably impressed.
+
+A lawyer by profession, Major Brent knew nothing of military affairs at
+the outbreak of the war, but speedily acquainted himself with the
+technicalities of his new duties. Devoted to work, his energy and
+administrative ability were felt in every direction. Batteries were
+equipped, disciplined, and drilled. Leather was tanned, harness made,
+wagons built, and a little Workshop, established at New Iberia by
+Governor Moore, became important as an arsenal of construction. The lack
+of paper for cartridges was embarrassing, and most of the country
+newspapers were stopped for want of material. Brent discovered a
+quantity of wall paper in the shops at Franklin, New Iberia, etc., and
+used it for cartridges; and a journal published at Franklin was printed
+on this paper. A copy of it would be "a sight" to Mr. Walter and the
+staff of the "Thunderer." The _esprit de corps_ of Brent's artillery was
+admirable, and its conduct and efficiency in action unsurpassed. Serving
+with wild horsemen, unsteady and unreliable for want of discipline,
+officers and men learned to fight their guns without supports. True,
+Brent had under his command many brilliant young officers, whose names
+will appear in this narrative; but his impress was upon all, and he owes
+it to his command to publish an account of the services of the artillery
+in western Louisiana.
+
+_En route_ to Lafourche, I learned of the action at Labadieville, and
+hurried on to Berwick's Bay, which Mouton had just crossed, and in good
+time; for Federal gunboats entered from the Gulf immediately after.
+Their presence some hours earlier would have been uncomfortable for
+Mouton. It is curious to recall the ideas prevailing in the first years
+of the war about gunboats. To the wide-spread terror inspired by them
+may be ascribed the loss of Fort Donelson and New Orleans. _Omne ignotum
+pro magnifico_; and it was popularly believed that the destructive
+powers of these monsters were not to be resisted. Time proved that the
+lighter class of boats, called "tin-clads," were helpless against field
+guns, while heavy iron-clads could be driven off by riflemen protected
+by the timber and levees along streams. To fire ten-inch guns at
+skirmishers, widely disposed and under cover, was very like
+snipe-shooting with twelve-pounders; and in narrow waters gunboats
+required troops on shore for their protection.
+
+Penetrated in all directions by watercourses navigable when the
+Mississippi was at flood, my "district" was especially exposed, and
+every little bayou capable of floating a cock-boat called loudly for
+forts and heavy guns. Ten guns, thirty-two and twenty-four-pounders, of
+those thrown into the water at Barataria and Berwick's Bays after the
+surrender of New Orleans, had been recovered, and were mounted for
+defense. To protect Red River against anything that might chance to run
+the batteries of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, two thirty-twos were placed
+in position on the south bank, thirty odd miles below Alexandria, where
+the high ground of Avoyelles Prairie touches the river; and for the same
+purpose two guns were mounted at Harrisonburg on the west bank of the
+Washita. An abrupt hill approached the river at this point, and
+commanded it.
+
+The presence of gunboats in Berwick's Bay made it necessary to protect
+the Atchafalaya also; for access to the Red and Washita could be had by
+it. As yet, the waters were too low to navigate Grand Lake; but it was
+now November, and the winter flood must be expected. Some twelve miles
+from St. Martinsville on the Teche was a large mound on the west bank of
+the Atchafalaya, called "Butte à la Rose." A short distance above the
+point, where the river expands into Grand Lake, this "Butte" was the
+only place for many miles not submerged when the waters were up. The
+country between it and the Teche was almost impassable even in the dry
+season--a region of lakes, bayous, jungle, and bog. I succeeded in
+making my way through to inspect the position, the only favorable one on
+the river, and with much labor two twenty-fours were taken there and
+mounted. Forts Beauregard on the Washita, De Russy on the Red, and
+Burton on the Atchafalaya, were mere water batteries to prevent the
+passage of gunboats, and served that purpose. It was not supposed that
+they could be held against serious land attacks, and but fifty to a
+hundred riflemen were posted at each to protect the gunners from boats'
+crews.
+
+During the floods of the previous spring many steamers had been brought
+away from New Orleans, and with others a powerful tow-boat, the Webb,
+now lying at Alexandria, and the Cotton. This last, a large river
+steamer, was in the lower Teche in charge of Captain Fuller, a western
+steamboat man, and one of the bravest of a bold, daring class. He
+desired to convert the Cotton into a gunboat, and was assisted to the
+extent of his means by Major Brent, who furnished two twenty-fours and a
+field piece for armament. An attempt was made to protect the boilers
+and machinery with cotton bales and railway iron, of which we had a
+small quantity, and a volunteer crew was put on board, Fuller in
+command.
+
+Midway between Berwick's Bay and Franklin, or some thirteen miles from
+each, near the Bisland estate, the high ground from Grand Lake on the
+east to Vermilion Bay on the west is reduced to a narrow strip of some
+two thousand yards, divided by the Teche. Here was the best position in
+this quarter for a small force; and Mouton, who had now ten guns and
+about thirteen hundred men, was directed to hold it, with scouts and
+pickets toward Berwick's. A floating bridge, of the kind described, was
+just above the position, and two others farther up stream afforded ready
+communication across the bayou. A light earthwork was thrown up from
+Grand Lake Marsh to the Teche, and continued west to the embankment of
+the uncompleted Opelousas Railway, which skirted the edge of Vermilion
+Marsh. The objection to this position was the facility of turning it by
+a force embarking at Berwick's, entering Grand Lake immediately above,
+and landing at Hutchin's, not far from Franklin, through which last
+passed the only line of retreat from Bisland. This danger was obvious,
+but the people were so depressed by our retreat from Lafourche that it
+was necessary to fight even with this risk.
+
+Weitzel had followed slowly after Mouton, and now, in connection with
+gunboats, made little attacks on our pickets below Bisland; but I knew
+his force to be too small to attempt anything serious. In these affairs
+Fuller was always forward with the Cotton, though her boilers were
+inadequately protected, and she was too large and unwieldy to be handled
+in the narrow Teche. Meanwhile, I was much occupied in placing guns on
+the rivers at the points mentioned, getting out recruits for the two
+skeleton infantry regiments, consolidating independent companies, and
+other work of administration.
+
+In the first days of January, 1863, Weitzel's force was increased to
+forty-five hundred men (see "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol.
+ii., p. 307); and on the 11th of the month, accompanied by gunboats, he
+advanced up the Teche and drove in Mouton's pickets. Left unprotected
+by the retreat of the pickets, the Cotton was assailed on all sides.
+Fuller fought manfully, responding to the fire of the enemy's boats with
+his twenty-fours, and repulsing the riflemen on either bank with his
+field piece. His pilots were killed and he had an arm broken, but he
+worked the wheel with his feet, backing up the bayou, as from her great
+length the boat could not be turned in the narrow channel. Night stopped
+the enemy's advance, and Mouton, deeming his force too weak to cope with
+Weitzel, turned the Cotton across the bayou, and scuttled and burned her
+to arrest the further progress of the Federal boats. Weitzel returned to
+Berwick's, having accomplished his object, the destruction of the
+Cotton, supposed by the Federals to be a formidable iron-clad.
+
+Much disturbed by the intelligence of these events, as they tended still
+further to depress public sentiment and increase the dread of gunboats,
+I went to Bisland and tried to convince officers and men that these
+tin-clads could not resist the rapid fire of field guns, when within
+range. At distances the thirty-pound Parrotts of the boats had every
+advantage, but this would be lost by bringing them to close quarters.
+During my stay several movements from Berwick's were reported, and
+Mouton and I went down with a battery to meet them, hoping to illustrate
+my theory of the proper method of fighting gunboats; but the enemy, who
+intended nothing beyond annoyance, always retired before we could reach
+him. Yet this gave confidence to our men.
+
+The two twenty-fours removed from the wreck of the Cotton were mounted
+in a work on the west bank of the Teche, to command the bayou and road,
+and the line of breastworks was strengthened. Some recruits joined, and
+Mouton felt able to hold the lines at Bisland against the force in his
+front.
+
+In the last days of January, 1863, General Grant, with a large army,
+landed on the west bank of the Mississippi and began operations against
+Vicksburg, a fleet of gunboats under Admiral Porter coöperating with
+him. The river was now in flood, and the Federals sought, by digging a
+canal through the narrow peninsula opposite Vicksburg, to pass their
+fleet below the place without exposing it to fire from the batteries.
+Many weeks were devoted to this work, which in the end was abandoned. In
+February the Federal gunboat Queen of the West, armed with a
+thirty-pound Parrott and five field guns, ran the batteries at Vicksburg
+and caused much alarm on the river below. The tow-boat Webb, before
+mentioned, had powerful machinery and was very fast, and I determined to
+use her as a ram and attempt the destruction of the Queen. A
+thirty-two-pounder, rifled and banded, was mounted forward, some cotton
+bales stuffed around her boilers, and a volunteer crew organized.
+Pending these preparations I took steamer at Alexandria and went down to
+Fort De Russy, and thence to Butte à la Rose, which at this season could
+only be reached by river. The little garrison of sixty men, with their
+two twenty-fours, had just before driven off some gunboats, attempting
+to ascend the Atchafalaya from Berwick's Bay. Complimenting them on
+their success and warning them of the presence of the Queen in our
+waters, I turned back, hoping to reach De Russy; but at Simmsport, on
+the west bank of the Atchafalaya, a mile or two below the point at which
+it leaves the Red, I learned that the Federal boat had passed up the
+latter river, followed by one of our small steamers captured on the
+Mississippi. Accompanied by Major Levy, an officer of capacity and
+experience, I took horse and rode across country to De Russy, thirty
+miles.
+
+It was the 14th of February, a cold, rainy day; and as we emerged from
+the swamps of Deglaize on to the prairie of Avoyelles, the rain changed
+to sleet and hail, with a fierce north wind. Occasional gusts were so
+sharp that our cattle refused to face them and compelled us to halt.
+Suddenly, reports of heavy guns came from the direction of De Russy,
+five miles away. Spurring our unwilling horses through the storm, we
+reached the river as night fell, and saw the Queen of the West lying
+against the opposite shore, enveloped in steam. A boat was manned and
+sent over to take possession. A wounded officer, with a surgeon in
+charge, and four men, were found on board. The remainder of the crew had
+passed through the forest to the captured steamer below, embarked, and
+made off down river. A shot from De Russy had cut a steam pipe and the
+tiller rope, but in other respects the Queen was not materially injured.
+She was an ordinary river steamer, with her bow strengthened for
+ramming. A heavy bulwark for protection against sharp-shooters, and with
+embrasures for field guns, surrounded her upper deck.
+
+Pushing on to Alexandria, I found the wildest alarm and confusion. The
+arrival of the Federal gunboat was momentarily expected, and the
+intelligence of her capture was hardly credited. The Webb was dispatched
+to overtake the escaped crew of the Queen, and the latter towed up to
+Alexandria for repairs. Entering the Mississippi, the Webb went up
+river, sighted the escaped steamer, and was rapidly overhauling her,
+when there appeared, coming down, a heavy iron-clad that had passed the
+Vicksburg batteries. This proved to be the Indianola, armed with two
+eleven-inch guns forward and two nine-inch aft, all in iron casemates.
+The Webb returned to De Russy with this information, which was forwarded
+to Alexandria. We had barely time to congratulate ourselves on the
+capture of the Queen before the appearance of the Indianola deprived us
+again of the navigation of the great river, so vital to our cause. To
+attempt the destruction of such a vessel as the Indianola with our
+limited means seemed madness; yet volunteers for the work promptly
+offered themselves.
+
+Major Brent took command of the expedition, with Captain McCloskey,
+staff quartermaster, on the Queen, and Charles Pierce, a brave
+steamboatman, on the Webb. On the 19th of February Brent went down to De
+Russy with the Queen, mechanics still working on repairs, and there
+called for volunteer crews from the garrison. These were furnished at
+once, sixty for the Webb under Lieutenant Handy, seventy for the Queen,
+on which boat Brent remained. There were five and twenty more than
+desired; but, in their eagerness to go, many Texans and Louisianians
+smuggled themselves aboard. The fighting part of the expedition was soon
+ready, but there was difficulty about stokers. Some planters from the
+upper Red River had brought down their slaves to De Russy to labor on
+earthworks, but they positively refused to furnish stokers for the
+boats. It was a curious feature of the war that the Southern people
+would cheerfully send their sons to battle, but kept their slaves out of
+danger. Having exhausted his powers of persuasion to no purpose, Major
+Brent threw some men ashore, surrounded a gang of negroes at work,
+captured the number necessary, and departed. A famous din was made by
+the planters, and continued until their negroes were safely returned.
+
+In the night of the 22d of February the expedition, followed by a
+tender, entered the Mississippi, and met a steamer from Port Hudson,
+with two hundred men, sent up by General Gardiner to destroy the Queen
+of the West, the capture of which was unknown. This, a frail river boat
+without protection for her boilers, could be of no service; but she
+followed Brent up the river, keeping company with his tender. On the 23d
+Natchez was reached, and here the formidable character of the Indianola
+was ascertained. While steaming up river in search of the enemy, the
+crews were exercised at the guns, the discharge of which set fire to the
+cotton protecting the boilers of the Queen. This was extinguished with
+difficulty, and showed an additional danger, to be guarded against by
+wetting the cotton thoroughly. Arrived in the afternoon of the 24th at a
+point sixty miles below Vicksburg, Brent learned that the Indianola was
+but a short distance ahead, with a coal barge lashed on each side. He
+determined to attack in the night, to diminish the chances of the
+enemy's fire. It was certain that a shell from one of the eleven-or
+nine-inch guns would destroy either of his boats.
+
+At 10 P.M. the Indianola was seen near the western shore, some thousand
+yards distant, and the Queen, followed by the Webb, was driven with full
+head of steam directly upon her, both boats having their lights
+obscured. The momentum of the Queen was so great as to cut through the
+coal barge and indent the iron plates of the Indianola, disabling by the
+shock the engine that worked her paddles. As the Queen backed out the
+Webb dashed in at full speed, and tore away the remaining coal barge.
+Both the forward guns fired at the Webb, but missed her. Returning to
+the charge, the Queen struck the Indianola abaft the paddle box,
+crushing her frame and loosening some plates of armor, but received the
+fire of the guns from the rear casemates. One shot carried away a dozen
+bales of cotton on the right side; the other, a shell, entered the
+forward port-hole on the left and exploded, killing six men and
+disabling two field pieces. Again the Webb followed the Queen, struck
+near the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and crushing timbers.
+Voices from the Indianola announced the surrender, and that she was
+sinking. As she was near the western shore, not far below Grant's army,
+Major Brent towed her to the opposite side, then in our possession,
+where, some distance from the bank, she sank on a bar, her gun deck
+above water.
+
+Thus we regained control of our section of the Mississippi, and by an
+action that for daring will bear comparison with any recorded of Nelson
+or Dundonald. Succeeding events at Vicksburg and Gettysburg so obscured
+this one, that in justice to the officers and men engaged it has seemed
+to me a duty to recount it.
+
+Brent returned to Red River, with his boats much shattered by the fray;
+and before we could repair them, Admiral Farragut with several ships of
+war passed Port Hudson, and the navigation of the great river was
+permanently lost to us. Of the brave and distinguished Admiral Farragut,
+as of General Grant, it can be said that he always respected
+non-combatants and property, and made war only against armed men.
+
+In the second week of March a brigade of mounted Texans, with a four-gun
+battery, reached Opelousas, and was directed to Bisland on the lower
+Teche. This force numbered thirteen hundred, badly armed; and to equip
+it exhausted the resources of the little arsenal at New Iberia. Under
+Brigadier Sibley, it had made a campaign into New Mexico and defeated
+the Federals in some minor actions, in one of which, Valverde, the four
+guns had been captured. The feeble health of Sibley caused his
+retirement a few days after he reached the Teche, and Colonel Thomas
+Green, a distinguished soldier, succeeded to the command of the
+brigade. The men were hardy and many of the officers brave and zealous,
+but the value of these qualities was lessened by lack of discipline. In
+this, however, they surpassed most of the mounted men who subsequently
+joined me, discipline among these "shining by its utter absence." Their
+experience in war was limited to hunting down Comanches and Lipans, and,
+as in all new societies, distinctions of rank were unknown. Officers and
+men addressed each other as Tom, Dick, or Harry, and had no more
+conception of military gradations than of the celestial hierarchy of the
+poets.
+
+I recall an illustrative circumstance. A mounted regiment arrived from
+Texas, which I rode out to inspect. The profound silence in the camp
+seemed evidence of good order. The men were assembled under the shade of
+some trees, seated on the ground, and much absorbed. Drawing near, I
+found the colonel seated in the center, with a blanket spread before
+him, on which he was dealing the fascinating game of monte. Learning
+that I would not join the sport, this worthy officer abandoned his
+amusement with some displeasure. It was a scene for that illustrious
+inspector Colonel Martinet to have witnessed.
+
+There also arrived from the east, in the month of March, 1863, to take
+command of the "Trans-Mississippi Department," Lieutenant-General E.
+Kirby Smith, which "department," including the States of Missouri,
+Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and the Indian Territory, with claims on
+New Mexico, extended over some millions of square miles. The occupation
+of a large part of this region by the Federals would have spared General
+Smith some embarrassments, had he not given much of his mind to the
+recovery of his lost empire, to the detriment of the portion yet in his
+possession; and the substance of Louisiana and Texas was staked against
+the shadow of Missouri and northern Arkansas.
+
+General E. Kirby Smith graduated from West Point in 1845, in time to see
+service in the war with Mexico. Resigning from the United States cavalry
+to join the Confederacy, he moved with General Joseph E. Johnston's
+forces from the Valley to reënforce Beauregard at Manassas, where he was
+wounded while bringing up some troops to our left. Commanding in
+eastern Tennessee in the summer of 1862, he led a force into Kentucky
+through Cumberland Gap, to coöperate with Bragg. At Richmond, Kentucky,
+a body of Federals was driven off, and Smith moved north to Lexington
+and Frankfort; after which his column was absorbed by Bragg's army. The
+senior general west of the Mississippi, Holmes, was in Arkansas, where
+he had accomplished nothing except to lose five thousand of his best
+troops, captured at Arkansas Post by General Sherman. It was advisable
+to supersede Holmes; and, though he proved unequal to extended command,
+Smith, from his training and services, seemed an excellent selection.
+General Smith remained for several weeks in Alexandria, when he was
+driven away by the enemy's movements. The military situation of my
+immediate command was explained to him.
+
+To reopen the navigation of the Mississippi was the great desire of the
+Federal Government, and especially of the Western people, and was
+manifested by declarations and acts. Grant was operating against
+Vicksburg, and Banks would certainly undertake the reduction of Port
+Hudson; but it was probable that he would first clear the west bank of
+the Mississippi to prevent interruption of his communications with New
+Orleans, threatened so long as we had a force on the lower Atchafalaya
+and Teche. Banks had twenty thousand men for the field, while my force,
+including Green's Texans, would not exceed twenty-seven hundred, with
+many raw recruits, and badly equipped. The position at Bisland might be
+held against a front attack, but could be turned by the way of Grand
+Lake. With five thousand infantry I would engage to prevent the
+investment of Port Hudson; and as such a reënforcement must come from
+Holmes, and could not reach me for a month, I hoped immediate orders
+would be issued.
+
+On the 28th of March Weitzel, who had been quiet at Berwick's Bay for
+some time, sent the gunboat Diana, accompanied by a land force, up the
+Teche to drive in our pickets. The capture of the Queen of the West and
+destruction of the Indianola had impaired the prestige of gunboats, and
+the troops at Bisland were eager to apply my theory of attacking them
+at close quarters. The enemy's skirmishers were driven off; a section of
+the "Valverde" battery, Captain Sayres, rapidly advanced; the fire of
+the gunboat was silenced in a moment, and she surrendered, with two
+companies of infantry on board. She was armed with a thirty-pounder
+Parrott and two field guns, and had her boilers protected by railway
+iron. Moved up to Bisland, her "Parrott" became a valuable adjunct to
+our line of defense.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTURE OF
+BERWICK'S BAY.
+
+
+Increased activity of the enemy at Berwick's Bay in the first days of
+April indicated an advance; and to guard against the danger from Grand
+Lake, Fuller, whose wounds in the Cotton affair were partially healed,
+was sent to Alexandria to complete repairs on the Queen and convert one
+or two other steamers into gunboats. It was hoped that he might harass
+the enemy on Grand Lake, delay the landing of troops, and aid the little
+garrison at Butte à la Rose in defending the Atchafalaya. Fuller was as
+energetic as brave, but the means at his disposal were very limited.
+Accompanied by a tender, he descended the Atchafalaya on the Queen,
+leaving orders for his steamers to follow as soon as they were armed.
+They failed to reach him, and his subsequent fate will be mentioned.
+
+On the 10th of April the enemy had assembled at Berwick's sixteen
+thousand men under Weitzel, Emory, and Grover ("Report on the Conduct of
+the War," vol. ii., page 309). On the 12th Weitzel and Emory, twelve
+thousand strong, advanced up the Teche against Bisland, while Grover,
+with four thousand men, embarked on transports to turn our position by
+Grand Lake. Weitzel and Emory came in sight of our lines before
+nightfall, threw forward skirmishers, opened guns at long range, and
+bivouacked; and our scouts reported the movement on the lake. My
+dispositions were as follows: Mouton, with six hundred men and six guns,
+held the left from the lake to the Teche. The Diana in the bayou and two
+twenty-fours on the right bank guarded the stream and the main road; and
+sixteen hundred men, with twelve guns, prolonged the line to the
+railway embankment on our extreme right, held by Green with his
+dismounted horsemen. One of Green's regiments, Colonel Reilly, the 2d
+Louisiana cavalry, Colonel Vincent, recently embodied, and a section of
+guns, were at Hutchin's Point on Grand Lake.
+
+The cannonading ceased at dark, and when all was quiet I rode up to
+Franklin, thirteen miles, to look after my rear. A staff officer had
+been previously sent to direct the removal of stores from New Iberia,
+order down Clack's battalion, some ninety men, from the salt mines, and
+communicate with Fuller at Butte à la Rose; but the country around the
+Butte was flooded, and he was unable to reach it.
+
+Above Franklin the Teche makes a great bend to the east and approaches
+Grand Lake at Hutchin's Point, where there was a shell bank, and a good
+road leading to the high ground along the bayou. The road to New Iberia
+leaves the Teche at Franklin to avoid this bend, and runs due north
+across the prairie. Just clear of the village it enters a small wood,
+through which flows a sluggish stream, the Bayou Yokely, crossed by a
+bridge. In the wood and near the stream the ground was low and boggy,
+impassable for wagons except on a causeway. The distance from Hutchin's
+Point to Yokely Bridge was less than that from Bisland; and this bridge,
+held by the enemy, made escape from the latter place impossible; yet to
+retreat without fighting was, in the existing condition of public
+sentiment, to abandon Louisiana.
+
+I remained at Franklin until after midnight, when, learning from Reilly
+that no landing had been made at Hutchin's, I returned to Bisland. The
+enemy was slow in moving on the 13th, apparently waiting for the effect
+of his turning movement to be felt. As the day wore on he opened his
+guns, and gradually increased his fire until it became very heavy. Many
+of his field pieces were twenty-pounder Parrotts, to which we had
+nothing to reply except the Parrott on the Diana and the twenty-fours;
+and, as our supply of ammunition was small, Major Brent desired to
+reserve it for an emergency.
+
+With the exception of Green's command, the troops on the right of the
+Teche were raw, and had never been in action. As shot and shell tore
+over the breastwork behind which they were lying, much consternation was
+exhibited, and it was manifest that an assault, however feeble, would
+break a part of the line. It was absolutely necessary to give the men
+some _morale_; and, mounting the breastwork, I made a cigarette, struck
+fire with my _briquet_, and walked up and down, smoking. Near the line
+was a low tree with spreading branches, which a young officer, Bradford
+by name, proposed to climb, so as to have a better view. I gave him my
+field glass, and this plucky youngster sat in his tree as quietly as in
+a chimney corner, though the branches around were cut away. These
+examples, especially that of Captain Bradford, gave confidence to the
+men, who began to expose themselves, and some casualties were suffered
+in consequence.
+
+From the extreme right Colonel Green sent word that his corner was
+uncomfortably hot, and I found it so. The battery near him was cut up,
+its captain, Sayres, severely wounded, and Major Brent withdrew it.
+Green was assured that there were no places on our line particularly
+cool, and there was nothing to be done but submit to the pounding.
+
+A heavy fire was concentrated on the twenty-fours and the Diana. Captain
+Semmes, son of Admiral Semmes of Alabama fame, and an officer of much
+coolness in action, had been detached from his battery and placed in
+command of the boat. A message from him informed me that the Diana was
+disabled. She was lying against the bank under a severe fire. The waters
+of the bayou seemed to be boiling like a kettle. An officer came to the
+side of the boat to speak to me, but before he could open his mouth a
+shell struck him, and he disappeared as suddenly as Harlequin in a
+pantomine. Semmes then reported his condition. Conical shells from the
+enemy's Parrotts had pierced the railway iron, killed and wounded
+several of his gunners and crew, and cut a steam pipe. Fortunately, he
+had kept down his fires, or escaping steam would have driven every one
+from the boat. It was necessary to take her out of fire for repairs. To
+lose even temporarily our best gun, the thirty-pounder, was hard, but
+there was no help for it.
+
+During the day staff officers were frequently sent to Mouton to
+ascertain his condition; and, as the bridge over which they passed was
+in the line of fire directed on the Diana and the twenty-fours, the
+promenade was not a holiday affair.
+
+Several times in the afternoon the enemy appeared to be forming for an
+assault; and after my men had become steady, I hoped an attack would be
+made, feeling confident of repulsing it.
+
+Night brought quiet, and no report came from Reilly at Hutchin's. No
+news seemed good news; for I would have ample time to provide against a
+debarkation north of Hutchin's. The force at Bisland was in fine
+spirits. Protected by the breastwork, we had suffered but little; and
+the Diana was expected to resume her position before morning.
+
+At 9 P.M. appeared Colonel Reilly to make the following report: The
+enemy had landed at Hutchin's, several thousand strong, with artillery,
+and advanced to the Teche, pushing our people back to and through
+Franklin. Reilly had left his command in camp below Franklin, toward
+Bisland, but thought the enemy had not reached the village at nightfall.
+Here was pleasant intelligence! There was no time to ask questions. I
+hoped to cut my way through, but feared the loss of wagons and material.
+Mouton was directed to withdraw from the left bank of the bayou, start
+the artillery and trains to Franklin, and follow with the infantry.
+Green, with his mounted men and a section of guns, was to form the rear
+guard; and Semmes was told to hurry his repairs and get the Diana to
+Franklin by dawn. As there was no means of removing the two
+twenty-fours, they were to be disabled. Leaving Major Brent to look
+after his artillery and Major Levy to superintend the prompt execution
+of orders, I rode for Franklin, taking Reilly with me. Reaching his
+camp, three miles from the town, I found the men sleeping and the trains
+parked, though the enemy was so near at hand. The camp was aroused, the
+troops were ordered under arms, and Reilly left to move up at once, with
+his trains following.
+
+Two hours after midnight, and the village of Franklin was as silent as
+the grave. Beyond the last houses, toward New Iberia, a faint light from
+some camp fires could be seen. Were the Federals in possession of the
+road? Approaching the fires cautiously, I saw a sentinel walking his
+post, and, as he passed between me and the light, marked his ragged
+Confederate garb. Major Clack had reached this point after dark, and
+intended to resume his march to Bisland in the morning. He speedily got
+his little band under arms, and in the darkness we beat the wood to our
+right. Not a picket nor scout was found, and Yokely Causeway and Bridge
+were safe. From the farther edge of the wood, in open fields, Federal
+camp fires were visible. It was a wonderful chance. Grover had stopped
+just short of the prize. Thirty minutes would have given him the wood
+and bridge, closing the trap on my force. Reilly, with his own and
+Vincent's regiments of horse and the two guns, came up. The guns were
+placed on the road near the Teche, with orders to stand fast. Reilly and
+Vincent dismounted their men, sent horses well to the rear, and formed
+line in the wood to the left of the guns, with Clack to the left of
+Vincent.
+
+The first light of dawn made objects visible and aroused the Federals,
+some two hundred yards distant. Advancing rapidly from the wood, our
+line poured in a fire and rushed forward with a shout. Taken by
+surprise, the Federals fell back, leaving a battery on their right
+exposed. To prevent the sleepy gunners from opening, I rode straight on
+the guns, followed by my staff and four mounted couriers, and the
+gunners made off. All this was easy enough. Surprise and the uncertain
+light had favored us; but broad day exposed our weakness, and the enemy
+threw forward a heavy line of skirmishers. It was necessary for us to
+regain the wood, now four hundred yards to the rear. Officers behaved
+admirably in seconding my efforts to encourage and steady their men and
+keep them well in hand. Our two guns on the road fired rapidly and
+effectively, but the Federals came on in numbers, and their fire began
+to tell. Reilly was killed, Vincent wounded in the neck, and many others
+went down. At this moment the peculiar whistle of a Parrott shell was
+heard, and Semmes appeared with the Diana.
+
+The enemy's advance was arrested; Gray's infantry from Bisland came up;
+the wood was occupied; Mouton with the remaining infantry arrived, and
+all danger was over. Green, in command of the rear guard, showed great
+vigor, and prevented Emory and Weitzel from pressing the trains. Besides
+the twenty-fours mentioned, one gun of Cornay's battery, disabled in the
+action of the 13th, was left at Bisland, and with these exceptions every
+wagon, pot, or pan was brought off. Two months later these guns were
+recaptured, much to the delight of our men.
+
+The trains over Yokely Bridge and on the road to New Iberia, Mouton
+skillfully withdrew from Grover's front as Green entered Franklin from
+below. To facilitate this, Semmes was directed to work the Diana's gun
+to the last moment, then get ashore with his crew, and blow up the boat.
+With his usual coolness Semmes carried out his instructions, but,
+remaining too long near the Diana to witness the explosion he had
+arranged, was captured.
+
+The object sought in holding on to Bisland was attained. From this time
+forward I had the sympathy and support of the people, and my troops were
+full of confidence. Our retreat to Opelousas, by New Iberia and
+Vermilionville, was undisturbed, Green with his horse keeping the enemy
+in check. Indeed, the pursuit was without energy or vigor. The first
+defensible position was at the Bayou Vermilion, thirty miles south of
+Opelousas. Here, after an action of some warmth, the enemy was held back
+until night and the bridge destroyed. From Opelousas the infantry, by
+easy marches, moved to and up the valley of the Red River, where
+supplies were abundant. The country was open, and the great superiority
+of his numbers enabled the enemy to do as he liked. Mouton, with Green's
+horse, marched west of Opelousas. It was hoped that he could find
+subsistence between that place and the Mermentou River, and be in
+position to fall on the enemy's rear and capture any small force left on
+the Teche. I supposed that the Federal army, after reaching Alexandria,
+would turn to the east, cross the Mississippi, and invest Port Hudson;
+and this supposition proved to be correct.
+
+Meantime, accompanied by a tender, Fuller on the Queen entered Grand
+Lake on the 13th, expecting his two armed steamers to follow. On the
+morning of the 14th the Federal gunboats from Berwick's Bay appeared,
+and Fuller, dispatching the tender up the Atchafalaya to hasten his
+steamers, prepared for action, as he doubtless would have done in
+presence of Admiral Farragut's fleet. A shell set fire to the Queen, and
+Fuller with his crew was captured. On the 20th the enemy's gunboats,
+assisted by four companies of infantry, captured Butte à la Rose with
+two twenty-four-pounders and sixty men. Semmes, Fuller, and the
+prisoners taken from the Queen and at the Butte, were on the transport
+Maple Leaf with Captain Fusilier, and escaped in the manner related,
+excepting Fuller, who from wounds received in his last action was unable
+to walk. Remaining in charge of the Maple Leaf until his friends were
+ashore, he restored her to the Federals, was taken to Fort Delaware, and
+died in prison. A braver man never lived.
+
+The Federal army reached Opelousas on the 20th of April, and remained
+there until the 5th of May, detained by fear of Mouton's horse to the
+west. Unfortunately, this officer was forced by want of supplies to move
+to the Sabine, more than a hundred miles away, and thrown out of the
+game for many days.
+
+In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pp. 309 and 310,
+the Federal General Banks makes the following statements: "During these
+operations on the Teche we captured over twenty-five hundred prisoners
+and twenty-two guns; destroyed three gunboats and eight steamers"; and
+further: "A dispatch from Governor Moore to General Taylor was
+intercepted, in which Taylor was directed to fall back into Texas." At
+the time, my entire force in western Louisiana was under three thousand,
+and it is rather startling to learn that we were all captured. Two
+twenty-fours and one field gun were abandoned at Bisland, and two
+twenty-fours lost at Butte à la Rose. We scuttled and burnt the Cotton
+at Bisland, and blew up the Diana (captured from the enemy) at Franklin.
+The Queen (also captured) was destroyed in action on Grand Lake. The
+Federals caught two small steamers, the Ellen and Cornie, in the
+Atchafalaya, and we destroyed two in the Teche. The other four reported
+by General Banks must have come from the realm of the multitude of
+prisoners and guns. It also appears from the intercepted dispatch of
+Governor Moore that major-generals of the Confederate army were under
+the orders of State governors--an original discovery.
+
+The delay of the Federals at Opelousas gave abundant time to remove our
+stores from Alexandria. General Kirby Smith, the new departmental
+commander, was advised to retire to Shreveport, two hundred miles up Red
+River, where, remote from danger or disturbance, he could organize his
+administration. Threatened in rear, Fort De Russy was untenable; so the
+place was dismantled and the little garrison withdrawn. On the 16th of
+April Admiral Porter with several gunboats had passed the Vicksburg
+batteries, and the abandonment of De Russy now left the Red River open
+to him. He reached Alexandria on the 9th of May, a few hours in advance
+of Banks's army. From the 8th to the 11th of the same month some of his
+gunboats bombarded Fort Beauregard, on the Washita, but were driven off
+by the garrison under Colonel Logan.
+
+At this time I was sorely stricken by domestic grief. On the approach of
+the enemy to Alexandria my family embarked on a steamer for Shreveport.
+Accustomed to the gentlest care, my good wife had learned to take action
+for herself, insisting that she was unwilling to divert the smallest
+portion of my time from public duty. A moment to say farewell, and she
+left with our four children, two girls and two boys, all pictures of
+vigorous health. Before forty-eight hours had passed, just as she
+reached Shreveport, scarlet fever had taken away our eldest boy, and
+symptoms of the disease were manifest in the other children. The
+bereaved mother had no acquaintance in Shreveport, but the Good
+Samaritan appeared in the person of Mr. Ulger Lauve, a resident of the
+place, who took her to his house and showed her every attention, though
+he exposed his own family to great danger from contagion. The second boy
+died a few days later. The two girls, older and stronger, recovered. I
+was stunned by this intelligence, so unexpected, and it was well perhaps
+that the absorbing character of my duties left no time for the
+indulgence of private grief; but it was sad to think of the afflicted
+mother, alone with her dead and dying, deprived of the consolation of my
+presence. Many days passed before we met, and then but for an hour.
+
+My infantry, hardly a thousand strong, with the trains, had marched to
+Natchitoches and camped, and some mounted scouts to observe the enemy
+were kept in the vicinity of Alexandria.
+
+On page 309 of the "Report" before quoted, General Banks says: "A force
+under Generals Weitzel and Dwight pursued the enemy nearly to Grand
+Ecore, so thoroughly dispersing his forces that he was unable to
+reorganize a respectable army until July." A party of Federal horse
+crossed Cane River at Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Grand Ecore,
+and chased a mounted orderly and myself about four miles, then turned
+back to Alexandria; but I maintain that the orderly and I were not
+dispersed, for we remained together to the end.
+
+The Federal army withdrew from Alexandria on the 13th of May, and on the
+23d crossed the Mississippi and proceeded to invest Port Hudson;
+whereupon I returned by steamer to Alexandria, directing the infantry at
+Natchitoches to march back to the Teche to unite with Mouton. Having
+obtained supplies on the Sabine, Mouton and Green, the latter promoted
+to brigadier for gallant conduct, returned to the Teche country, but
+arrived too late to cut off the enemy, who with large plunder had
+crossed to the east side of Berwick's Bay, where he had fortifications
+and gunboats.
+
+At Alexandria a communication from General Kirby Smith informed me that
+Major-General Walker, with a division of infantry and three batteries,
+four thousand strong, was on the march from Arkansas, and would reach me
+within the next few days; and I was directed to employ Walker's force in
+some attempt to relieve Vicksburg, now invested by General Grant, who
+had crossed the Mississippi below on the 1st of May.
+
+The peculiar position of Vicksburg and the impossibility of approaching
+it from the west bank of the Mississippi have been stated, and were now
+insisted upon. Granting the feasibility of traversing the narrow
+peninsula opposite the place, seven miles in length and swept by guns
+afloat on both sides, what would be gained? The problem was to withdraw
+the garrison, not to reënforce it; and the correctness of this opinion
+was proved by the fact that Pemberton could not use the peninsular route
+to send out messengers.
+
+On the other hand, I was confident that, with Walker's force, Berwick's
+Bay could be captured, the Lafourche overrun, Banks's communication with
+New Orleans interrupted, and that city threatened. Its population of two
+hundred thousand was bitterly hostile to Federal rule, and the
+appearance of a Confederate force on the opposite bank of the river
+would raise such a storm as to bring General Banks from Port Hudson, the
+garrison of which could then unite with General Joseph Johnston in the
+rear of General Grant. Too late to relieve Port Hudson, I accomplished
+all the rest with a force of less than three thousand of all arms.
+
+Remonstrances were of no avail. I was informed that all the Confederate
+authorities in the east were urgent for some effort on our part in
+behalf of Vicksburg, and that public opinion would condemn us if we did
+not _try to do something_. To go two hundred miles and more away from
+the proper theatre of action in search of an indefinite _something_ was
+hard; but orders are orders. Time was so important that I determined to
+run the risk of moving Walker by river, though the enemy could bring
+gunboats into the lower Red and Washita, as well as into the Tensas, and
+had some troops in the region between this last and the Mississippi.
+Steamers were held in readiness, and as soon as Walker arrived his
+command was embarked and taken up the Tensas. I went on in advance to
+give notice to the boats behind of danger; for, crowded with troops,
+these would have been helpless in the event of meeting an enemy.
+
+Without interference, a point on the Tensas opposite Vicksburg was
+reached and the troops disembarked. Here Captain Harrison's mounted men,
+previously mentioned, met us. For safety the steamers were sent down the
+Tensas to its junction with the Washita, and up the last above Fort
+Beauregard; and bridges were thrown over the Tensas and Macon to give
+communication with the terminus of the Monroe Railway.
+
+Walker rapidly advanced to the village of Richmond, midway between the
+Tensas and Mississippi, some twelve miles from each, where he surprised
+and captured a small Federal party. At Young's Point, ten miles above
+Vicksburg, on the west bank of the river, the enemy had a fortified
+camp, and a second one four miles above Young's, both occupied by negro
+troops. Holding one brigade in reserve at the point of separation of the
+roads, Walker sent a brigade to Young's and another to the camp above.
+Both attacks were made at dawn, and, with the loss of some scores of
+prisoners, the negroes were driven over the levee to the protection of
+gunboats in the river.
+
+Fifteen miles above Vicksburg the Yazoo River enters the Mississippi
+from the east, and twenty-five miles farther up Steele's Bayou connects
+the two rivers. Before reaching the Mississippi the Yazoo makes a bend
+to the south, approaching the rear of Vicksburg. The right of Grant's
+army rested on this bend, and here his supplies were landed, and his
+transports were beyond the reach of annoyance from the west bank of the
+Mississippi.
+
+As foreseen, our movement resulted, and could result, in nothing. Walker
+was directed to desist from further efforts on the river, and move to
+Monroe, where steamers would be in readiness to return his command to
+Alexandria, to which place I pushed on in advance. Subsequently, General
+Kirby Smith reached Monroe direct from Shreveport, countermanded my
+orders, and turned Walker back into the region east of the Tensas, where
+this good soldier and his fine division were kept idle for some weeks,
+until the fall of Vicksburg. The time wasted on these absurd movements
+cost us the garrison of Port Hudson, nearly eight thousand men; but the
+pressure on General Kirby Smith to _do something_ for Vicksburg was too
+strong to be resisted.
+
+At Alexandria I found three small regiments of Texan horse, just
+arrived. Together they numbered six hundred and fifty, and restored the
+loss suffered in action and in long marches by the forces on the Teche.
+Colonel (afterward brigadier) Major, the senior officer, was ordered to
+move these regiments to Morgan's Ferry on the Atchafalaya; and by
+ambulance, with relays of mules, I reached Mouton and Green on the lower
+Teche in a few hours.
+
+The Federals had a number of sick and convalescent at Berwick's Bay, but
+the effective force was small. Some works strengthened their positions,
+and there was a gunboat anchored in the bay. Mouton and Green were
+directed to collect small boats, skiffs, flats, even sugar-coolers, in
+the Teche; and the importance of secrecy was impressed upon them.
+Pickets were doubled to prevent communication with the enemy, and only a
+few scouts permitted to approach the bay. Returning north to Morgan's
+Ferry, I crossed the Atchafalaya with Major's command, and moved down
+the Fordoche and Grosse-Tête, bayous draining the region between the
+Atchafalaya and Mississippi. A short march brought us near the Fausse
+Rivière, an ancient bed of the Mississippi, some miles west of the
+present channel, and opposite Port Hudson.
+
+Halting the command on the Fordoche, I rode out to the estate of an
+acquaintance on Fausse Rivière, whence the noise of battle at Port
+Hudson could be heard. Two ladies of the family, recently from New
+Orleans, told me that the Federal force left in the city would not
+exceed a thousand men; that a small garrison occupied a work near
+Donaldsonville, where the Lafourche leaves the Mississippi, and with
+this exception there were no troops on the west bank of the river. From
+our position on the Fordoche to the Bayou Boeuf, in rear of the
+Federal camp at Berwick's Bay, was over a hundred miles. The route
+followed the Grosse-Tête to Plaquemine on the Mississippi, and to escape
+observation Plaquemine must be passed in the night. Below this point
+there was an interior road that reached the Lafourche some distance
+below Donaldsonville. Minute instructions and guides were given to
+Major.
+
+It was now the 19th of June, and he was expected to reach the Boeuf on
+the morning of the 23d. The necessity of punctuality was impressed on
+him and his officers, as I would attack Berwick's at dawn on the 23d,
+and their coöperation was required to secure success. Indeed, their own
+safety depended on promptness. The men carried rations, with some
+forage, and wagons were sent back across the Atchafalaya. Major moved in
+time to pass Plaquemine, twenty odd miles, before midnight, and I
+hastened to Mouton's camp below Bisland, reaching it in the afternoon of
+the 22d.
+
+Fifty-three small craft, capable of transporting three hundred men, had
+been collected. Detachments for the boats were drawn from Green's
+brigade and the 2d Louisiana horse. Major Hunter of Baylor's Texans was
+placed in command, with Major Blair of the 2d Louisiana as second. After
+nightfall Hunter embarked his men, and paddled down the Teche to the
+Atchafalaya and Grand Lake. Fortunately, there was no wind; for the
+slightest disturbance of the lake would have swamped his _fleet_. He had
+about twelve miles to make, and was expected to reach before daylight
+the northeast end of the island, a mile from Berwick's and the railway
+terminus, where he was instructed to lie quiet until he heard General
+Green's guns from the west side of the bay, then rush on the rear of the
+Federal works. During the night Green placed a battery opposite the
+gunboat and railway station, and deployed five hundred dismounted men
+along the shores of the bay, here eight hundred yards wide. The battery
+was run up by hand, and every precaution to secure silence taken. At
+dawn of the 23d (June, 1863) our guns opened on the gunboat, and
+speedily drove it away. Fire was then directed on the earthwork, where
+the enemy, completely surprised, had some heavy pieces with which he
+attempted to reply. A shout was heard in his rear, and Hunter with his
+party came rushing on. Resistance ceased at once; but before Hunter
+closed in, a train of three engines and many carriages escaped from the
+station toward the Boeuf, seven miles away. I crossed in a "pirogue"
+with Green, and sent back two flats and several skiffs found on the east
+side for his men, who used them to get over, their horses swimming
+alongside.
+
+It was a scene of the wildest excitement and confusion. The sight of
+such quantities of "loot" quite upset my hungry followers. Wandering
+through the station and warehouse, filled with stores, a Texan came upon
+a telegraphic instrument, clicking in response to one down the line.
+Supposing this to be some infernal machine for our destruction, he
+determined to save his friends at the risk of his own life, and smashed
+the instrument with his heavy boots; then rushed among his comrades,
+exclaiming: "Boys! they is trying to blow us up. I seen the triggers
+a-working, but I busted 'em."
+
+Mouton now crossed with some infantry, and order was restored; and
+Green, who had brought over several scores of horses, mounted his men
+and followed the rail toward the Boeuf. Before reaching it he heard
+the noise of the train; then, firing and moving forward, found the train
+stopped, and Major, up to time, in possession of the bridge. The capture
+of the train was of importance, as it enabled us to operate the thirty
+miles of rail between Berwick's and the Lafourche.
+
+In the combined movements described, Green and Major had set out from
+points more than a hundred miles apart, the latter marching through a
+region in possession or under control of the enemy, while the boat
+expedition of Hunter passed over twelve miles of water; yet all reached
+their goal at the appointed time. Although every precaution had been
+taken to exclude mistakes and insure coöperation, such complete success
+is not often attained in combined military movements; and I felt that
+sacrifices were due to Fortune.
+
+In his rapid march from the Fordoche Major captured seventy prisoners
+and burned two steamers at Plaquemine. He afterward encountered no enemy
+until he reached Thibodeaux, near which place, at Lafourche Crossing,
+there was a stockade held by a small force to protect the railway
+bridge. Colonel Pyron, with two hundred men, was detached to mask or
+carry this stockade, and Major passed on to the Boeuf. Pyron's attack
+was repulsed with a loss of fifty-five killed and wounded, Pyron among
+the latter; but the enemy, after destroying the bridge, abandoned the
+post and three guns and retired to New Orleans.
+
+The spoils of Berwick's were of vast importance. Twelve guns,
+thirty-twos and twenty-fours (among which were our old friends from
+Bisland), seventeen hundred prisoners, with many small arms and
+accouterments, and great quantities of quarter-master's, commissary,
+ordnance, and medical stores, fell into our hands. For the first time
+since I reached western Louisiana I had supplies, and in such abundance
+as to serve for the Red River campaign of 1864. Three fourths of the
+prisoners were sick and convalescent men left here, as well as the
+stores, by General Banks, when he marched up the Teche in April.
+Excepting those too ill to be moved, the prisoners were paroled and sent
+to New Orleans under charge of their surgeons.
+
+I was eager to place batteries on the Mississippi to interrupt Banks's
+communication with New Orleans; but the passage of Berwick's Bay
+consumed much time, though we worked night and day. We were forced to
+dismount guns and carriages and cross them piecemeal in two small flats,
+and several days elapsed before a little steamer from the upper Teche
+could be brought down to assist. It must be remembered that neither
+artillery nor wagons accompanied Major's march from the Fordoche.
+
+On the 24th General Green, with Major's men and such of his own as had
+crossed their horses, marched for Donaldsonville, sixty-five miles, and
+General Mouton, with two regiments of infantry, took rail to Thibodeaux
+and sent pickets down the line to Bayou Des Allemands, twenty-five miles
+from New Orleans. Our third regiment of infantry remained at the bay,
+where Major Brent was at work mounting the captured guns on the southern
+end of the island and on the western shore opposite. Gunboats could stop
+the crossing, and entrance from the Gulf was open. While we might drive
+off "tin-clads" the enemy had boats capable of resisting field guns, and
+it is remarkable that, from the 23d of June to the 22d of July, he made
+no attempt to disturb us at Berwick's Bay.
+
+General Green reached the vicinity of Donaldsonville on the 27th, and
+found an earthwork at the junction of the Lafourche and Mississippi.
+This work, called Fort Butler, had a ditch on three sides, and the river
+face was covered by gunboats in the stream. The garrison was reported to
+be from two to three hundred negro troops. After some correspondence
+with Mouton, Green determined to assault the place, and drew around it
+five hundred of his men in the night of the 27th. Two hours before dawn
+of the 28th Colonel Joseph Phillipps led his regiment, two hundred
+strong, to the attack. Darkness and ignorance of the ground caused much
+blundering. The levee above the fort was mistaken for the parapet, and
+some loss was sustained from the fire of gunboats. Changing direction,
+Phillipps came upon the ditch, unknown to him as to Green, who had been
+deceived by false information. The ditch passed, Phillipps mounted the
+parapet and fell dead as he reached the top. An equally brave man, Major
+Ridley, worthy of his leader, followed, and, calling on his men to come,
+jumped into the work. Frightened by his appearance, the enemy abandoned
+the parapet; but finding that Ridley was alone, returned and captured
+him. A dozen men would have carried the place; but the ditch afforded
+protection from fire, and the men, disheartened by Phillipps's death,
+could not be induced to leave it. Indeed, the largest part of our loss,
+ninety-seven, was made up of these men, who remained in the ditch until
+daylight and surrendered.
+
+The above statements are taken from the report of Major Ridley, made
+after he was exchanged. The affair was unfortunate. Open to fire from
+vessels on the river, Fort Butler was of no value to us, and the feeble
+garrison would have remained under cover; but, like the Irishman at
+Donnybrook, Green's rule was to strike an enemy whenever he saw him--a
+most commendable rule in war, and covering a multitude of such small
+errors as the attack on Fort Butler.
+
+Meantime I was detained at Berwick's Bay, engaged in hurrying over and
+forward artillery and arranging to transport the more valuable stores
+into the interior. It was not, however, until near the end of the first
+week in July that I succeeded in placing twelve guns on the river below
+Donaldsonville. Fire was opened, one transport destroyed and several
+turned back. Gunboats attempted to dislodge us, but were readily driven
+away by the aid of Green's men, dismounted and protected by the levee.
+For three days the river was closed to transports, and our mounted
+scouts were pushed down to a point opposite Kenner, sixteen miles above
+New Orleans. A few hours more, and the city would have been wild with
+excitement; but in war time once lost can not be regained. The unwise
+movement toward Vicksburg retarded operations at Berwick's and on the
+river, and Port Hudson fell. During the night of the 10th of July
+intelligence of its surrender on the previous day reached me, and some
+hours later the fall of Vicksburg on the 4th was announced.
+
+An iron-clad or two in Berwick's Bay, and the road at Plaquemine held by
+troops, supported by vessels in the river, would close all egress from
+the Lafourche, and the enemy could make arrangements to bag us at his
+leisure; while Grant's army and Porter's fleet, now set free, might
+overrun the Washita and Red River regions and destroy Walker's division,
+separated from me by a distance of more than three hundred miles. The
+outlook was not cheerful, but it was necessary to make the best of it,
+and at all hazards save our plunder. Batteries and outposts were ordered
+in to the Lafourche; Green concentrated his horse near Donaldsonville,
+the infantry moved to Labadieville to support him, and Mouton went to
+Berwick's, where he worked night and day in crossing stores to the west
+side of the bay.
+
+On the 13th of July Generals Weitzel, Grover, and Dwight, with six
+thousand men, came from Port Hudson, disembarked at Donaldsonville, and
+advanced down the Lafourche. Ordering up the infantry, I joined Green,
+but did not interfere with his dispositions, which were excellent. His
+force, fourteen hundred, including a battery, was dismounted and in
+line. As I reached the field the enemy came in sight, and Green led on
+his charge so vigorously as to drive the Federals into Donaldsonville,
+capturing two hundred prisoners, many small arms, and two guns, one of
+which was the field gun lost at Bisland. The affair was finished too
+speedily to require the assistance of the infantry.
+
+Undisturbed, we removed not only all stores from Berwick's, but many
+supplies from the abundant Lafourche country, including a large herd of
+cattle driven from the prairies of Opelousas by the Federals some weeks
+before. On the 21st of July, we ran the engines and carriages on the
+railway into the bay, threw in the heavy guns, and moved up the Teche,
+leaving pickets opposite Berwick's. Twenty-four hours thereafter the
+enemy's scouts reached the bay. The timidity manifested after the action
+of the 13th may be ascribed to the fertile imagination of the Federal
+commander, General Banks, which multiplied my force of less than three
+thousand of all arms into nine or twelve thousand.
+
+In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 313 and 314,
+General Banks states:
+
+"Orders had been sent to Brashear City [Berwick's] to remove all stores,
+but to hold the position, with the aid of gunboats, to the last. The
+enemy succeeded in crossing Grand Lake by means of rafts, and surprised
+and captured the garrison, consisting of _about three hundred men_. The
+enemy, greatly strengthened in numbers, then attacked the works at
+Donaldsonville, on the Mississippi, which were defended by a garrison of
+two hundred and twenty-five men, including convalescents, commanded by
+Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers. The attack was made on the
+morning of the 28th of June, and lasted until daylight. The garrison
+made a splendid defense, killing and wounding more than their own
+number, and capturing as many officers and nearly as many men as their
+garrison numbered. The enemy's troops were under the command of General
+Green of Texas, and consisted of the Louisiana troops under General
+Taylor and five thousand Texas cavalry, making a force of nine to twelve
+thousand in that vicinity.
+
+"The troops engaged in these different operations left but _four hundred
+men for the defense of New Orleans_. Upon the surrender of Port Hudson
+it was found that the enemy had established batteries below, on the
+river, cutting off our communication with New Orleans, making it
+necessary to send a large force to dislodge them. On the 9th of July
+seven transports, containing all my available force, were sent below
+against the enemy in the vicinity of Donaldsonville. The country was
+speedily freed from his presence, and Brashear City [Berwick's] was
+recaptured on the 22d of July."
+
+Here are remarkable statements. Fourteen hundred men and the vast stores
+at Berwick's (Brashear City) are omitted, as is the action of the 13th
+of July with "all my [his] available force.... The country was speedily
+freed from his [my] presence, and Brashear City reoccupied," though I
+remained in the country for eleven days after the 9th, and had abandoned
+Brashear City twenty-four hours before the first Federal scout made his
+appearance. The conduct of Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers,
+with two hundred and twenty-five negroes, "including convalescents,"
+appears to have surpassed that of Leonidas and his Spartans; but, like
+the early gods, modern democracies are pleased by large utterances.
+
+While we were engaged in these operations on the Lafourche, a movement
+of Grant's forces from Natchez was made against Fort Beauregard on the
+Washita. The garrison of fifty men abandoned the place on the 3d of
+September, leaving four heavy and four field guns, with their
+ammunition, to be destroyed or carried off by the enemy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER--CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS.
+
+
+Recent events on the Mississippi made it necessary to concentrate my
+small force in the immediate valley of Red River. Indeed, when we lost
+Vicksburg and Port Hudson, we lost not only control of the river but of
+the valley from the Washita and Atchafalaya on the west to Pearl River
+on the east. An army of forty odd thousand men, with all its material,
+was surrendered in the two places, and the fatal consequences were felt
+to the end of the struggle. The policy of shutting up large bodies of
+troops in fortifications, without a relieving army near at hand, can not
+be too strongly reprobated. Vicksburg should have been garrisoned by not
+more than twenty-five hundred men, and Port Hudson by a thousand. These
+would have been ample to protect the batteries against a sudden _coup_,
+and forty thousand men added to General Joseph Johnston's force would
+have prevented the investment of the places, or at least made their loss
+of small moment.
+
+After wasting three months in ineffectual attempts to divert the channel
+of the Mississippi, General Grant ran gunboats and transports by the
+batteries, and crossed the river below. Instead of meeting this movement
+with every available man, Pemberton detached General Bowen with a weak
+division, who successfully resisted the Federal advance for many hours,
+vainly calling the while for reënforcements. Pemberton then illustrated
+the art of war by committing every possible blunder. He fought a series
+of actions with fractions against the enemy's masses, and finished by
+taking his defeated fragments into the Vicksburg trap. It may be stated,
+however, that, had he acted wisely and kept out of Vicksburg, he would
+have been quite as much hounded as he subsequently was.
+
+Grant's error in undertaking an impossible work cost him three months'
+time and the loss by disease of many thousands of his men. The event
+showed that he could as readily have crossed the river below Vicksburg
+at first as at last; but, once over, he is entitled to credit for
+promptly availing himself of his adversary's mistakes and vigorously
+following him. The same may be said of his first success at Fort
+Donelson on the Cumberland. The terror inspired by gunboats in the first
+year of the war has been alluded to; and at Fort Donelson General Grant
+had another potent ally. The two senior Confederate generals,
+politicians rather than warriors, retired from command on the approach
+of the enemy. One can imagine the effect of such conduct, unique in war,
+on the raw troops left behind. General Buckner, an educated soldier, was
+too heavily handicapped by his worthy superiors to make a successful
+defense, and General Grant secured an easy victory. "Among the blind,
+the one-eyed are kings."
+
+General Grant's first essay at Belmont failed, and at Shiloh he was
+out-manoeuvred and out-fought by Sidney Johnston, and, indeed, he was
+saved from destruction by Johnston's death. Before he moved against
+Bragg at Missionary Ridge, the latter had detached Longstreet with a
+third of his force, while he (Grant) reënforced Thomas with most of the
+Vicksburg army and two strong corps under Hooker from the east. The
+historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states that, in reply to a
+question of General Meade, Grant said: "I never manoeuvre"; and one
+has but to study the Virginia campaign of 1864, and imagine an exchange
+of resources by Grant and Lee, to find the true place of the former
+among the world's commanders. He will fall into the class represented by
+Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland.
+
+Genius is God-given, but men are responsible for their acts; and it
+should be said of General Grant that, as far as I am aware, he made war
+in the true spirit of a soldier, never by deed or word inflicting wrong
+on non-combatants. It would be to the credit of the United States army
+if similar statements could be made of Generals Sherman and Sheridan.
+
+Released at length from the swamps of the Tensas, where it had suffered
+from sickness, Walker's division of Texas infantry joined me in the
+early autumn, and was posted to the north of Opelousas. Major-General
+J.G. Walker served as a captain of mounted rifles in the war with
+Mexico. Resigning from the United States army to join the Confederacy,
+he commanded a division at the capture of Harper's Ferry in 1862, and in
+the subsequent battle of Antietam; after which he was transferred to
+Arkansas. Seconded by good brigade and regimental officers, he had
+thoroughly disciplined his men, and made them in every sense soldiers;
+and their efficiency in action was soon established.
+
+On the 29th of September Green, with his horse and a part of Mouton's
+brigade of Louisiana infantry, crossed the Atchafalaya at Morgan's
+Ferry, and attacked and routed the enemy on the Fordoche, capturing four
+hundred and fifty prisoners and two guns. Green lost a hundred in killed
+and wounded; the enemy, who fought under cover, less than half that
+number.
+
+In October the Federals moved a large force of all arms up the Teche,
+their advance reaching the Courtableau. I concentrated for a fight, but
+they suddenly retired to the Bayou Bourbeau, three miles south of
+Opelousas, where they left a considerable body under General Burbridge.
+On the 3d of November Green, reënforced by three regiments of Walker's
+division, was ordered to attack them, and they were beaten with the loss
+of six hundred prisoners. This was the first opportunity I had had of
+observing the admirable conduct of Walker's men in action. Green's
+pursuit was stopped by the approach of heavy masses of the enemy from
+the south, who seemed content with the rescue of Burbridge, as they
+retired at once to the vicinity of New Iberia, fifty miles away. Green
+followed with a part of his horse, and kept his pickets close up; but
+one of his regiments permitted itself to be surprised at night, on the
+open prairie near New Iberia, and lost a hundred men out of a hundred
+and twenty-five. So much for want of discipline and over-confidence.
+General Banks's report mentions this capture, but is silent about
+Bourbeau.
+
+The prisoners taken at the Bourbeau were marched to the Red River, where
+supplies could be had. The second day after the action, _en route_ for
+Alexandria in an ambulance, I turned out of the road on to the prairie
+to pass the column, when I observed an officer, in the uniform of a
+colonel, limping along with his leg bandaged. Surprised at this, I
+stopped to inquire the reason, and was told that the colonel refused to
+separate from his men. Descending from the ambulance, I approached him,
+and, as gently as possible, remonstrated against the folly of walking on
+a wounded leg. He replied that his wound was not very painful, and he
+could keep up with the column. His regiment was from Wisconsin,
+recruited among his neighbors and friends, and he was very unwilling to
+leave it. I insisted on his riding with me, for a time at least, as we
+would remain on the road his men were following. With much reluctance he
+got into the ambulance, and we drove on. For some miles he was silent,
+but, avoiding subjects connected with the war, I put him at ease, and
+before Alexandria was reached we were conversing pleasantly. Impressed
+by his bearing and demeanor, I asked him in what way I could serve him,
+and learned that he desired to send a letter to his wife in Wisconsin,
+who was in delicate health and expecting to be confined. She would hear
+of the capture of his regiment, and be uncertain as to his fate. "You
+shall go to the river to-night," I replied, "catch one of your steamers,
+and take home the assurance of your safety. Remain on parole until you
+can send me an officer of equal rank, and I will look to the comfort of
+your men and have them exchanged at the earliest moment." His manly
+heart was so affected by this as to incapacitate him from expressing his
+thanks.
+
+During the administration of Andrew Johnson a convention met in the city
+of Philadelphia which, at the earnest instance of the President, I
+attended. The gallant Wisconsin colonel was also there to lend his
+assistance in healing the wounds of civil strife. My presence in the
+city of _brotherly love_ furnished an occasion to a newspaper to
+denounce me as "a rebel who, with hands dripping with loyal blood, had
+the audacity to show myself in a loyal community." Whereupon my
+Wisconsin friend, accompanied by a number of persons from his State,
+called on me to express condemnation of the article in question, and was
+ready, with the slightest encouragement, to make the newspaper office a
+hot place. This was the difference between brave soldiers and
+non-fighting politicians, who grew fat by inflaming the passions of
+sectional hate.
+
+The ensuing winter of 1863-4 was without notable events. Control of the
+Mississippi enabled the enemy to throw his forces upon me from above and
+below Red River, and by gunboats interfere with my movements along this
+stream; and as soon as the Lafourche campaign ended, steps were taken to
+provide against these contingencies. Twenty miles south of Alexandria a
+road leaves the Boeuf, an effluent of Red River, and passes through
+pine forest to Burr's Ferry on the Sabine. Twenty odd miles from the
+Boeuf this road intersects another from Opelousas to Fort Jesup, an
+abandoned military post, thence to Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, and
+Shreveport. At varying distances of twelve to thirty miles the valley of
+the Red River is an arc, of which this last-mentioned road is the chord,
+and several routes from the valley cross to ferries on the Sabine above
+Burr's. But the country between the Boeuf and Pleasant Hill, ninety
+miles, was utterly barren, and depots of forage, etc., were necessary
+before troops could march through it. With great expenditure of time and
+labor depots were established, with small detachments to guard them; and
+events proved that the time and labor were well bestowed.
+
+Movements of the Federals along the west coast of Texas in November
+induced General Kirby Smith to withdraw from me Green's command of Texas
+horse, and send it to Galveston. This left me with but one mounted
+regiment, Vincent's 2d Louisiana, and some independent companies, which
+last were organized into two regiments--one, on the Washita, by Colonel
+Harrison, the other, on the Teche, by Colonel Bush; but they were too
+raw to be effective in the approaching campaign. Mouton's brigade of
+Louisiana infantry could be recruited to some extent; but the Texas
+infantry received no recruits, and was weakened by the ordinary
+casualties of camp life, as well as by the action of the Shreveport
+authorities. The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department"
+displayed much ardor in the establishment of bureaux, and on a scale
+proportioned rather to the extent of his territory than to the smallness
+of his force. His staff surpassed in numbers that of Von Moltke during
+the war with France; and, to supply the demands of bureaux and staff,
+constant details from the infantry were called for, to the great
+discontent of the officers in the field. Hydrocephalus at Shreveport
+produced atrophy elsewhere. Extensive works for defense were constructed
+there, and heavy guns mounted; and, as it was known that I objected to
+fortifications beyond mere water batteries, for reasons already stated,
+the chief engineer of the "department" was sent to Fort De Russy to
+build an iron-casemated battery and other works. We shall see what
+became of De Russy.
+
+In the winter there joined me from Arkansas a brigade of Texas infantry,
+numbering seven hundred muskets. The men had been recently dismounted,
+and were much discontented thereat. Prince Charles Polignac, a French
+gentleman of ancient lineage, and a brigadier in the Confederate army,
+reported for duty about the same time, and was assigned to command this
+brigade. The Texans swore that a Frenchman, whose very name they could
+not pronounce, should never command them, and mutiny was threatened. I
+went to their camp, assembled the officers, and pointed out the
+consequences of disobedience, for which I should hold them accountable;
+but promised that if they remained dissatisfied with their new commander
+_after an action_, I would then remove him. Order was restored, but it
+was up-hill work for General Polignac for some time, notwithstanding his
+patience and good temper. The incongruity of the relation struck me, and
+I thought of sending my monte-dealing Texas colonel to Paris, to command
+a brigade of the Imperial Guard.
+
+In the first weeks of 1864 the enemy sent a gunboat expedition up the
+Washita, and Polignac's brigade, with a battery, was moved to Trinity
+to meet it. The gunboats were driven off, and Polignac, by his coolness
+under fire, gained the confidence of his men, as he soon gained their
+affections by his care and attention. They got on famously, and he made
+capital soldiers out of them. General Polignac returned to Europe in
+1865, and as he had shown great gallantry and talent for war while
+serving with me, I hoped that he might come to the front during the
+struggle with Germany; but he belonged to that race of historic gentry
+whose ancestors rallied to the white plume of Henry at Ivry, and
+followed the charge of Condé at Rocroy. Had he been a shopkeeper or
+scribbling attorney, he might have found favor with the dictator who
+ruled France.
+
+All the information received during the months of January and February,
+1864, indicated a movement against me in the early spring; and in the
+latter month it was ascertained that Porter's fleet and a part of
+Sherman's army from Vicksburg would join Banks's forces in the movement,
+while Steele would coöperate from Little Rock, Arkansas. This
+information was communicated to department headquarters, and I asked
+that prompt measures should be taken to reënforce me; but it was "a far
+cry" to Shreveport as to "Lochow," and the emergency seemed less
+pressing in the rear than at the front.
+
+The end of February found my forces distributed as follows: Harrison's
+mounted regiment (just organized), with a four-gun battery, was in the
+north, toward Monroe; Mouton's brigade near Alexandria; Polignac's at
+Trinity on the Washita, fifty-five miles distant; Walker's division at
+Marksville and toward Simmsport on the Atchafalaya, with two hundred men
+under Colonel Byrd detached to assist the gunners at De Russy, which,
+yet unfinished, contained eight heavy guns and two field pieces. Walker
+had three companies of Vincent's horse on the east side of the
+Atchafalaya, watching the Mississippi. The remainder of Vincent's
+regiment was on the Teche.
+
+Increased activity and concentration at Berwick's Bay, and a visit of
+Sherman to New Orleans to confer with Banks, warned me of the impending
+blow; and on the 7th of March Polignac was ordered to move at once to
+Alexandria, and thence, with Mouton's brigade, to the Boeuf,
+twenty-five miles south. Harrison was directed to get his regiment and
+battery to the west bank of the Washita, gather to him several
+independent local companies of horse, and report to General Liddell,
+sent to command on the north bank of Red River, whence he was to harass
+the enemy's advance up that stream. Vincent was ordered to leave flying
+scouts on the Teche and move his regiment, with such men as Bush had
+recruited, to Opelousas, whence he afterward joined me on the Burr's
+Ferry road. At Alexandria steamers were loaded with stores and sent
+above the falls, and everything made ready to evacuate the place. These
+arrangements were not completed a moment too soon.
+
+On March 12th Admiral Porter, with nineteen gunboats, followed by ten
+thousand men of Sherman's army, entered the mouth of Red River. (These
+numbers are from Federal official reports.) On the 13th, under cover of
+a part of the fleet, the troops debarked at Simmsport, on the
+Atchafalaya near the Red, other vessels ascending the latter stream, and
+on the 14th, under command of General A.J. Smith, marched to De Russy,
+thirty miles, which they reached about 5 P.M. As stated, the work was
+incomplete, and had time been given me would have been abandoned.
+Attacked in the rear, the garrison surrendered after losing ten killed
+and wounded. Byrd's two hundred men were in rifle pits on the river
+below, where gunboats, under Commander Phelps, were removing
+obstructions in the channel. A number of Byrd's men and a few gunners
+escaped to the swamps and rejoined their commands; but we lost a hundred
+and eighty-five prisoners, eight heavy guns, and two field pieces. Thus
+much for our Red River Gibraltar.
+
+Cut off from direct communication by the sudden appearance of the enemy
+on the 12th, the three mounted companies east of the Atchafalaya were
+forced to cross at Morgan's Ferry, below Simmsport, and did not rejoin
+Walker until the 15th. This officer was thereby left without means of
+information; but, judging correctly of the numbers of the enemy by a
+personal observation of his transports and fleet, he fell back from his
+advanced position to the Boeuf, forty miles, where he was united with
+Mouton and Polignac. His division at this time was reduced to some
+thirty-three hundred muskets, too weak to make head against A.J. Smith's
+column.
+
+On the afternoon of the 15th of March the advanced boats of Porter's
+fleet reached Alexandria, whence all stores had been removed; but, by
+the mismanagement of a pilot, one steamer was grounded on the falls and
+had to be burned.
+
+In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., page 192, Colonel
+J.S. Clarke, aide-de-camp to General Banks, states that Banks's army in
+this campaign was twenty-eight thousand strong, eighteen thousand under
+Franklin, ten thousand under A.J. Smith. General Steele, operating from
+Arkansas, reports his force at seven thousand; and the number of
+gunboats given is taken from the reports of Admiral Porter to the
+Secretary of the Navy.
+
+To meet Porter and A.J. Smith, Major-General Franklin had left the lower
+Teche on the 13th for Alexandria, with eighteen thousand men. My entire
+force on the south side of Red River consisted of fifty-three hundred
+infantry, five hundred horse, and three hundred artillerymen; and
+Liddell, on the north, had about the same number of horse and a four-gun
+battery. From Texas, if at all, the delayed reënforcements must come,
+and it was vital to cover the roads from the Sabine.
+
+From the Boeuf, on the 16th, I marched on the Burr's Ferry road to
+Carroll Jones's, which was reached on the evening of the 18th. Here,
+where the Burr's Ferry and Natchitoches roads separated, was a depot of
+forage, and I camped.
+
+Polignac's and the Louisiana brigade, under Colonel Gray, were united in
+a division for General Mouton. Vincent's horse, from Opelousas, joined
+on the 19th, and on the following day was sent forward to the Bayou
+Rapides, twelve miles, where it skirmished with the enemy's horse from
+Alexandria, twenty miles below. At dawn of the 21st Edgar's battery,
+four guns, was sent to strengthen Vincent, and posted in a strong
+position near James's Store, where it overlooked and commanded the
+valley.
+
+Meanwhile, couriers were dispatched to the Sabine to inform approaching
+reënforcements of my position, and direct them on to the Fort Jesup
+road. The 21st proved to be a cold, rainy day, with gusts of wind.
+Toward evening the sound of Edgar's guns was heard. Fearing a surprise
+during the night, Captain Elgee of my staff was sent to withdraw the
+battery and warn Vincent of the necessity of vigilance; but the enemy
+had been too prompt. Vincent's pickets found their fires more agreeable
+than outposts. At nightfall the battery and a number of the horse were
+captured, as was Captain Elgee, who rode up just after the event. We
+lost the four guns, with their caissons, and two hundred men. Vincent,
+with the remainder of his command escaped. In truth, my horse was too
+ill disciplined for close work. On the 22d we marched to Beaseley's,
+twelve miles, and remained until the 29th, hoping that reënforcements
+would reach us. Beaseley's was a depot of forage, and covered roads to
+Fort Jesup and Natchitoches; and a cross road reached the Red River
+valley at a point twenty-five miles below the latter place, by which
+some supplies were obtained. As no reënforcements arrived, and the enemy
+was moving up the river, the troops were ordered to Pleasant Hill via
+Fort Jesup, forty miles, and I went to Natchitoches, thirty miles. Here,
+on the night of the 30th, I met Colonel McNeill's regiment of Texas
+horse, numbering two hundred and fifty men, of whom fifty were without
+arms; and the following morning Colonel Herbert came in, with a hundred
+and twenty-five of his three hundred and fifty men unarmed. These were a
+part of Green's command, and the first reënforcements received.
+
+The enemy's advance reached Natchitoches, by the river road, on the
+31st, and McNeill and Herbert were directed to fall back slowly toward
+Pleasant Hill, thirty-six miles. I remained in the town until the enemy
+entered, then rode four miles to Grand Ecore, where, in the main channel
+of Red River, a steamer was awaiting me. Embarking, I went up river to
+Blair's Landing, forty miles by the windings of the stream, whence was a
+road, sixteen miles, to Pleasant Hill. Four miles from Blair's was Bayou
+Pierre, a large arm of the river, crossed by a ferry. At Pleasant Hill,
+on the 1st of April, Walker and Mouton, with their infantry divisions,
+artillery, and trains joined me, as did Green with his staff. From the
+latter I learned that De Bray's regiment of cavalry, with two batteries
+and trains, was in march from Fort Jesup. As the enemy was moving from
+Natchitoches, and could strike the Jesup road across country, De Bray
+was ordered to push forward his artillery and wagons, and look well to
+his right. He reached Pleasant Hill after dark. The enemy attempted to
+impede the march, but was driven off, with a loss of five wounded to De
+Bray. During the day our horse, toward Natchitoches, had some
+skirmishing.
+
+It appeared that General Major, with the remainder of Green's horse,
+could not get up before the 6th, and he was directed to cross the Sabine
+at Logansport and march to Mansfield, twenty miles in my rear. This
+insured his march against disturbance; and, to give him time, I halted
+two days at Pleasant Hill, prepared for action. But the enemy showed no
+disposition to advance seriously, and on the 4th and 5th the infantry
+moved to Mansfield, where on the following day Major, with his horse and
+Buchell's regiment of cavalry, joined. General Major was sent to
+Pleasant Hill to take charge of the advance.
+
+De Bray's and Buchell's regiments have been spoken of as _cavalry_ to
+distinguish them from mounted infantry, herein called _horse_. They had
+never before left their State (Texas), were drilled and disciplined, and
+armed with sabers. Buchell's regiment was organized in the German
+settlement of New Braunfels. The men had a distinct idea that they were
+fighting for their adopted country, and their conduct in battle was in
+marked contrast to that of the Germans whom I had encountered in the
+Federal army in Virginia. Colonel Buchell had served in the Prussian
+army, and was an instructed soldier. Three days after he joined me, he
+was mortally wounded in action, and survived but a few hours. I sat
+beside him as his brave spirit passed away. The old "Fatherland" sent no
+bolder horseman to battle at Rossbach or Gravelotte.
+
+During this long retreat of two hundred miles from the banks of the
+Atchafalaya to Mansfield, I had been in correspondence with General
+Kirby Smith at Shreveport, and always expressed my intention to fight as
+soon as reënforcements reached me. General Kirby Smith thought that I
+would be too weak to meet the enemy, even with all possible
+reënforcements, and suggested two courses: one, to hold the works at
+Shreveport until he could concentrate a force to relieve me; the other,
+to retire into Texas and induce the enemy to follow us.
+
+My objection to the first suggestion was, that it would result in the
+surrender of the troops and Shreveport, as it would be impossible to
+raise a new force for their relief; and to the second, that its
+consequences would be quite as disastrous as a defeat, as it would be an
+abandonment of Louisiana and southern Arkansas. The men from these
+States might be expected to leave us, and small blame to them; while
+from the interior of Texas we could give no more aid to our brethren on
+the east of the Mississippi than from the Sandwich Islands. General
+Kirby Smith did not insist on the adoption of either of his own
+suggestions, nor express an approval of mine; but when Mansfield was
+reached, a decision became necessary.
+
+Three roads lead from this place to Shreveport, the Kingston, Middle,
+and Keachi. The distance by the first, the one nearest to the valley of
+Red River, is thirty-eight miles; by the second, forty; and by the
+third, forty-five. From Keachi, five and twenty miles from Mansfield and
+twenty from Shreveport, roads cross the Sabine into Texas. Past
+Mansfield, then, the enemy would have three roads, one of which would be
+near his fleet on the river, and could avail himself of his great
+superiority in numbers. This was pointed out to the "Aulic Council" at
+Shreveport, but failed to elicit any definite response.
+
+On the 21st of March there had reached Shreveport, from Price's command
+in Arkansas, two brigades of Missouri infantry and two of Arkansas,
+numbering together forty-four hundred muskets. These troops I had
+repeatedly asked for, but they were retained at Shreveport until the
+afternoon of the 4th of April, when they marched to Keachi, and reported
+to me from that place on the morning of the 6th. Supplies were far from
+abundant in the vicinity of Mansfield; and as I might at any moment
+receive an order to retire to Keachi, they were directed to remain there
+for the present. Green, now promoted to major-general, was placed in
+command of all the horse, with Brigadiers Bee, Major, and Bagby under
+him.
+
+On the morning of the 7th of April, Major, from Pleasant Hill, reported
+the enemy advancing in force; whereupon Green went to the front. Later
+in the day the southerly wind brought such distinct sounds of firing to
+Mansfield as to induce me to join Green. Riding hard, I suddenly met
+some fifty men from the front, and reined up to speak to them; but,
+before I could open my mouth, received the following rebuke from one of
+the party for a bad habit: "General! if you won't curse us, we will go
+back with you." I bowed to the implied homily, rode on, followed by the
+men, and found Green fighting a superior force of horse. Putting in my
+little reënforcement, I joined him, and enjoyed his method of managing
+his wild horsemen; and he certainly accomplished more with them than any
+one else could have done. After some severe work, the enemy's progress
+was arrested, and it became evident that Green could camp that night at
+a mill stream seven miles from Pleasant Hill, a matter of importance.
+
+The roads in this region follow the high ridge dividing the drainage of
+Red River from that of the Sabine, and water is very scarce. Between
+Pleasant Hill and Mansfield but two streams are found, the one above
+mentioned, and a smaller, seven miles nearer to the latter place. For
+twenty miles from Pleasant Hill toward Natchitoches there was little or
+no water; and at Pleasant Hill itself we had exhausted the wells and
+reduced the store in cisterns during our stay. This, as it affected
+movements and positions of troops, should be borne in mind.
+
+Leaving Green, I returned to Mansfield, stopping on the road to select
+my ground for the morrow. This was in the edge of a wood, fronting an
+open field eight hundred yards in width by twelve hundred in length,
+through the center of which the road to Pleasant Hill passed. On the
+opposite side of the field was a fence separating it from the pine
+forest, which, open on the higher ground and filled with underwood on
+the lower, spread over the country. The position was three miles in
+front of Mansfield, and covered a cross-road leading to the Sabine. On
+either side of the main Mansfield-Pleasant Hill road, at two miles'
+distance, was a road parallel to it and connected by this Sabine
+cross-road.
+
+General Churchill, commanding the Missouri-Arkansas troops at Keachi,
+was ordered to march for Mansfield at dawn of the 8th, and advised that
+a battle was impending. My medical director was instructed to prepare
+houses in the village for hospitals, and quartermasters were told to
+collect supplies and park surplus wagons. An officer with a small guard
+was selected to preserve order in the town, and especially among the
+wagoners, always disposed to "stampede." Walker and Mouton were ordered
+to move their divisions in the morning, ready for action, to the
+position selected; and a staff officer was sent to Green, with
+instructions to leave a small force in front of the enemy, and before
+dawn withdraw to the appointed ground. These arrangements made, a
+dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith at Shreveport, informing him
+that I had returned from the front, found the enemy advancing in force,
+and would give battle on the following day, April 8, 1864, unless
+positive orders to the contrary were sent to me. This was about 9 P.M.
+of the 7th.
+
+My confidence of success in the impending engagement was inspired by
+accurate knowledge of the Federal movements, as well as the character of
+their commander, General Banks, whose measure had been taken in the
+Virginia campaigns of 1862 and since.
+
+On the morning of the 7th of April Admiral Porter left Grand Ecore with
+six gunboats and twenty transports, on which last were embarked some
+twenty-five hundred troops. The progress of these vessels up the river
+was closely watched by an officer of my staff, who was also in
+communication with General Liddell on the north side. Banks began his
+movement from Grand Ecore to Pleasant Hill on the 6th, with an estimated
+force of twenty-five thousand. Though lateral roads existed, his column
+marched by the main one, and in the following order: Five thousand
+mounted men led the advance, followed by a large wagon train and much
+artillery. Infantry succeeded, then more wagons and artillery, then
+infantry again. In the afternoon of the 7th I knew that the front and
+rear of his column were separated by a distance of twenty miles.
+
+My troops reached the position in front of Sabine cross-road at an early
+hour on the 8th, and were disposed as follows: On the right of the road
+to Pleasant Hill, Walker's infantry division of three brigades, with two
+batteries; on the left, Mouton's, of two brigades and two batteries. As
+Green's men came in from the front, they took position, dismounted, on
+Mouton's left. A regiment of horse was posted on each of the parallel
+roads mentioned, and De Bray's cavalry, with McMahon's battery, held in
+reserve on the main road. Dense forest prevented the employment of much
+artillery, and, with the exception of McMahon's, which rendered
+excellent service, none was used in the action.
+
+I had on the field fifty-three hundred infantry; three thousand horse,
+and five hundred artillerymen--in all, eight thousand eight hundred men,
+a very full estimate. But the vicious dispositions of the enemy made me
+confident of beating all the force he could concentrate during the day;
+and on the morrow Churchill, with forty-four hundred muskets, would be
+up.
+
+The forenoon of the 8th wore on as the troops got into position. Riding
+along the line, I stopped in front of the Louisiana brigade of Mouton's
+division, and made what proved to be an unfortunate remark to the men:
+"As they were fighting in defense of their own soil I wished the
+Louisiana troops to draw the first blood." But they were already
+inflamed by many outrages on their homes, as well as by camp rumors that
+it was intended to abandon their State without a fight. At this moment
+our advanced horse came rushing in, hard followed by the enemy. A shower
+of bullets reached Mouton's line, one of which struck my horse, and a
+body of mounted men charged up to the front of the 18th Louisiana. A
+volley from this regiment sent them back with heavy loss. Infantry was
+reported in the wood opposite my left. This was a new disposition of
+the enemy, for on the 6th and 7th his advance consisted of horse alone;
+and to meet it, Mouton was strengthened by moving Randall's brigade of
+Walker's from the right to the left of the road. To cover this change,
+skirmishers were thrown forward and De Bray's regiment deployed in the
+field.
+
+The enemy showing no disposition to advance, at 4 P.M. I ordered a
+forward movement of my whole line. The ardor of Mouton's troops,
+especially the Louisianians, could not be restrained by their officers.
+Crossing the field under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms, the
+division reached the fence, paused for a moment to draw breath, then
+rushed into the wood on the enemy. Here our loss was severe. General
+Mouton was killed, as were Colonels Armand, Beard, and Walker,
+commanding the 18th, Crescent, and 28th Louisiana regiments of Gray's
+brigade. Major Canfield of the Crescent also fell, and Lieutenant-Colonel
+Clack of the same regiment was mortally wounded. As these officers went
+down, others, among whom Adjutant Blackman was conspicuous, seized the
+colors and led on the men. Polignac's brigade, on the left of Gray's,
+also suffered heavily. Colonel Noble, 17th Texas, with many others, was
+killed. Polignac, left in command by the death of Mouton, displayed
+ability and pressed the shattered division steadily forward. Randall,
+with his fine brigade, supported him on the right; while Major's
+dismounted men, retarded by dense wood, much to the impatience of
+General Green, gradually turned the enemy's right, which was forced
+back with loss of prisoners and guns.
+
+On the right of the main road General Walker, with Waul's and Scurry's
+brigades, encountered but little resistance until he had crossed the
+open field and entered the wood. Finding that he outflanked the enemy's
+left, he kept his right brigade, Scurry's, advanced, and swept
+everything before him.
+
+The first Federal line, consisting of all the mounted force and one
+division of the 13th army corps, was in full flight, leaving prisoners,
+guns, and wagons in our hands. Two miles to the rear of the first
+position, the 2d division of the 13th corps brought up, but was speedily
+routed, losing guns and prisoners; and our advance continued. Near
+sunset, four miles from our original position, the 19th army corps was
+found, drawn up on a ridge overlooking a small stream. Fatigued, and
+disordered by their long advance through dense wood, my men made no
+impression for a time on this fresh body of troops; but possession of
+the water was all-important, for there was none other between this and
+Mansfield. Walker, Green, and Polignac led on their weary men, and I
+rode down to the stream. There was some sharp work, but we persisted,
+the enemy fell back, and the stream was held, just as twilight faded
+into darkness.
+
+Twenty-five hundred prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, several
+stands of colors, many thousands of small arms, and two hundred and
+fifty wagons were the fruits of victory in the battle of Mansfield.
+Eight thousand of the enemy, his horse and two divisions of infantry,
+had been utterly routed, and over five thousand of the 19th corps driven
+back at sunset. With a much smaller force on the field, we invariably
+outnumbered the enemy at the fighting point; and foreseeing the
+possibility of this, I was justified in my confidence of success. The
+defeat of the Federal army was largely due to the ignorance and
+arrogance of its commander, General Banks, who attributed my long
+retreat to his own wonderful strategy.
+
+Night put an end to the struggle along the little stream, and my troops
+camped by the water.
+
+A dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, to inform him
+of the result of the day's fighting, and of my intention to push the
+enemy on the following morning. Leaving instructions for Green, with all
+the mounted force, to pursue at dawn, I rode to Mansfield to look after
+our wounded and meet Churchill. The precautions taken had preserved
+order in the village throughout the day. Hospitals had been prepared,
+the wounded brought in and cared for, prisoners and captured property
+disposed of. Churchill came and reported his command in camp, four miles
+from Mansfield, on the Keachi road; and he was directed to prepare two
+days' rations, and march toward Pleasant Hill at 3 A.M.
+
+Sitting by my camp fire to await the movement of Churchill's column, I
+was saddened by recollection of the many dead, and the pleasure of
+victory was turned to grief as I counted the fearful cost at which it
+had been won. Of the Louisianians fallen, most were acquaintances, many
+had been neighbors and friends; and they were gone. Above all, the death
+of gallant Mouton affected me. He had joined me soon after I reached
+western Louisiana, and had ever proved faithful to duty. Modest,
+unselfish, and patriotic, he showed best in action, always leading his
+men. I thought of his wife and children, and of his father, Governor
+Mouton, whose noble character I have attempted to portray.
+
+Churchill's march disturbed these solemn reveries, and I returned to the
+front, where Walker and Green were awaiting the approaching day. The
+horse, with a battery, moved early to Pleasant Hill, fourteen miles,
+leaving Walker and Polignac to follow Churchill's column as soon as it
+had passed. I rode with Green, and we found many stragglers, scattered
+arms, and burning wagons, showing the haste of the enemy's retreat. The
+mill stream, seven miles distant, was reached, then the vicinity of
+Pleasant Hill, before a shot was fired. A short mile in front of the
+latter place the enemy was found; and as our rapid advance had left the
+infantry far to the rear, feints were made to the right and left to
+develop his position and strength.
+
+The village of Pleasant Hill occupies part of a plateau, a mile wide
+from east to west, along the Mansfield and Fort Jesup road. The highest
+ground, called College Hill, is on the west, and here enters a road from
+the Sabine, which, sixteen miles to the east, strikes the Red River at
+Blair's Landing; while, from the necessity of turning Spanish Lake, the
+distance to Natchitoches and Grand Ecore is thirty-six miles. The
+Federal fleet, with accompanying troops, was now many miles above
+Blair's, which by river is forty-five miles above Grand Ecore. Driven
+from Pleasant Hill to the latter place, the Federal forces would be
+widely separated, and might be destroyed in detail. Though it appeared
+to be the enemy's intention to continue his retreat, as he was known to
+be moving back his trains, yet if undisturbed he might find courage to
+attempt a junction with his fleet at Blair's Landing; and I did not wish
+to lose the advantage of the _morale_ gained by success on the previous
+day.
+
+Our reconnoissance showed that the Federal lines extended across the
+open plateau, from College Hill on their left to a wooded height on the
+right of the road to Mansfield. Winding along in front of this position
+was a gully cut by winter rains, but now dry, and bordered by a thick
+growth of young pines, with fallen timber interspersed. This was held by
+the enemy's advanced infantry, with his main line and guns on the
+plateau. Separating the gully and thicket from the forest toward
+Mansfield was an open field, several hundred yards wide near the road,
+but diminishing in width toward the west. Here the Federal commander had
+concentrated some eighteen thousand, including A.J. Smith's force, not
+engaged on the previous day.
+
+My plan of attack was speedily determined. Orders were sent to the
+infantry to fill canteens at the mill stream, and to the trains to park
+there. Shortly after midday the infantry appeared, Churchill in advance;
+but a glance showed that his men were too much exhausted to attack. They
+had marched forty-five miles, and were thoroughly jaded. Walker's and
+Polignac's divisions had been heavily engaged on the previous day, and
+all were suffering from heat and thirst. Accordingly, two hours were
+given to the troops to lie down and rest.
+
+At 3 P.M. Churchill, with two batteries and three regiments of horse,
+was directed to move to the right and turn the enemy's left. His route
+was through the forest for two miles to the road coming from the Sabine.
+The enemy's left outflanked, he was to attack from the south and west,
+keeping his regiments of horse well to his right, and Walker would
+attack on his left. This was explained to Churchill, and Mr. T.J.
+Williams, formerly sheriff of De Soto parish, and acquainted with every
+road in the vicinity, was sent with him as a guide. On Walker's left,
+near the road from Mansfield, Major Brent had twelve guns in the wood,
+with four on the road, where were posted Buchell's and De Bray's
+cavalry, under General Bee, and Polignac's division, the last in
+reserve. In the wood on the left of the road from Mansfield, Major, with
+two brigades of horse dismounted, was to drive back the enemy's
+skirmishers, turn his right, and gain the road to Blair's Landing. As no
+offensive movement by the enemy was anticipated, he would be turned on
+both flanks, subjected to a concentric fire, and overwhelmed. Though I
+had but twelve thousand five hundred men against eighteen thousand in
+position, the _morale_ was greatly in our favor, and intelligent
+execution of orders was alone necessary to insure success.
+
+At 4.30 P.M. Churchill was reported to be near the position whence he
+would attack; and, to call off attention, Major Brent advanced his
+twelve guns into the field, within seven hundred yards of the enemy's
+line, and opened fire. Soon thereafter the sound of Churchill's attack
+was heard, which the cheers of his men proved to be successful. Walker
+at once led forward his division by echelons of brigades from his right,
+Brent advanced his guns, and Major turned the enemy's right and gained
+possession of the road to Blair's. Complete victory seemed assured when
+Churchill's troops suddenly gave way, and for a time arrested the
+advance of Walker and Major.
+
+The road from the Sabine reached, Churchill formed his line with the two
+Missouri brigades, General Parsons on the right, and the two Arkansas,
+General Tappan, on the left. Advancing three fourths of a mile through
+the forest, he approached the enemy's line, and found that he had not
+gained ground enough to outflank it. Throwing forward skirmishers, he
+moved by the right flank until the Missouri brigades were on the right
+of the Sabine road, the regiments of horse being farther to the right.
+Churchill should have placed his whole command on the right of the
+Sabine road, and he would have found no difficulty in successfully
+executing his orders. In his official report he states "that had my
+[his] line extended a half mile more to the right, a brilliant success
+would have been achieved"; and he gives as the reason for not so
+disposing his force that he judged, from information furnished by his
+guides, the enemy's left to be already outflanked.
+
+The attack ordered, the Missourians threw themselves on the enemy, drove
+him from the gully and thicket, mounted the plateau, broke an opposing
+line, captured and sent to the rear three hundred prisoners, got
+possession of two batteries, the horses of which had been killed, and
+reached the village. Here a Federal brigade, left by Churchill's error
+on his right, attacked them in flank and rear, while their rapid charge
+had put three hundred yards between them and the Arkansas brigades,
+delayed by the gully. The enemy's reserve was thrust into this opening
+and advanced in front. Finding themselves assaulted on all sides, the
+Missourians retreated hastily, and in repassing the gully and thicket
+fell into much confusion. Colonel Hardiman, commanding the horse,
+checked the enemy, and Parsons rallied his men on the line first formed
+by Churchill. The Arkansas brigades had forced the gully and mounted the
+plateau as the Missourians retreated, whereupon they fell back, their
+left brigade (Gause's) running into Walker's right (Scurry's) and
+impeding its advance. Gause imagined that Scurry had fired on him; but
+as his entire loss in the action amounted to but fifteen killed and
+fifty-nine wounded, out of eleven hundred men, there appears little
+ground for this belief. Churchill's two batteries followed the
+Missourians, and with much difficulty reached the plateau, where they
+opened an effective fire. When the infantry retreated three carriages
+broke down in the attempt to get through the thicket and fallen timber,
+and the guns were lost. Night ended the conflict on this part of the
+field, and both sides occupied their original positions. We brought off
+three hundred prisoners, but lost three guns and one hundred and
+seventy-nine prisoners from Churchill's command. Out of two thousand
+men, the Missourians lost three hundred and thirty-one in killed and
+wounded, and the Arkansas brigades, of equal strength, one hundred and
+forty-two.
+
+Within a few minutes of the time when our whole line became engaged, an
+officer came to inform me that General Walker was wounded. Directing
+Polignac to move up his division and hold it in readiness, I left
+General Green in charge of the center and hastened to Walker, whose
+division was now fully engaged in the wood. I found him suffering from
+a contusion in the groin, and ordered him to retire, which he
+unwillingly did. Here it was that our right gave way in the manner
+described. Scurry's brigade of Walker's, disordered by the sudden
+retreat upon it of Gause, was heavily pressed by the enemy. Scurry and
+his men struggled gallantly, but required immediate relief; and to give
+it, Waul and Randall on their left were ordered to drive back the line
+fronting them. Never was order more thoroughly executed. Leading on
+their fine brigades with skill and energy, these officers forced back
+the Federals and relieved Scurry.
+
+Meanwhile, the fire of Brent's guns had overpowered a Federal battery
+posted on the plateau in front of the road from Mansfield. The confusion
+attending the withdrawal of this battery, coupled with the fierce attack
+of Waul and Randall, led General Green to believe that the enemy was
+retreating, and he ordered Bee to charge with his two regiments of
+cavalry, Buchell's and De Bray's. Bee reached the plateau, where he was
+stopped by a heavy fire from infantry, in the wood on both sides of the
+road. Some men and horses went down, Buchell was mortally wounded, and
+Bee and De Bray slightly. The charge was premature and cost valuable
+lives, but was of use in moral effect. I returned to the road as Bee,
+with coolness and pluck, withdrew. Brent advanced his guns close up to
+the opposing line, Polignac attacked on Randall's left with his reduced
+but stubborn division, and Green urged on his dismounted horsemen,
+cleared the wood from the Mansfield to the Blair's Landing road, and at
+nightfall held the position previously occupied by the Federal battery.
+
+Severe fighting continued in the dense thicket, where Polignac, Randall,
+Waul, and Scurry were steadily driving back the enemy. Approaching
+twilight obscured the wood, but resistance in front was becoming feeble,
+and, anxious to reach the village, I urged on our men. As Randall and
+Waul gained ground to the front, they became separated by a ravine in
+which was concealed a brigade of Federals. Isolated by the retreat of
+their friends, these troops attempted to get out. Fired on from both
+sides of the ravine, a part of them appeared on the field in front of
+Brent's guns, to be driven back by grape. With heavy loss they at length
+succeeded in escaping through the thicket. A letter from the commander
+was subsequently captured, wherein he denounces the conduct of his
+superiors who abandoned him to his fate. However true the allegation, it
+is doubtful if his brigade could have rendered more service elsewhere.
+The suddenness of its appearance stopped our forward movement, and a cry
+arose that we were firing on our own people. The thickening gloom made
+it impossible to disabuse the troops of this belief, and I ordered them
+to withdraw to the open field. The movement was made slowly and in
+perfect order, the men forming in the field as they emerged from the
+thicket. The last light of day was fading as I rode along the line, and
+the noise of battle had ceased.
+
+Churchill came to report the result of his attack, and seemed much
+depressed. I gave such consolation as I could, and directed him to move
+his command to the mill stream, seven miles to the rear, where he would
+find his trains and water. A worthy, gallant gentleman, General
+Churchill, but not fortunate in war.
+
+The mill stream was the nearest water to be had, and I was compelled to
+send the troops back to it. The enemy made no attempt to recover the
+ground from which his center and right had been driven. Bee picketed the
+field with his cavalry, his forage wagons were ordered up from the mill
+stream, and it was hoped that water for his two regiments could be found
+in the wells and cisterns of the village. Sounds of retreat could be
+heard in the stillness of the night. Parties were sent on the field to
+care for the wounded, and Bee was ordered to take up the pursuit toward
+Grand Ecore at dawn, to be followed by the horse from the mill stream as
+soon as water and forage had been supplied. These dispositions for the
+morning made, worn out by fatigue and loss of sleep, I threw myself on
+the ground, within two hundred yards of the battle field, and sought
+rest. The enemy retreated during the night, leaving four hundred
+wounded, and his many dead unburied. On the morning of the 10th Bee
+pursued for twenty miles before he overtook his rear guard, finding
+stragglers and burning wagons and stores, evidences of haste.
+
+In the two actions of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill my loss in killed and
+wounded was twenty-two hundred. At Pleasant Hill we lost three guns and
+four hundred and twenty-six prisoners, one hundred and seventy-nine from
+Churchill's, and two hundred and forty-seven from Scurry's brigade at
+the time it was so nearly overwhelmed. The Federal loss in killed and
+wounded exceeded mine, and we captured twenty guns and twenty-eight
+hundred prisoners, not including stragglers picked up after the battle.
+The enemy's campaign for conquest was defeated by an inferior force, and
+it was doubtful if his army and fleet could escape destruction.
+
+These were creditable results, yet of much less importance than those
+that would have been accomplished but for my blunder at Pleasant Hill.
+Instead of intrusting the important attack by my right to a subordinate,
+I should have conducted it myself and taken Polignac's division to
+sustain it. True, this would have removed my reserve from the center and
+line of retreat, and placed it on a flank; but I was confident that the
+enemy had no intention of resuming the offensive, and should have acted
+on that conviction. All this flashed upon me the instant I learned of
+the disorder of my right. Herein lies the vast difference between genius
+and commonplace: one anticipates errors, the other discovers them too
+late.
+
+The foregoing account of Churchill's attack at Pleasant Hill, hidden
+from me by intervening wood, is taken from his official report and the
+reports of his subordinates; and I will now supplement it by some
+extracts from the testimony given by General Francis Fessenden of the
+Federal army. On pages 94 and 95 of the second volume of the "Report on
+the Conduct of the War," the following appears:
+
+"In the afternoon we were changed, from a position in the woods in front
+of Pleasant Hill, to a position in rear of a deep ditch near the town.
+We were placed behind this ditch, in open ground, and practically held
+the left of the front line; and my regiment was on the left. I think it
+was not expected that an attack would be made by the enemy in that
+direction. The attack was expected by the road which led in by the right
+center of the army. Instead of that, however, the enemy came around
+through the woods, and about half-past 5 o'clock drove in our
+skirmishers, and made a very fierce attack on the brigade I was
+in--Colonel Benedict's brigade. The brigade fell back under the attack a
+great deal broken up, and my regiment was separated from the other three
+regiments which went off in another direction. I had fallen back still
+further to the left, as I knew there was a brigade of troops in there to
+protect our left flank and rear from attack in that direction. My
+regiment being the last of the brigade to fall back, the enemy had
+already advanced so far after the other three regiments that I could not
+fall back where they did. I therefore fell back in another direction,
+rallying my regiment and forming on the right of the brigade referred
+to; and that brigade, my regiment, and another brigade, which I think
+had been brought up under General Emory, made an attack upon the enemy's
+column, which had advanced some distance, and drove them back with great
+loss. We continued to advance, and drove them a mile or more, so
+completely off the field that there was no other attack made by the
+enemy in that direction.
+
+"That night we fell back again, marching all night and all the next
+morning, until we reached the camping ground at the end of our first
+day's march from Grand Ecore. I ought to state here that in that attack
+of the enemy on our left the brigade commander, Colonel Benedict, was
+killed, and I then assumed command of the brigade. We remained at Grand
+Ecore some eight or nine days, where we built intrenchments to a certain
+extent--rifle pits. I think the whole army threw up a kind of temporary
+work in front."
+
+General Fessenden's statements accord with the reports of Churchill and
+his officers, and in other respects are accurate.
+
+On page 62 of the volume quoted from, General A.L. Lee, commanding
+mounted division of Banks's army, testifies:
+
+"The next morning (9th of April) I was ordered by General Banks to
+detach one thousand cavalry to act as scouts and skirmishers, and to
+take the remainder of my division, and take whatever was left of the
+detachment of the 13th army corps and some negro troops that were there,
+and take the trains and the majority of the artillery of the army to
+Grand Ecore. It was thought that the enemy would get between us and
+Grand Ecore. I started about 11 o'clock with this train, and with six or
+eight batteries of artillery, and reached Grand Ecore the next day. The
+battle of the 9th of April commenced just as I was leaving. The next day
+at night the main army had reached Grand Ecore and joined me there.
+General Banks impressed on me very strongly that, in sending me back
+from Pleasant Hill just as the fight was commencing, it was of the
+greatest importance to save what material we had left. Early the next
+morning, when I was distant from Pleasant Hill eighteen miles, I
+received a dispatch from General Banks. I have not the dispatch with me,
+but it was to this effect: that they had whipped the enemy terribly;
+that Price was killed, also two or three other rebel generals whom he
+named, but who have since recovered; and that I was to send back the
+subsistence trains for such and such troops. I was very much puzzled by
+that order, and immediately sent a staff officer back for more specific
+instructions. But he had not been gone more than half an hour when a
+staff officer of General Banks arrived with an order to me, with which
+he had left in the night, for me to continue pressing on with the whole
+train to Grand Ecore, and with instructions if any wagons broke down to
+burn them, not stop to fix anything, but get everything into Grand Ecore
+as quickly as I could, and look out very carefully on the flanks."
+
+There can be no question of the correctness of these statements of
+General A.L. Lee.
+
+The following quotations from the reports of Admiral Porter to the
+Secretary of the Navy are taken from page 239, and succeeding pages of
+the same volume:
+
+"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, GRAND ECORE, _April 14, 1864_.
+
+"The army here has met with a great defeat, no matter what the generals
+try to make ofit. With the defeat has come demoralization, and it will
+take some time to reorganize and make up the deficiencies in killed and
+prisoners. The whole affair has been seriously mismanaged. It was well
+we came up, for I am convinced the rebels would have attacked this
+broken army at Grand Ecore had we not been here to cover them. I do not
+think our army would be in a condition to resist them. I must confess
+that I feel a little uncertain how to act. I could not leave this army
+now without disgracing myself forever; and, when running a risk in their
+cause, I do not want to be deserted. One of my officers has already been
+asked 'If we would not burn our gunboats as soon as the army left?'
+speaking as if a gunboat was a very ordinary affair, and could be burned
+with indifference. I inclose two notes I received from Generals Banks
+and Stone. There is a faint attempt to make a victory out of this, but
+two or three such victories would cost us our existence."
+
+Again, on page 166 of the same volume appears this dispatch from
+Lieutenant-General Grant, at Culpepper, Virginia, to General Halleck,
+Chief of Staff, at Washington:
+
+"You can see from General Brayman's dispatch to me something of General
+Banks's disaster."
+
+Concerning the battle of Pleasant Hill General Banks reports (page 326):
+
+"The whole of the reserves were now ordered up, and in turn we drove the
+enemy, continuing the pursuit until night compelled us to halt. The
+battle of the 9th was desperate and sanguinary. The defeat of the enemy
+was complete, and his loss in officers and men more than double that
+sustained by our forces. There was nothing in the immediate position and
+condition of the two armies to prevent a forward movement the next
+morning, and orders were given to prepare for an advance. But
+representations subsequently received from General Franklin and all the
+general officers of the 19th corps, as to the condition of their
+respective commands for immediate active operations against the enemy,
+caused a suspension of this order, and a conference of the general
+officers was held in the evening, in which it was determined to retire
+upon Grand Ecore the following day. The reasons urged for this course
+were: 1. That the absence of water made it absolutely necessary to
+advance or retire without delay. General Emory's command had been
+without rations for two days, and the train, which had been turned to
+the rear during the battle, could not be put in condition to move
+forward upon the single road through dense woods, in which it stood,
+without great difficulty and much loss of time."
+
+Again, on page 13, General Banks states:
+
+"The enemy was driven from the field. It was as clear a rout as it was
+possible for any army to suffer. After consulting with my officers, I
+concluded, against my own judgment, to fall back to Grand Ecore and
+reorganize. We held the field of battle. Our dead were buried. The
+wounded men were brought in and placed in the best hospitals we could
+organize, and surgeons were left with them, with provisions, medicines,
+and supplies; and at daybreak we fell back to Grand Ecore."
+
+Here the proportion of fiction to fact surpasses that of sack to bread
+in Sir John's tavern bill; and it may be doubted if a mandarin from the
+remotest province of the Celestial Empire ever ventured to send such a
+report to Peking. General Fessenden's testimony, given above, shows that
+the army marched during the night of the 9th, and continued to Grand
+Ecore, where it intrenched; and General A.L. Lee's, that the main army
+joined him at that place on the evening of the 10th. Twenty of the
+thirty-six miles between Pleasant Hill and Grand Ecore were passed on
+the 10th by my cavalry before the rear of the enemy's column was seen;
+yet General Banks officially reports that his army left Pleasant Hill at
+daybreak of the 10th. Homeric must have been the laughter of his troops
+when this report was published.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER.
+
+
+From my resting-place on the ground at Pleasant Hill, after the battle
+of the 9th, I was aroused about 10 P.M. by General Kirby Smith, just
+arrived from Shreveport. This officer disapproved of further pursuit of
+Banks, except by a part of our mounted force, and ordered the infantry
+back to Mansfield. He was apprehensive that the troops on the transports
+above would reach Shreveport, or disembark below me and that place. In
+addition, Steele's column from Arkansas caused him much uneasiness, and
+made him unwilling for my troops to increase their distance from the
+capital of the "Trans-Mississippi Department." It was pointed out that
+the water in Red River was falling, and navigation becoming more and
+more difficult; that I had a staff officer watching the progress of the
+fleet, which was not accompanied by more than three thousand men, too
+few to attempt a landing, and that they would certainly hear of Banks's
+defeat and seek to rejoin him at Grand Ecore. As to Steele he was more
+than a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, harassed by Price's force;
+he must learn of Banks's misfortune, and, leading but a subsidiary
+column, would retire to Little Rock. Banks, with the remains of his
+beaten army, was before us, and the fleet of Porter, with barely water
+enough to float upon. We had but to strike vigorously to capture or
+destroy both. But it was written that the sacrifices of my little army
+should be wasted, and, on the morning of the 10th, I was ordered to take
+all the infantry and much of the horse to Mansfield.
+
+The Bayou Pierre, three hundred feet wide and too deep to ford, leaves
+the Red River a few miles below Shreveport, and after a long course, in
+which it frequently expands into lakes, returns to its parent stream
+three miles above Grand Ecore, dividing the pine-clad hills on the west
+from the alluvion of the river on the east. Several roads lead from the
+interior to landings on the river, crossing Bayou Pierre by ferries. One
+from Pleasant Hill to Blair's Landing, sixteen miles, has been
+mentioned. Another led from Mansfield to Grand Bayou Landing, eighteen
+miles. Dispatches from Captain McCloskey informed me that the enemy's
+fleet had passed this last place on the morning of the 9th, pushing
+slowly up river, impeded by low water. Feeling assured that intelligence
+of Banks's defeat would send the fleet back to Grand Ecore, and hoping
+to cut off its communication, at dawn of the 11th I sent General Bagby,
+with a brigade of horse and a battery, from Mansfield to Grand Bayou
+Landing. Before reaching the ferry at Bayou Pierre, he ascertained that
+the fleet had turned back on the afternoon of the 10th. There was a
+pontoon train at Shreveport that I had in vain asked for, and Bagby
+experienced great delay in crossing Bayou Pierre by means of one small
+flat. The fleet, descending, passed Grand Bayou Landing at 10 o'clock
+A.M. of the 11th, some hours before Bagby reached the river; and he
+pushed on toward Blair's Landing, where he arrived on the night of the
+12th, after the close of Green's operations of that day.
+
+General Green, from Pleasant Hill, had been directing the movements of
+our advanced horse, a part of which, under Bee, was in front of Grand
+Ecore and Natchitoches. Advised of the movements of the enemy's fleet,
+he, with seven hundred and fifty horse and two batteries, left Pleasant
+Hill for Blair's Landing at 6 o'clock P.M. on the 11th. As in the case
+of Bagby, he was delayed at Bayou Pierre, and, after hard work, only
+succeeded in crossing three guns and a part of his horse before the
+fleet came down on the 12th. Green attacked at once, and leading his men
+in his accustomed fearless way, was killed by a discharge of grape from
+one of the gunboats. Deprived of their leader, the men soon fell back,
+and the fleet reached Grand Ecore without further molestation from the
+west bank. The enemy's loss, supposed by our people to have been
+immense, was officially reported at seven on the gunboats and fifty on
+the transports. _Per contra_, the enemy believed that our loss was
+stupendous; whereas we had scarcely a casualty except the death of
+General Green, an irreparable one. No Confederate went aboard the fleet
+and no Federal came ashore; so there was a fine field of slaughter in
+which the imagination of both sides could disport itself.
+
+With facilities for crossing the Pierre at hand, the fleet, during the
+11th and 12th, would have been under the fire of two thousand riflemen
+and eighteen guns and suffered heavily, especially the transports,
+crowded with troops. As it was, we accomplished but little and lost
+General Green.
+
+Like Mouton, this officer had joined me at an early period of my service
+in western Louisiana. Coming to me with the rank of colonel, his
+conspicuous services made it my pleasant duty to recommend him for
+promotion to brigadier and major-general. Upright, modest, and with the
+simplicity of a child, danger seemed to be his element, and he rejoiced
+in combat. His men adored him, and would follow wherever he led; but
+they did not fear him, for, though he scolded at them in action, he was
+too kind-hearted to punish breaches of discipline. In truth, he had no
+conception of the value of discipline in war, believing that all must be
+actuated by his own devotion to duty. His death was a public calamity,
+and mourned as such by the people of Texas and Louisiana. To me he was a
+tried and devoted friend, and our friendship was cemented by the fact
+that, through his Virginia mother, we were related by blood. The great
+Commonwealth, whose soil contains his remains, will never send forth a
+bolder warrior, a better citizen, nor a more upright man than Thomas
+Green.
+
+The brigade of horse brought by General Green to Louisiana, and with
+which he was so long associated, had some peculiar characteristics. The
+officers such as Colonels Hardiman, Baylor, Lane, Herbert, McNeill, and
+others, were bold and enterprising. The men, hardy frontiersmen,
+excellent riders, and skilled riflemen, were fearless and self-reliant,
+but discharged their duty as they liked and when they liked. On a march
+they wandered about at will, as they did about camp, and could be kept
+together only when a fight was impending. When their arms were injured
+by service or neglect, they threw them away, expecting to be supplied
+with others. Yet, with these faults, they were admirable fighters, and
+in the end I became so much attached to them as to be incapable of
+punishing them.
+
+After the affair at Blair's Landing on the 12th, the horse returned to
+Pleasant Hill, and thence joined Bee in front of Grand Ecore, where
+Banks had his army concentrated behind works, with gunboats and
+transports in the river, Bee occupying the town of Natchitoches, four
+miles away. On the morning of the 13th General Kirby Smith visited me at
+Mansfield. Relieved of apprehension about the fleet, now at Grand Ecore,
+he expressed great anxiety for the destruction of Steele's column. I was
+confident that Steele, who had less than ten thousand men and was more
+than a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, would hear of Banks's
+disaster and retreat; but General Kirby Smith's views differed from
+mine. I then expressed my willingness to march, with the main body of
+the infantry, to join Price in Arkansas, and serve under his command
+until Steele's column was destroyed or driven back; insisting, however,
+that in the event of Steele's retreat I should be permitted to turn on
+Banks and Porter, to complete the work of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.
+The destruction of the Federal army and capture of the fleet, helpless
+alone by reason of low and falling water in Red River, were the
+legitimate fruits of those victories, and I protested with all possible
+earnestness against a policy that would fail to reap them. After this
+conversation General Kirby Smith returned to Shreveport, leaving me
+under the impression that my last proposition was acceded to. The loss
+of valuable time incurred by a wild-goose chase after Steele was most
+annoying, but I was hopeful it might be recovered. To get the fleet down
+to Alexandria and over the falls at that place would require much time
+in the low condition of the water; and Banks's army was so much
+demoralized by defeat that Bee found no difficulty in restraining its
+movements with his horse.
+
+At dawn of the 14th Walker's and Churchill's divisions of infantry, with
+their artillery, prepared for an active campaign, marched for
+Shreveport, forty miles. The same day Polignac's infantry division,
+reduced to some twelve hundred muskets, was sent toward Grand Ecore to
+strengthen the horse in front of the enemy. On the evening of the 15th I
+reached Shreveport, and had a short interview with General Kirby Smith,
+who informed me that Steele had begun his retreat from a point a hundred
+and ten miles distant, but that he hoped to overtake him, and would
+personally direct the pursuit. I was further informed that my presence
+with the troops was not desired, and that I would remain in nominal
+command of Shreveport, but might join the force near Grand Ecore if I
+thought proper. All this with the curt manner of a superior to a
+subordinate, as if fearing remonstrance. General Kirby Smith marched
+north of Shreveport on the 16th, and three days thereafter I received a
+dispatch from his "chief of staff" informing me that the pontoon train,
+asked for in vain when it would have been of priceless value, would be
+sent back from his army and placed at my disposition. Doubtless General
+Kirby Smith thought that a pontoon train would supply the place of seven
+thousand infantry and six batteries.
+
+I remained at Shreveport three days, occupied with reports and sending
+supplies to my little force near Grand Ecore, toward which I proceeded
+on the 19th of April. Major-General Wharton, who had gained reputation
+as a cavalry officer in the Confederate Army of Tennessee, accompanied
+me. He had reported for duty at Shreveport on the 18th, and was assigned
+to the command of the horse to replace the lamented Green. We reached
+Polignac's camp, in the vicinity of Grand Ecore, ninety odd miles from
+Shreveport, on the evening of the 21st, and learned that the enemy had
+threatened an advance during the day. This convinced me of his intention
+to retreat, and an officer was sent to General Bee to warn him.
+
+Cane River leaves the main channel of the Red below Grand Ecore, and,
+passing by Natchitoches, returns to the Red after a winding course of
+sixty miles. Except at the season of floods, it is not navigable; but
+the alluvion through which it flows is very productive, while the pine
+forest immediately to the west is sterile. Bee, under instructions,
+occupied the valley of Cane River with his horse, and had been ordered
+to keep his pickets close to Grand Ecore and Natchitoches, draw his
+forage from plantations along the river, and, when the enemy retreated
+toward Alexandria, fall back before him to Monette's Ferry, which he was
+expected to hold. Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Natchitoches, was
+on the only practicable road to Alexandria. Here the river made a wide,
+deep ford, and pine-clad hills rose abruptly from the southern bank. On
+the left, looking toward Natchitoches, were hills and impassable lakes,
+easily held against any force. On the right, hills, rugged and
+pine-clad, extended eight miles to the point at which Cane River
+reënters the Red. The distance from Monette's to Alexandria is
+thirty-five miles, of which fourteen is through wooded hills. Roads led
+west to Carroll Jones's and Beaseley's, twelve and thirty miles
+respectively; and on these roads Bee was directed to keep his trains.
+
+Concerning the position at Monette's General Banks reports: "The army
+marched from Grand Ecore on the morning of the 22d of April. To prevent
+the occupation of Monette's Bluff, on Cane River, a strong position
+commanding the only road leading across the river to Alexandria, or to
+prevent the concentration of the enemy's forces at that point, it became
+necessary to accomplish the evacuation without his knowledge." As before
+stated, the threatened advance of the 21st convinced me that the enemy's
+retreat was imminent, and so I advised Bee; but there was not time to
+send General Wharton to him after I reached Polignac's camp. Bee had two
+thousand horse and four batteries, and, after several days to examine
+and prepare his ground, might well be expected to hold it with tenacity.
+
+Immediately after the battle of Pleasant Hill I had sent Vincent, with
+his own and Bush's regiments of Louisiana horse, to threaten Alexandria
+and drive out small parties of the enemy from the Attakapas and Teche
+regions. Subsequently, a brigade of Texas horse, seven hundred strong,
+under Brigadier William Steele, joined me, and was now with Polignac.
+
+As anticipated, the enemy left Grand Ecore during the night of the 21st
+and marched without halting to Cloutierville, thirty-two miles. With
+Steele's brigade, Wharton drove his rear guard from Natchitoches on the
+morning of the 22d, capturing some prisoners, and continued the pursuit
+to the twenty-four-mile ferry. On the 23d, after a sharp action, he
+pushed the enemy's rear below Cloutierville, taking some score of
+prisoners. Polignac's infantry joined that evening, and covered a road
+leading through the hills from Cloutierville to Beaseley's. If Bee stood
+firm at Monette's, we were in position to make Banks unhappy on the
+morrow, separated as he was from the fleet, on which he relied to aid
+his demoralized forces. But Bee gave way on the afternoon of the 23d,
+permitting his strong position to be forced at the small cost to the
+enemy of less than four hundred men, and suffering no loss himself.
+Then, instead of attacking the great trains, during their fourteen
+miles' march through the forest, and occupying with artillery McNutt's
+Hill, a high bluff twenty miles from Alexandria and commanding the road
+thither in the valley, he fell back at once to Beaseley's, thirty miles.
+Before this mistake could be rectified, the enemy crossed at Monette's,
+burning many wagons at the ford, and passed below McNutt's Hill. General
+Bee had exhibited much personal gallantry in the charge at Pleasant
+Hill, but he was without experience in war, and had neglected to study
+the ground or strengthen his position at Monette's. Leaving Mansfield
+for Shreveport on the 15th, under orders from General Kirby Smith, I
+only got back to the front on the night of the 21st, too late to reach
+Monette's or send Wharton there.
+
+It was very disheartening, but, persuaded that the enemy could not pass
+the falls at Alexandria with his fleet, I determined to stick to him
+with my little force of less than forty-five hundred of all arms. It was
+impossible to believe that General Kirby Smith would continue to persist
+in his inexplicable policy, and fail to come, ere long, to my
+assistance.
+
+On the 26th Bee's horse, from Beaseley's, joined Steele's at McNutt's
+Hill; and together, under Wharton, they attacked the enemy in the valley
+and drove him, with loss of killed and prisoners, to the immediate
+vicinity of Alexandria.
+
+When General Banks retreated so hastily from Grand Ecore, Admiral Porter
+was laboring to get his fleet down to Alexandria. In a communication to
+the Secretary of the Navy from his flag-ship below Grand Ecore, he says
+("Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 234-5):
+
+"I soon saw that the army would go to Alexandria again, and we would be
+left above the bars in a helpless condition. The vessels are mostly at
+Alexandria, above the falls, excepting this one and two others I kept to
+protect the Eastport. The Red River is falling at the rate of two inches
+a day. If General Banks should determine to evacuate this country, the
+gunboats will be cut off from all communication with the Mississippi. It
+cannot be possible that the country would be willing to have eight
+iron-clads, three or four other gunboats, and many transports sacrificed
+without an effort to save them. It would be the worst thing that has
+happened this war."
+
+The Eastport, the most formidable iron-clad of the Mississippi squadron,
+grounded on a bar below Grand Ecore. Three tin-clad gunboats and two
+transports remained near to assist in getting her off; and, to prevent
+this, some mounted riflemen were sent, on the morning of the 26th, to
+coöperate with Liddell's raw levies on the north bank of the river.
+These forced the enemy to destroy the Eastport, and drove away the
+gunboats and transports. Our loss in the affair was two killed and four
+wounded. Meantime, to intercept the gunboats and transports on their way
+down, Colonel Caudle of Polignac's division, with two hundred riflemen
+and Cornay's four-gun battery, had been posted at the junction of Cane
+and Red Rivers, twenty miles below. At 6 o'clock P.M. of the 26th the
+leading gunboat and one transport came down. Our fire speedily crippled
+and silenced the gunboat, and a shot exploded the boiler of the
+transport. Under cover of escaping steam the gunboat drifted out of
+fire, but the loss of life on the transport was fearful. One hundred
+dead and eighty-seven severely scalded, most of whom subsequently died,
+were brought on shore. These unfortunate creatures were negroes, taken
+from plantations on the river above. The object of the Federals was to
+remove negroes from their owners; but for the lives of these poor people
+they cared nothing, or, assuredly, they would not have forced them, on
+an unprotected river steamer, to pass riflemen and artillery, against
+which gunboats were powerless. On the following day, the 27th, the two
+remaining gunboats and transport attempted to pass Caudle's position;
+and the former, much cut up, succeeded, but the transport was captured.
+Colonel Caudle had one man wounded, and the battery one killed--its
+commander, Captain Cornay, who, with Mouton, Armand, and many other
+creoles, proved by distinguished gallantry that the fighting qualities
+of the old French breed had suffered no deterioration on the soil of
+Louisiana.
+
+The following extracts from the report of Admiral Porter well exhibit
+the efficiency of Caudle and Cornay in this affair:
+
+"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, OFF ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_.
+
+"When rounding the point, the vessels in close order and ready for
+action, we descried a party of the enemy with artillery on the right
+bank, and we immediately opened fire with our bow guns. The enemy
+immediately returned it with a _large number of cannon, eighteen in
+all_, every shot of which struck this vessel. The captain gave orders to
+stop the engines. I corrected this mistake, and got headway on the
+vessel again, but not soon enough to avoid the pelting showers of shot
+and shell which the enemy poured into us, every shot going through and
+through us, clearing all our decks in a moment. I took charge of the
+vessel, and, _as the battery was a very heavy one_, I determined to pass
+it, which was done under the heaviest fire I ever witnessed. Seeing that
+the Hindman did not pass the batteries, the Juliet disabled, and that
+one of the pump boats (transport) had her boiler exploded by a shot, I
+ran down to a point three or four miles below. Lieutenant-Commander
+Phelps had two vessels in charge, the Juliet and Champion (transport),
+which he wished to get through safely. He kept them out of range until
+he could partially repair the Juliet, and then, starting under a heavy
+fire, he make a push by. Unfortunately the pump boat (Champion) was
+disabled and set fire to. The Hindman had her wheel ropes cut away, and
+drifted past, turning round and round, and getting well cut up in going
+by. The Juliet was cut to pieces in hull and machinery; had fifteen
+killed and wounded. I inclose the report of Lieutenant-Commander Phelps,
+from the time of his first misfortune until his arrival at this place
+(Alexandria), where I now am with all the fleet, but very much surprised
+that I have any left, considering all the difficulties encountered. I
+came up here with the river on the rise, and water enough for our
+largest vessels; and even on my way up to Shreveport from Grand Ecore
+the water rose, while it commenced falling where I left the largest
+gunboats. Falling or not, I could not go back while in charge of the
+transports and material on which _an army of thirty thousand men
+depended_."
+
+This is high testimony to the fighting capacity of two hundred riflemen
+and four guns, two twelve-pounder smooth-bores and two howitzers, all
+that Admiral Porter's three gunboats had to contend with. It proves the
+utter helplessness of gunboats in narrow streams, when deprived of the
+protection of troops on the banks. Even the iron-clads, with armor
+impenetrable by field guns, were readily driven off by sharp-shooters,
+who, under cover, closed their ports or killed every exposed man.
+
+On the 24th Liddell, from the north bank of Red River, dashed into
+Pineville, opposite Alexandria, killed and captured a score of the
+enemy's party, and drove the remainder over the river.
+
+On the 27th Admiral Porter's fleet was lying above the falls, now
+impassable, and Banks's army, over twenty thousand strong, was in and
+around Alexandria behind earthworks. Such was the condition to which
+this large force had been reduced by repeated defeat, that we not only
+confined it to its works, driving back many attacks on our advanced
+positions, but I felt justified in dividing my little command in order
+to blockade the river below, and cut off communication with the
+Mississippi. Wharton's horse was divided into three parts, each a
+thousand strong, and accompanied by artillery. The first, under Steele,
+held the river and Rapides roads, above and west of Alexandria; the
+second, under Bagby, the Boeuf road to the south of that place; while
+Major, with the third, was sent to Davide's Ferry, on the river,
+twenty-five miles below. Polignac's infantry, twelve hundred muskets,
+was posted on the Boeuf within supporting distance of the two last.
+Liddell's seven hundred newly-organized horse, with four guns, was of
+little service beyond making feints to distract the enemy.
+
+Major reached his position on the 30th, and on the following day, the
+1st of May, captured and sunk the transport Emma. On the 3d he captured
+the transport City Belle, on her way up to Alexandria, with the 120th
+Ohio regiment on board. All the officers and two hundred and seventy-six
+men were taken, with many killed and wounded. On the evening of the 4th
+the gunboats Covington and Signal, each mounting eight heavy guns, with
+the transport Warner, attempted to pass. The Covington was blown up by
+her crew to escape capture, but the Signal and Warner surrendered. Four
+guns, two three-inch rifled and two howitzers, were engaged in this
+action with the Covington and Signal. They were run up to the river's
+bank by hand, the howitzers above, the three-inch rifles below the
+gunboats, which, overpowered by the rapid fire, moved back and forth
+until one surrendered and the other was destroyed, affording a complete
+illustration of the superiority of field guns to gunboats in narrow
+streams. There was no further attempt to pass Major's position, and
+Federal communication with the Mississippi was closed for fifteen days.
+
+During these operations the enemy was engaged night and day in the
+construction of a dam across the Red River, to enable him to pass his
+fleet over the falls; and the following extracts from the report of
+Admiral Porter to the Secretary of the Navy well exhibit the condition
+of affairs in and around Alexandria ("Report on the Conduct of the War,"
+vol. ii., page 250):
+
+"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_.
+
+"SIR: I have written you an account of the operations of the fleet in
+these waters, but take the liberty of writing to you confidentially the
+true state of affairs. I find myself blockaded by a fall of three feet
+of water, three feet four inches being the amount now on the falls.
+Seven feet being required to get over, no amount of lightening will
+accomplish the object. I have already written to you how the whole state
+of things has been changed by a too blind carelessness on the part of
+our military leader, and our retreat back to Alexandria from place to
+place has so demoralized General Banks's army that the troops have no
+confidence in anybody or anything. Our army is now all here, with the
+best general (Franklin) wounded and unfit for duty in the field. General
+Banks seems to hold no communication with any one, and it is impossible
+for me to say what he will do. I have no confidence in his promises, as
+he asserted in a letter, herein inclosed, that he had no intention of
+leaving Grand Ecore, when he had actually already made all his
+preparations to leave. The river is crowded with transports, and every
+gunboat I have is required to convoy them. I have to withdraw many
+light-draughts from other points on the Mississippi to supply demands
+here. In the mean time the enemy are splitting up into parties of two
+thousand, and bringing in the artillery (with which we have supplied
+them) to blockade points below here; and what will be the upshot of it
+all I can not foretell. I know that it will be disastrous in the
+extreme, for this is a country in which a retreating army is completely
+at the mercy of an enemy. Notwithstanding that the rebels are reported
+as coming in from Washita, with heavy artillery to plant on the hills
+opposite Alexandria, no movement is being made to occupy the position,
+and I am in momentary expectation of hearing the rebel guns open on the
+transports on the town side; or if they go down or come up the river, it
+will be at the risk of destruction. Our light-clads can do nothing
+against hill batteries. I am in momentary expectation of seeing this
+army retreat, when the result will be disastrous. Unless instructed by
+the Government, I do not think that General Banks will make the least
+effort to save the navy here. The following vessels are above the falls
+and command the right of the town: Mound City, Louisville, Pittsburgh,
+Carondelet, Chillicothe, Osage, Neosho, Ozark, Lexington, and Fort
+Hindman. At this moment the enemy have attacked our outposts, and driven
+in our indifferent cavalry, which came up numbering six thousand, and
+have brought nothing but calamity in their train. Our whole army is
+cooped up in this town, while a much inferior force is going rampant
+about the country, making preparations to assail our helpless
+transports, which, if caught filled with men, would be perfect
+slaughter-houses. Quick remedies are required, and I deem it my duty to
+lay the true state of affairs before you. If left here by the army, I
+will be obliged to destroy this fleet to prevent it falling into the
+enemy's hands. I can not conceive that the nation will permit such a
+sacrifice to be made, when men and money can prevent it. We have fought
+hard for the opening of the Mississippi, and have reduced the naval
+forces of the rebels in this quarter to two vessels. If we have to
+destroy what we have here, there will be material enough to build half a
+dozen iron-clads, and the Red River, which is now of no further dread to
+us, will require half the Mississippi squadron to watch it. I am
+apprehensive that the turrets of the monitors will defy any efforts we
+can make to destroy them. Our prestige will receive a shock from which
+it will be long in recovering; and if the calamities I dread should
+overtake us, the annals of this war will not present so dire a one as
+will have befallen us."
+
+Thus Admiral Porter, who even understates the facts.
+
+In vain had all this been pointed out to General Kirby Smith, when he
+came to me at Pleasant Hill in the night after the battle. Granted that
+he was alarmed for Shreveport, sacred to him and his huge staff as
+Benares, dwelling-place of many gods, to the Hindoo; yet, when he
+marched from that place on the 16th of April against Steele, the latter,
+already discomfited by Price's horse, was retreating, and, with less
+than a third of Banks's force at Grand Ecore, was then further from
+Shreveport than was Banks. To pursue a retreating foe, numbering six
+thousand men, he took over seven thousand infantry, and left me twelve
+hundred to operate against twenty odd thousand and a powerful fleet.
+From the evening of the 21st of April, when I returned to the front near
+Grand Ecore, to the 13th of May, the day on which Porter and Banks
+escaped from Alexandria, I kept him advised of the enemy's movements and
+condition. Couriers and staff officers were sent to implore him to
+return and reap the fruits of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, whose price
+had been paid in blood. Not a man was sent me; even the four-gun battery
+with Liddell on the north of the river was, without my knowledge,
+withdrawn toward Arkansas. From first to last, General Kirby Smith
+seemed determined to throw a protecting shield around the Federal army
+and fleet.
+
+In all the ages since the establishment of the Assyrian monarchy no
+commander has possessed equal power to destroy a cause. Far away from
+the great centers of conflict in Virginia and Georgia, on a remote
+theatre, the opportunity of striking a blow decisive of the war was
+afforded. An army that included the strength of every garrison from
+Memphis to the Gulf had been routed, and, by the incompetency of its
+commander, was utterly demoralized and ripe for destruction. But this
+army was permitted to escape, and its 19th corps reached Chesapeake Bay
+in time to save Washington from General Early's attack, while the 13th,
+16th, and 17th corps reënforced Sherman in Georgia. More than all, we
+lost Porter's fleet, which the falling river had delivered into our
+hands; for the protection of an army was necessary to its liberation, as
+without the army a dam at the falls could not have been constructed.
+With this fleet, or even a portion of it, we would have at once
+recovered possession of the Mississippi, from the Ohio to the sea, and
+undone all the work of the Federals since the winter of 1861. Instead of
+Sherman, Johnston would have been reënforced from west of the
+Mississippi, and thousands of absent men, with fresh hope, would have
+rejoined Lee. The Southern people might have been spared the humiliation
+of defeat, and the countless woes and wrongs inflicted on them by their
+conquerors.
+
+It was for this that Green and Mouton and other gallant spirits fell! It
+was for this that the men of Missouri and Arkansas made a forced march
+to die at Pleasant Hill! It was for this that the divisions of Walker
+and Polignac had held every position intrusted to them, carried every
+position in their front, and displayed a constancy and valor worthy of
+the Guards at Inkermann or Lee's veterans in the Wilderness! For this,
+too, did the handful left, after our brethren had been taken from us,
+follow hard on the enemy, attack him constantly at any odds, beat off
+and sink his gunboats, close the Red River below him and shut up his
+army in Alexandria for fifteen days! Like "Sister Ann" from her watch
+tower, day after day we strained our eyes to see the dust of our
+approaching comrades arise from the north bank of the Red. Not a camp
+follower among us but knew that the arrival of our men from the North
+would give us the great prize in sight. Vain, indeed, were our hopes.
+The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department" had the power to
+destroy the last hope of the Confederate cause, and exercised it with
+all the success of Bazaine at Metz.
+
+"The affairs of mice and men aft gang aglee," from sheer stupidity and
+pig-headed obstinacy. General Kirby Smith had publicly announced that
+Banks's army was too strong to be fought, and that the proper policy was
+either to defend the works protecting Shreveport, or retreat into Texas.
+People do not like to lose their reputations as prophets or sons of
+prophets. Subsequently, it was given out that General Kirby Smith had a
+wonderful plan for the destruction of the enemy, which I had disturbed
+by rashly beating his army at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill; but this
+plan, like Trochu's for the defense of Paris, was never
+disclosed--undoubtedly, because _c'était le secret de Polichinelle_.
+
+After many days of energetic labor, the enemy on the 13th of May
+succeeded in passing his fleet over the falls at Alexandria, evacuated
+the place, and retreated down the river, the army, on the south bank,
+keeping pace with the fleet. Admiral Porter, in his report to the
+Secretary of the Navy, gives a graphic account of the passage of the
+falls, and under date of May 19th, says: "In my report in relation to
+the release of the gunboats from their unpleasant position above the
+falls, I did not think it prudent to mention that I was obliged to
+destroy eleven thirty-two-pounders, not having time to haul them from
+above the falls to Alexandria, the army having moved and drawn in all
+their pickets. For the same reason I also omitted to mention that I was
+obliged to take off the iron from the sides of the Pook gunboats and
+from the Ozark, to enable them to get over."
+
+To harass the retreat, the horse and artillery, on the river above
+Alexandria, were directed to press the enemy's rear, and the remaining
+horse and Polignac's infantry to intercept his route at Avoyelles
+Prairie. During the 14th, 15th, and 16th he was constantly attacked in
+front, rear, and right flank; and on the 17th Wharton charged his rear
+near Mansura, capturing many prisoners, while Colonel Yager, with two
+regiments of horse, cut in on the wagon train at Yellow Bayou, killed
+and drove off the guard, and destroyed much property. Meanwhile Liddell,
+on the north bank of the Red, followed the fleet and kept up a constant
+fire on the transports. But for the unfortunate withdrawal of his
+battery, before alluded to, he could have destroyed many of these
+vessels. On the 18th we attacked the enemy at Yellow Bayou, near
+Simmsport, and a severe engagement ensued, lasting until night. We held
+the field, on which the enemy left his dead, but our loss was heavy,
+four hundred and fifty-two in killed and wounded; among the former,
+Colonel Stone, commanding Polignac's old brigade. Polignac, in charge of
+division, was conspicuous in this action. The following day, May 19,
+1864, the enemy crossed the Atchafalaya and was beyond our reach. Here,
+at the place where it had opened more than two months before, the
+campaign closed.
+
+The army I had the honor to command in this campaign numbered, at its
+greatest strength, about thirteen thousand of all arms, including
+Liddell's force on the north bank of Red River; but immediately after
+the battle of Pleasant Hill it was reduced to fifty-two hundred by the
+withdrawal of Walker's and Churchill's divisions. Many of the troops
+marched quite four hundred miles, and from the 5th of April to the 18th
+of May not a day passed without some engagement with the enemy, either
+on land or river. Our total loss in killed, wounded, and missing was
+three thousand nine hundred and seventy-six; that of the enemy, nearly
+three times this number.
+
+From the action at Yellow Bayou on the 18th of May, 1864, to the close
+of the war in the following year, not a shot was fired in the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department." Johnston was forced back to Atlanta and
+relieved from command, and Atlanta fell. Not even an effective
+demonstration was made toward Arkansas and Missouri to prevent troops
+from being sent to reënforce Thomas at Nashville, and Hood was
+overthrown. Sherman marched unopposed through Georgia and South
+Carolina, while Lee's gallant army wasted away from cold and hunger in
+the trenches at Petersburg. Like Augustus in the agony of his spirit,
+the sorely pressed Confederates on the east of the Mississippi asked,
+and asked in vain: "Varus! Varus! Where are our legions?"
+
+The enemy's advance, fleet and army, reached Alexandria on the 16th of
+March, but he delayed sixteen days there and at Grand Ecore. My first
+reënforcements, two small regiments of horse, joined at Natchitoches on
+the 31st; but the larger part of Green's force came in at Mansfield on
+the 6th of April, Churchill's infantry reaching Keachi the same day. Had
+Banks pushed to Mansfield on the 5th instead of the 8th of April, he
+would have met but little opposition; and, once at Mansfield, he had the
+choice of three roads to Shreveport, where Steele could have joined him.
+
+Judging from the testimony given to the Congressional Committee on the
+Conduct of the War, cotton and elections seem to have been the chief
+causes of delay. In the second volume of "Report" may be found much
+crimination and recrimination between the Navy and Army concerning the
+seizure of cotton. Without attempting to decide the question, I may
+observe that Admiral Porter informs the Secretary of the Navy of "the
+capture from the rebels of three thousand bales of cotton on the Washita
+river, and two thousand on the Red, all of which I have sent to Cairo";
+while General Banks testifies that he "took from western Louisiana ten
+thousand bales of cotton and twenty thousand beef cattle, horses, and
+mules." From this, the Army appears to have surpassed the navy to the
+extent of five thousand bales of cotton and the above-mentioned number
+of beef cattle, etc. Whether Admiral Porter or General Banks was the
+more virtuous, the unhappy people of Louisiana were deprived of "cakes
+and ale."
+
+In his enthusiasm for art the classic cobbler forgot his last; but "all
+quality, pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war" could not make
+General Banks forget his politics, and he held elections at Alexandria
+and Grand Ecore. The General describes with some unction the devotion of
+the people to the "Union," which was and was to be, to them, "the fount
+of every blessing."
+
+Says General Banks in his report: "It became necessary to accomplish the
+evacuation [of Grand Ecore] without the enemy's knowledge. The
+conflagration of a portion of the town at the hour appointed for the
+movement partially frustrated the object." And further on: "Rumors were
+circulated freely throughout the camp at Alexandria, that upon the
+evacuation of the town it would be burned, and a considerable portion of
+the town was destroyed." Evidently, these burnings were against the
+orders of General Banks, who appears to have lost authority over some of
+his troops. Moreover, in their rapid flight from Grand Ecore to
+Monette's Ferry, a distance of forty miles, the Federals burned nearly
+every house on the road. In pursuit, we passed the smoking ruins of
+homesteads, by which stood weeping women and children. Time for the
+removal of the most necessary articles of furniture had been refused. It
+was difficult to restrain one's inclination to punish the ruffians
+engaged in this work, a number of whom were captured; but they asserted,
+and doubtless with truth, that they were acting under orders.
+
+From the universal testimony of citizens, I learned that General Banks
+and the officers and men of the 19th corps, Eastern troops, exerted
+themselves to prevent these outrages, and that the perpetrators were the
+men of General A.J. Smith's command from Sherman's army. Educated at
+West Point, this General Smith had long served in the regular army of
+the United States, and his men were from the West, whose brave sons
+might well afford kindness to women and babes. A key to their conduct
+can be found in the "Memoirs" of General W.T. Sherman, the commander who
+formed them, and whose views are best expressed in his own words.
+
+The city of Atlanta, from which the Confederates had withdrawn, was
+occupied by Slocum's corps of Sherman's army on the 2d of September,
+1864. In vol. ii. of his "Memoirs," page 111, General Sherman says: "I
+was resolved to make Atlanta a pure military garrison or depot, with no
+civil population to influence military measures. I gave notice of this
+purpose as early as the 4th of September, to General Halleck, in a
+letter concluding with these words: 'If the people raise a howl against
+my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not
+popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relations must
+stop the war.'" On pages 124-6 appears the correspondence of General
+Sherman with the mayor and councilmen of Atlanta concerning the removal
+of citizens, in which the latter write: "We petition you to reconsider
+the order requiring them to leave Atlanta. It will involve in the
+aggregate consequences appalling and heartrending. Many poor women are
+in an advanced state of pregnancy, others now having young children, and
+whose husbands for the greater part are either in the army, prisoners,
+or dead. Some say, 'I have such a one sick at my house; who will wait on
+them when I am gone?' Others say, 'What are we to do? we have no house
+to go to, and no means to buy, build, or rent any; no parents,
+relatives, or friends to go to.' This being so, how is it possible for
+the people still here, mostly women and children, to find shelter? And
+how can they live through the winter in the woods?" To this General
+Sherman replies: "I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a
+petition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabitants from Atlanta.
+I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of the
+distress that will be occasioned, and yet shall not revoke my orders,
+because _they were not intended to meet the humanities of the case_. You
+might as well appeal against the thunderstorm as against these terrible
+hardships of war. They are inevitable; and the only way the people of
+Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home is to stop
+the war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error and
+is perpetuated in pride." Again, on page 152 is Sherman's telegram to
+General Grant: "Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us to
+occupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people
+will cripple their military resources. I can make this march, and make
+Georgia howl." It could hardly be expected that troops trained by this
+commander would respect _the humanities_.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+Prostrated by two years of constant devotion to work--work so severe,
+stern, and exacting as to have prevented me from giving the slightest
+attention to my family, even when heavily afflicted--and persuaded that
+under existing administration nothing would be accomplished in the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department," a month after the close of the Red River
+campaign I applied for relief from duty. After several applications this
+was granted, and with my wife and two surviving children I retired to
+the old Spanish-French town of Natchitoches. The inhabitants, though
+impoverished by the war, had a comfortable house ready for my family, to
+which they invited me, with all the warmth of Southern hearts and all
+the good taste of the Latin race. Here I remained for several weeks,
+when information of my promotion to lieutenant-general came from
+Richmond, with orders to report for duty on the east side of the
+Mississippi. The officers of my staff, who had long served with me,
+desired and were permitted to accompany me, with the exception of Brent,
+now colonel of artillery, who could not be spared. Colonel Brent
+remained in west Louisiana until the close of the war, attaining the
+rank of brigadier. Of his merit and services I have already written.
+
+The Red River campaign of 1864 was the last Federal campaign undertaken
+for political objects, or intrusted to political generals. Experience
+taught the Washington Government that its enormous resources must be
+concentrated, and henceforth unity of purpose and action prevailed.
+Posts on the Mississippi between Memphis and New Orleans were
+strengthened, intervening spaces closely guarded by numerous gunboats,
+and parties thrown ashore to destroy all boats that could be found.
+Though individuals, with precaution, could cross the great river, it was
+almost impossible to take over organized bodies of troops or supplies,
+and the Confederates on the west were isolated. The Federal Government
+now directed its energies against Richmond and Atlanta.
+
+Upon what foundations the civil authorities of the Confederacy rested
+their hopes of success, after the campaign of 1864 fully opened, I am
+unable to say; but their commanders in the field, whose rank and
+position enabled them to estimate the situation, fought simply to afford
+statesmanship an opportunity to mitigate the sorrows of inevitable
+defeat.
+
+A grand old oak, on the east bank of the Black River, the lower Washita,
+protected my couch; and in the morning, with two guides, the faithful
+Tom following, I threaded my way through swamp and jungle to the
+Mississippi, which was reached at sunset. A light canoe was concealed
+some distance from the river bank, and after the short twilight faded
+into night this was borne on the shoulders of the guides, and launched.
+One of the guides embarked to paddle, and Tom and I followed, each
+leading a horse. A gunboat was lying in the river a short distance
+below, and even the horses seemed to understand the importance of
+silence, swimming quietly alongside of our frail craft. The eastern
+shore reached, we stopped for a time to rub and rest the cattle,
+exhausted by long-continued exertion in the water; then pushed on to
+Woodville, some five and twenty miles east. This, the chief town of
+Wilkison county, Mississippi, was in telegraphic communication with
+Richmond, and I reported my arrival to the war office. An answer came,
+directing me to take command of the department of Alabama, Mississippi,
+etc., with the information that President Davis would shortly leave
+Richmond to meet me at Montgomery, Alabama. While awaiting telegram, I
+learned of the fall of Atlanta and the forts at the entrance of Mobile
+Bay. My predecessor in the department to the command of which
+telegraphic orders had just assigned me was General Bishop Polk, to whom
+I accord all his titles; for in him, after a sleep of several
+centuries, was awakened the church militant. Before he joined Johnston
+in northern Georgia, Polk's headquarters were at Meridian, near the
+eastern boundary of Mississippi, where the Mobile and Ohio Railway,
+running north, is crossed by the Vicksburg, Jackson, and Selma line,
+running east. To this point I at once proceeded, _via_ Jackson, more
+than a hundred miles northeast of Woodville. Grierson's and other
+"raids," in the past summer, had broken the New Orleans and Jackson
+Railway, so that I rode the distance to the latter place. It was in
+September, and the fierce heat was trying to man and beast. The open
+pine forests of southern Mississippi obstruct the breeze, while
+affording no protection from the sun, whose rays are intensified by
+reflection from the white, sandy soil. Jackson reached, I stopped for an
+hour to see the Governor of Mississippi, Clarke, an old acquaintance,
+and give instructions to Brigadier Wirt Adams, the local commander; then
+took rail to Meridian, eighty miles, where I found the records of the
+department left by General Polk, as well as several officers of the
+general staff. These gentlemen had nothing especial to do, and appeared
+to be discharging that duty conscientiously; but they were zealous and
+intelligent, and speedily enabled me to judge of the situation.
+Major-General Maury, in immediate command at Mobile, and the senior
+officer in the department before my arrival, had ordered General Forrest
+with his cavalry to Mobile in anticipation of an attack. Forrest himself
+was expected to pass through Meridian that evening, _en route_ for
+Mobile.
+
+Just from the Mississippi river, where facilities for obtaining
+information from New Orleans were greater than at Mobile, I was
+confident that the enemy contemplated no immediate attack on the latter
+place. Accordingly, General Maury was informed by telegraph of my
+presence, that I assumed command of the department, and would arrest
+Forrest's movement. An hour later a train from the north, bringing
+Forrest in advance of his troops, reached Meridian, and was stopped; and
+the General, whom I had never seen, came to report. He was a tall,
+stalwart man, with grayish hair, mild countenance, and slow and homely
+of speech. In few words he was informed that I considered Mobile safe
+for the present, and that all our energies must be directed to the
+relief of Hood's army, then west of Atlanta. The only way to accomplish
+this was to worry Sherman's communications north of the Tennessee river,
+and he must move his cavalry in that direction at the earliest moment.
+
+To my surprise, Forrest suggested many difficulties and asked numerous
+questions: how he was to get over the Tennessee; how he was to get back
+if pressed by the enemy; how he was to be supplied; what should be his
+line of retreat in certain contingencies; what he was to do with
+prisoners if any were taken, etc. I began to think he had no stomach for
+the work; but at last, having isolated the chances of success from
+causes of failure with the care of a chemist experimenting in his
+laboratory, he rose and asked for Fleming, the superintendent of the
+railway, who was on the train by which he had come. Fleming appeared--a
+little man on crutches (he had recently broken a leg), but with the
+energy of a giant--and at once stated what he could do in the way of
+moving supplies on his line, which had been repaired up to the Tennessee
+boundary. Forrest's whole manner now changed. In a dozen sharp sentences
+he told his wants, said he would leave a staff officer to bring up his
+supplies, asked for an engine to take him back north twenty miles to
+meet his troops, informed me he would march with the dawn, and hoped to
+give an account of himself in Tennessee.
+
+Moving with great rapidity, he crossed the Tennessee river, captured
+stockades with their garrisons, burned bridges, destroyed railways,
+reached the Cumberland River below Nashville, drove away gunboats,
+captured and destroyed several transports with immense stores, and
+spread alarm over a wide region. The enemy concentrated on him from all
+directions, but he eluded or defeated their several columns, recrossed
+the Tennessee, and brought off fifteen hundred prisoners and much spoil.
+Like Clive, Nature made him a great soldier; and he was without the
+former's advantages. Limited as was Clive's education, he was a person
+of erudition compared with Forrest, who read with difficulty. In the
+last weeks of the war he was much with me, and told me the story of his
+life. His father, a poor trader in negroes and mules, died when he was
+fifteen years of age, leaving a widow and several younger children
+dependent on him for support. To add to his burden, a posthumous infant
+was born some weeks after the father's death. Continuing the paternal
+occupations in a small way, he continued to maintain the family and give
+some education to the younger children. His character for truth,
+honesty, and energy was recognized, and he gradually achieved
+independence and aided his brethren to start in life. Such was his short
+story up to the war.
+
+Some months before the time of our first meeting, with two thousand men
+he defeated the Federal General Sturgis, who had five times his force,
+at Tishimingo; and he repeated his success at Okalona, where his
+opponent, General Smith, had even greater odds against him. The battle
+of Okalona was fought on an open plain, and Forrest had no advantage of
+position to compensate for great inferiority of numbers; but it is
+remarkable that he employed the tactics of Frederick at Leuthen and
+Zorndorf, though he had never heard these names. Indeed, his tactics
+deserve the closest study of military men. Asked after the war to what
+he attributed his success in so many actions, he replied: "Well, I _got
+there first with the most men_." Jomini could not have stated the key to
+the art of war more concisely. I doubt if any commander since the days
+of lion-hearted Richard has killed as many enemies with his own hand as
+Forrest. His word of command as he led the charge was unique: "Forward,
+men, and _mix_ with 'em!" But, while cutting down many a foe with
+long-reaching, nervous arm, his keen eye watched the whole fight and
+guided him to the weak spot. Yet he was a tender-hearted, kindly man.
+The accusations of his enemies that he murdered prisoners at Fort Pillow
+and elsewhere are absolutely false. The prisoners captured on his
+expedition into Tennessee, of which I have just written, were negroes,
+and he carefully looked after their wants himself, though in rapid
+movement and fighting much of the time. These negroes told me of Mass
+Forrest's kindness to them. After the war I frequently met General
+Forrest, and received many evidences of attachment from him. He has
+passed away within a month, to the regret of all who knew him. In the
+States of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, to generations yet
+unborn, his name will be a "household word."
+
+Having devoted several hours at Meridian to the work mentioned, I took
+rail for Mobile, a hundred and forty miles. This town of thirty thousand
+inhabitants is situated on the west bank of the Alabama (here called
+Mobile) River, near its entrance into Mobile Bay, which is
+five-and-twenty miles long by ten broad. A month before my arrival
+Admiral Farragut had captured Fort Morgan at the eastern mouth of the
+bay, after defeating the Confederate fleet under Admiral Buchanan, who
+was severely wounded in the action. Two or three of Buchanan's vessels
+had escaped, and were in charge of Commodore Farrand near Mobile. The
+shallow waters of the bay were thickly planted with torpedoes, and many
+heavy guns were mounted near the town, making it safe in front. Mobile
+had excellent communications with the interior. The Alabama, Tombigby,
+and Black Warrior Rivers afforded steam navigation to central Alabama
+and eastern Mississippi, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway reached the
+northern limit of the latter State. Supplies from the fertile
+"cane-brake" region of Alabama and the prairies of eastern Mississippi
+were abundant. Before they abandoned Pensacola, the Confederates had
+taken up fifty miles of rails from the Pensacola and Montgomery line,
+and used them to make a connection between the latter place and
+Blakeley, at the eastern head of the bay, opposite Mobile. From the
+known dispositions of the Federal forces, I did not think it probable
+that any serious attempt on Mobile would be made until spring. Already
+in possession of Fort Morgan and Pensacola, thirty miles east of the
+first, and the best harbor on the Gulf, the enemy, when he attacked,
+would doubtless make these places his base. It was important, then, to
+look to defensive works on the east side of the bay, and such works were
+vigorously pushed at Blakeley, above mentioned, and at Spanish Fort,
+several miles south. I had no intention of standing a siege in Mobile,
+but desired to hold the place with a small force, so as to compel the
+employment of an army to reduce it; and for this its situation was
+admirably adapted. The Mobile River, forty miles long, and formed by the
+Alabama and Tombigby, is but the estuary at the head of Mobile Bay,
+silted up with detritus by the entering streams. Several miles wide, it
+incloses numerous marshy islands in its many channels. These features
+make its passage difficult, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway, trending
+to the west as it leaves the town to gain the high land above the
+valley, affords a ready means for the withdrawal of a limited force.
+
+The officer commanding at Mobile was well qualified for his task.
+Major-General D.H. Maury, nephew to the distinguished Matthew Maury,
+formerly of the United States navy, graduated from West Point in time to
+serve in the war with Mexico, where he was wounded. A Virginian, he
+resigned from the United States cavalry to share the fortunes of his
+State. Intelligent, upright, and devoted to duty, he gained the respect
+and confidence of the townspeople, and was thereby enabled to supplement
+his regular force of eight thousand of all arms with a body of local
+militia. It was a great comfort to find an able officer in this
+responsible position, who not only adopted my plans, but improved and
+executed them. General Maury had some excellent officers under him, and
+the sequel will show how well they discharged their duty to the end.
+
+From Mobile to Meridian, and after some days to Selma, ninety miles
+east. The railway between these last places had been recently laid down,
+and was very imperfect. There was no bridge over the Tombigby at
+Demopolis, and a steam ferry was employed. East of Demopolis, the line
+passed through the cane-brake country, a land of fatness. The army of
+Lee, starving in the trenches before Richmond and Petersburg, could have
+been liberally supplied from this district but for lack of
+transportation.
+
+Here it may be asserted that we suffered less from inferiority of
+numbers than from want of mechanical resources. Most of the mechanics
+employed in the South were Northern men, and returned to their section
+at the outbreak of war. The loss of New Orleans, our only large city,
+aggravated this trouble, and we had no means of repairing the long lines
+of railway, nor the plant. Even when unbroken by raids, wear and tear
+rendered them inefficient at an early period of the struggle. This had a
+more direct influence on the sudden downfall of the Confederacy than is
+generally supposed.
+
+Selma, a place of some five thousand people, is on the north bank of the
+Alabama River, by which it has steam communication with Mobile and
+Montgomery, forty miles above on the opposite bank. In addition to the
+railway from Meridian, there was a line running to the northeast in the
+direction of Dalton, Georgia, the existing terminus of which was at Blue
+Mountain, a hundred and odd miles from Selma; and, to inspect the line,
+I went to Blue Mountain. This, the southern limit of the Alleghanies,
+which here sink into the great plain of the gulf, was distant from the
+Atlanta and Chattanooga Railway, Sherman's only line of communication,
+sixty miles. A force operating from Blue Mountain would approach this
+line at a right angle, and, drawing its supplies from the fertile
+country near Selma, would cover its own communications while threatening
+those of an enemy from Atlanta to Chattanooga. On this account the road
+might be of importance.
+
+Returning to Selma, I stopped at Talladega, on the east bank of the
+Coosa River, the largest affluent of the Alabama, and navigable by small
+steamers to Rome, Georgia. Here I met Brigadier Daniel Adams, in local
+command, and learned much of the condition of the surrounding region.
+After passing Chattanooga the Tennessee River makes a great bend to the
+South, inclosing a part of Alabama between itself and the Tennessee
+State line; and in this district was a small Confederate force under
+Brigadier Roddy, which was enabled to maintain an exposed position by
+knowledge of the country. General Adams thought he could procure wire
+enough to establish communication with Roddy, or materially shorten the
+courier line between them; and, as this would duplicate my means of
+getting news, especially of Forrest, he was directed to do so. I had no
+knowledge of Hood's plans or condition, saving that he had been defeated
+and was southwest of Atlanta; but if he contemplated operations on
+Sherman's communications, which was his true policy, he must draw
+supplies from Selma, as much of the country between the Tennessee and
+Alabama Rivers was sterile and sparsely populated. Accordingly, I moved
+my headquarters to Selma and ordered the collection of supplies there,
+and at Talladega; then took steamer for Montgomery, to meet the General
+Assembly of Alabama, called in extra session in view of the crisis
+produced by Hood's defeat and the fall of Atlanta. Just as the steamer
+was leaving Selma, I received dispatches from Forrest, announcing his
+first success after crossing the Tennessee river. Traveling alone, or
+with one staff officer, and unknown to the people, I had opportunities
+of learning something of the real state of public sentiment in my new
+department. Citizens were universally depressed and disheartened. Sick
+and wounded officers and men from Hood's army were dissatisfied with the
+removal of Johnston from command, and the subsequent conduct of affairs.
+From conversations in railway carriages and on river steamers I had
+gathered this, and nothing but this, since my arrival.
+
+Reaching Montgomery in the morning, I had interviews with the Governor
+and leading members of the Assembly, who promised all the assistance in
+their power to aid in the defense of the State. The Governor, Watts, who
+had resigned the office of Attorney-General of the Confederacy to accept
+his present position, was ever ready to coöperate with me.
+
+Late in the afternoon a dispatch was received from President Davis,
+announcing his arrival for the following morning. He came, was received
+by the State authorities, visited the Capitol, addressed the Assembly,
+and then received leading citizens; all of which consumed the day, and
+it was ten o'clock at night when he took me to his chamber, locked the
+door, and said we must devote the night to work, as it was imperative
+for him to return to Richmond the next morning. He began by saying that
+he had visited Hood and his army on his way to Montgomery, and was
+gratified to find officers and men in excellent spirits, not at all
+depressed by recent disasters, and that he thought well of a movement
+north toward Nashville. I expressed surprise at his statement of the
+condition of Hood's army, as entirely opposed to the conclusions forced
+on me by all the evidence I could get, and warned him of the danger of
+listening to narrators who were more disposed to tell what was agreeable
+than what was true. He readily admitted that persons in his position
+were exposed to this danger. Proceeding to discuss the suggested
+movement toward Nashville, I thought it a serious matter to undertake a
+campaign into Tennessee in the autumn, with troops so badly equipped as
+were ours for the approaching winter. Every mile the army marched north,
+it was removing farther from supplies, and no reënforcements were to be
+hoped for from any quarter. Besides, Sherman could control force enough
+to garrison Chattanooga and Nashville, and, if time were allowed him to
+accumulate supplies at Atlanta by his one line of rail, could abandon
+everything south of Chattanooga, and with fifty thousand men, in the
+absence of Hood's army, march where he liked. The President asked what
+assistance might be expected from the trans-Mississippi. I replied,
+none. There would not be another gun fired there; for the Federals had
+withdrawn their troops to concentrate east of the river. The difficulty
+of bringing over organized bodies of men was explained, with the
+addition of their unwillingness to come. The idea prevailed that the
+States west of the Mississippi had been neglected by the Government, and
+this idea had been encouraged by many in authority. So far from desiring
+to send any more men to the east, they clamored for the return of those
+already there. Certain senators and representatives, who had bitterly
+opposed the administration at Richmond, talked much wild nonsense about
+setting up a government west of the Mississippi, uniting with
+Maximilian, and calling on Louis Napoleon for assistance. The President
+listened attentively to this, and asked, "What then?" I informed him of
+the work Forrest was doing, pointed out the advantages of Blue Mountain
+as a base from which to operate, and suggested that Hood's army be
+thrown on Sherman's line of railway, north of Atlanta. As Johnston had
+been so recently removed from command, I would not venture to recommend
+his return, but believed that our chances would be increased by the
+assignment of Beauregard to the army. He still retained some of the
+early popularity gained at Sumter and Manassas, and would awaken a
+certain enthusiasm. Apprehending no immediate danger for Mobile, I would
+strip the place of everything except gunners and join Beauregard with
+four thousand good troops. Even the smallest reënforcement is
+inspiriting to a defeated army, and by seizing his railway we would
+force Sherman to battle. Granting we would be whipped, we could fall
+back to Blue Mountain without danger of pursuit, as the enemy was
+chained to his line of supply, and we certainly ought to make the fight
+hot enough to cripple him for a time and delay his projected movements.
+At the same time, I did not disguise my conviction that the best we
+could hope for was to protract the struggle until spring. It was for
+statesmen, not soldiers, to deal with the future.
+
+The President said Beauregard should come, and, after consultation with
+Hood and myself, decide the movements of the army; but that he was
+distressed to hear such gloomy sentiments from me. I replied that it was
+my duty to express my opinions frankly to him, when he asked for them,
+though there would be impropriety in giving utterance to them before
+others; but I did not admit the gloom. In fact, I had cut into this game
+with eyes wide open, and felt that in staking life, fortune, and the
+future of my children, the chances were against success. It was not for
+me, then, to whimper when the cards were bad; that was the right of
+those who were convinced there would be no war, or at most a holiday
+affair, in which everybody could display heroism. With much other talk
+we wore through the night. In the morning he left, as he purposed, and I
+returned to Selma. My next meeting with President Davis was at Fortress
+Monroe, under circumstances to be related.
+
+Some days at Selma were devoted to accumulation of supplies, and General
+Maury was advised that he must be prepared to forward a part of his
+command to that place, when a message from Beauregard informed me that
+he was on the way to Blue Mountain and desired to meet me there. He had
+not seen Hood, whose army, after an ineffectual attack on Altoona, had
+left Sherman's line of communication, moved westward, and was now some
+fifteen miles to the north of Blue Mountain. Having told me this,
+Beauregard explained the orders under which he was acting. To my
+disappointment, he had not been expressly assigned to command Hood's
+army, but to the general direction of affairs in the southwest. General
+Maury, a capable officer, was at Mobile; Forrest, with his cavalry
+division, I had sent into Tennessee; and a few scattered men were
+watching the enemy in various quarters--all together hardly constituting
+a command for a lieutenant-general, my rank. Unless Beauregard took
+charge of Hood's army, there was nothing for him to do except to command
+me. Here was a repetition of 1863. Then Johnston was sent with a roving
+commission to command Bragg in Tennessee, Pemberton in Mississippi, and
+others in sundry places. The result was that he commanded nobody, and,
+when Pemberton was shut up in Vicksburg, found himself helpless, with a
+handful of troops, at Jackson. To give an officer discretion to remove
+another from command of an army in the field is to throw upon him the
+responsibility of doing it, and this should be assumed by the
+government, not left to an individual.
+
+However, I urged on Beauregard the considerations mentioned in my
+interview with President Davis, that Sherman had detached to look after
+Forrest, was compelled to keep garrisons at many points from Atlanta to
+Nashville, and, if forced to action fifty or sixty miles north of the
+former place, would be weaker then than we could hope to find him later,
+after he had accumulated supplies. I mentioned the little reënforcement
+we could have at once from Mobile, my readiness to take any command,
+division, brigade, or regiment to which he might assign me, and, above
+all, the necessity of prompt action. There were two persons present,
+Colonel Brent, of Beauregard's staff, and Mr. Charles Villeré, a member
+of the Confederate Congress from Louisiana. The former said all that was
+proper for a staff officer in favor of my views; the latter,
+Beauregard's brother-in-law, warmly urged their adoption. The General
+ordered his horse, to visit Hood, and told me to await intelligence
+from him. On his return from Hood, he informed me that the army was
+moving to the northwest, and would cross the Tennessee river near the
+Muscle Shoals. As this plan of campaign had met the sanction of
+President Davis, and Hood felt confident of success, he declined to
+interfere. I could not blame Beauregard; for it was putting a cruel
+responsibility on him to supersede a gallant veteran, to whom fortune
+had been adverse. There was nothing to be said and nothing to be done,
+saving to discharge one's duty to the bitter end. Hood's line of march
+would bring him within reach of the Mobile and Ohio Railway in northern
+Mississippi, and supplies could be sent him by that road. Selma ceased
+to be of importance, and my quarters were returned to Meridian. Forrest,
+just back from Tennessee, was advised of Hood's purposes and ordered to
+coöperate. Maury was made happy by the information that he would lose
+none of his force, and the usual routine of inspections, papers, etc.,
+occupied the ensuing weeks.
+
+My attention was called about this time to the existence of a
+wide-spread evil. A practice had grown up of appointing provost-marshals
+to take private property for public use, and every little post commander
+exercised the power to appoint such officials. The land swarmed with
+these vermin, appointed without due authority, or self-constituted, who
+robbed the people of horses, mules, cattle, corn, and meat. The wretched
+peasants of the middle ages could not have suffered more from the "free
+companies" turned loose upon them. Loud complaints came up from State
+governors and from hundreds of good citizens. I published an order,
+informing the people that their property was not to be touched unless by
+authority given by me and in accordance with the forms of law, and they
+were requested to deal with all violators of the order as with
+highwaymen. This put an end to the tyranny, which had been long and
+universally submitted to.
+
+The readiness of submission to power displayed by the American people in
+the war was astonishing. Our British forefathers transmitted to us
+respect for law and love of liberty founded upon it; but the influence
+of universal suffrage seemed to have destroyed all sense of personal
+manhood, all conception of individual rights. It may be said of the
+South, that its people submitted to wrong because they were engaged in a
+fierce struggle with superior force; but what of the North, whose people
+were fighting for conquest? Thousands were opposed to the war, and
+hundreds of thousands to its conduct and objects. The wonderful vote
+received by McClellan in 1864 showed the vast numbers of the Northern
+minority; yet, so far from modifying in the smallest degree the will and
+conduct of the majority, this multitude of men dared not give utterance
+to their real sentiments; and the same was true of the South at the time
+of secession. Reformers who have tried to improve the morals of
+humanity, discoverers who have striven to alleviate its physical
+conditions, have suffered martyrdom at its hands. Years upon years have
+been found necessary to induce the masses to consider, much less adopt,
+schemes for their own advantage. A government of numbers, then, is not
+one of virtue or intelligence, but of force, intangible, irresistible,
+irresponsible--resembling that of Cæsar depicted by the great historian,
+which, covering the earth as a pall, reduced all to a common level of
+abject servitude. For many years scarce a descendant of the colonial
+gentry in the Eastern States has been elected to public office. To-day
+they have no existence even as a social force and example. Under the
+baleful influence of negro suffrage it is impossible to foretell the
+destiny of the South. Small wonder that pure democracies have ever
+proved ready to exchange "Demos" for some other tyrant.
+
+Occasional visits for inspection were made to Mobile, where Maury was
+strengthening his defenses. On the east side of the bay, Blakeley and
+Spanish Fort were progressing steadily, as I held that the enemy would
+attack there, tempted by his possession of Pensacola and Fort Morgan.
+Although this opinion was justified in the end, hope may have had some
+influence in its formation; for we could meet attack from that quarter
+better than from the west, which, indeed, would have speedily driven us
+from the place. The loss of the Mobile and Ohio railway would have
+necessitated the withdrawal of the garrison across the bay, a difficult
+operation, if pressed by superior force.
+
+The Confederate Congress had enacted that negro troops, captured, should
+be restored to their owners. We had several hundreds of such, taken by
+Forrest in Tennessee, whose owners could not be reached; and they were
+put to work on the fortifications at Mobile, rather for the purpose of
+giving them healthy employment than for the value of the work. I made it
+a point to visit their camps and inspect the quantity and quality of
+their food, always found to be satisfactory. On one occasion, while so
+engaged, a fine-looking negro, who seemed to be leader among his
+comrades, approached me and said: "Thank you, Massa General, they give
+us plenty of good victuals; but how you like our work?" I replied that
+they had worked very well. "If you will give us guns we will fight for
+these works, too. We would rather fight for our own white folks than for
+strangers." And, doubtless, this was true. In their dealings with the
+negro the white men of the South should ever remember that no instance
+of outrage occurred during the war. Their wives and little ones remained
+safe at home, surrounded by thousands of faithful slaves, who worked
+quietly in the fields until removed by the Federals. This is the highest
+testimony to the kindness of the master and the gentleness of the
+servant; and all the dramatic talent prostituted to the dissemination of
+falsehood in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and similar productions can not rebut
+it.
+
+About the middle of November I received from General Lee, now commanding
+the armies of the Confederacy, instructions to visit Macon and Savannah,
+Georgia, if I could leave my department, and report to him the condition
+of affairs in that quarter, and the probabilities of Sherman's
+movements, as the latter had left Atlanta. I proceeded at once, taking
+rail at Montgomery, and reached Macon, _via_ Columbus, Georgia, at dawn.
+It was the bitterest weather I remember in this latitude. The ground was
+frozen and some snow was falling. General Howell Cobb, the local
+commander, met me at the station and took me to his house, which was
+also his office. Arrived there, horses appeared, and Cobb said he
+supposed that I would desire to ride out and inspect the fortifications,
+on which he had been at work all night, as the enemy was twelve miles
+north of Macon at noon of the preceding day. I asked what force he had
+to defend the place. He stated the number, which was utterly inadequate,
+and composed of raw conscripts. Whereupon I declined to look at the
+fortifications, and requested him to order work upon them to be stopped,
+so that his men could get by a fire, as I then was and intended to
+remain. I had observed a movement of stores in passing the railway
+station, and now expressed the opinion that Macon was the safest place
+in Georgia, and advised Cobb to keep his stores. Here entered General
+Mackall, one of Cobb's subordinates, who was personally in charge of the
+defensive works, and could not credit the order he had received to stop.
+Cobb referred him to me, and I said: "The enemy was but twelve miles
+from you at noon of yesterday. Had he intended coming to Macon, you
+would have seen him last evening, before you had time to strengthen
+works or remove stores." This greatly comforted Cobb, who up to that
+moment held me to be a lunatic. Breakfast was suggested, to which I
+responded with enthusiasm, having been on short commons for many hours.
+While we were enjoying the meal, intelligence was brought that the enemy
+had disappeared from the north of Macon and marched eastward. Cobb was
+delighted. He pronounced me to be the wisest of generals, and said he
+knew nothing of military affairs, but had entered the service from a
+sense of duty.
+
+Cobb had been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and
+Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Buchanan.
+Beloved and respected in his State, he had been sent to Georgia to
+counteract the influence of Governor Joe Brown, who, carrying out the
+doctrine of State rights, had placed himself in opposition to President
+Davis. Cobb, with his conscripts, had been near Atlanta before Sherman
+moved out, and gave me a laughable account of the expeditious manner in
+which he and "his little party" got to Macon, just as he was inditing a
+superb dispatch to General Lee to inform him of the impossibility of
+Sherman's escape.
+
+While we were conversing Governor Brown was announced, as arrived from
+Milledgeville, the State capital, forty miles to the northeast. Cobb
+remarked that it was awkward; for Governor Brown was the only man in
+Georgia to whom he did not speak. But he yielded to the ancient jest,
+that for the time being we had best hang together, as there seemed a
+possibility of enjoying that amusement separately, and brought the
+Governor in, who told me that he had escaped from Milledgeville as the
+Federals entered. People said that he had brought off his cow and his
+cabbages, and left the State's property to take care of itself. However,
+Governor Brown deserves praise at my hands, for he promptly acceded to
+all my requests. With him were General Robert Toombs, the most original
+of men, and General G.W. Smith, both of whom had been in the Confederate
+army. Toombs had resigned to take the place of Adjutant-General of
+Georgia; Smith, to superintend some iron works, from which he had been
+driven by Sherman's movements, and was now in command of Governor
+Brown's "army," composed of men that he had refused to the Confederate
+service. This "army" had some hours before marched east toward Savannah,
+taking the direct route along the railway. I told the Governor that his
+men would be captured unless they were called back at once; and Smith,
+who undertook the duty in person, was just in time. "Joe Brown's army"
+struck the extreme right of Sherman, and suffered some loss before Smith
+could extricate it. To Albany, ninety miles south of Macon, there was a
+railway, and some forty miles farther south, across the country,
+Thomasville was reached. Here was the terminus of the Savannah and Gulf
+Railway, two hundred miles, or thereabouts, southwest of Savannah. This
+route I decided to take, and suggested it to the Governor as the only
+safe one for his troops. He acquiesced at once, and Toombs promised to
+have transportation ready by the time Smith returned. Taking leave of
+Cobb, I departed.
+
+Several years after the close of the war General Cobb and I happened to
+be in New York, accompanied by our families, but stopping at different
+inns. He dined with me, seemed in excellent health and spirits, and
+remained to a late hour, talking over former times and scenes. I walked
+to his lodgings with him, and promised to call with my wife on Mrs. Cobb
+the following day at 1 o'clock. We were there at the hour, when the
+servant, in answer to my request to take up our cards, stated that
+General Cobb had just fallen dead. I sprang up the stair, and saw his
+body lying on the floor of a room, his wife, dazed by the shock, looking
+on. A few minutes before he had written a letter and started for the
+office of the inn to post it, remarking to his wife that he would return
+immediately, as he expected our visit. A step from the threshold, and he
+was dead. Thus suddenly passed away one of the most genial and generous
+men I have known. His great fortune suffered much by the war, but to the
+last he shared its remains with less fortunate friends.
+
+Traveling all night, I reached Thomasville in the early morning, and
+found that there was telegraphic communication with General Hardee at
+Savannah, whom I informed of my presence and requested to send down
+transportation for Governor Brown's troops. There was much delay at
+Thomasville, the railway people appearing to think that Sherman was
+swarming all over Georgia. At length I discovered an engine and a
+freight van, which the officials promised to get ready for me; but they
+were dreadfully slow, until Toombs rode into town and speedily woke them
+up. Smith returned to Macon after my departure, found transportation
+ready for his men, brought them to Albany by rail, and was now marching
+to Thomasville. Toombs, who had ridden on in advance, was not satisfied
+with Hardee's reply to my dispatch, but took possession of the telegraph
+and threatened dire vengeance on superintendents and road masters if
+they failed to have the necessary engines and carriages ready in time.
+He damned the dawdling creatures who had delayed me to such an extent as
+to make them energetic, and my engine appeared, puffing with anxiety to
+move. He assured me that he would not be many hours after me at
+Savannah, for Smith did not intend to halt on the road, as his men could
+rest in the carriages. A man of extraordinary energy, this same Toombs.
+
+Savannah was reached about midnight, and Hardee was awaiting me. A short
+conversation cleared the situation and enabled me to send the following
+report to General Lee. Augusta, Georgia, held by General Bragg with a
+limited force, was no longer threatened, as the enemy had passed south
+of it. Sherman, with sixty or seventy thousand men, was moving on the
+high ground between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers; and as this
+afforded a dry, sandy road direct to Savannah, where he would most
+readily meet the Federal fleet, it was probable that he would adhere to
+it. He might cross the Savannah river forty or fifty miles above and
+march on Charleston, but this was hardly to be expected; for, in
+addition to the river named, there were several others and a difficult
+country to pass before Charleston could be reached, and his desire to
+communicate with the fleet by the nearest route and in the shortest time
+must be considered. Hardee's force was inadequate to the defense of
+Savannah, and he should prepare to abandon the place before he was shut
+up. Uniting, Bragg and Hardee should call in the garrison from
+Charleston, and all scattered forces along the coast south of
+Wilmington, North Carolina, and be prepared to resist Sherman's march
+through the Carolinas, which he must be expected to undertake as soon as
+he had established a base on the ocean. Before this report was
+dispatched, Hardee read and approved it.
+
+Meanwhile scores of absurd rumors about the enemy came in. Places I had
+passed within an hour were threatened by heavy columns; others, from
+which the enemy was distant a hundred miles, were occupied, etc. But one
+of importance did come. The railway from Savannah to Charleston passes
+near the coast. The officer commanding at Pocotaligo, midway of the two
+places, reported an advance of the enemy from Port Royal, and that he
+must abandon his post the following morning unless reënforced. To lose
+the Charleston line would seriously interfere with the concentration
+just recommended. Hardee said that he could ill spare men, and had no
+means of moving them promptly. I bethought me of Toombs, Smith, and
+Governor Brown's "army." The energetic Toombs had frightened the railway
+people into moving him, and, from his telegrams, might be expected
+before dawn. Hardee thought but little of the suggestion, because the
+ground of quarrel between Governor Brown and President Davis was the
+refusal of the former to allow his guards to serve beyond their state.
+However, I had faith in Toombs and Smith. A short distance to the south
+of Savannah, on the Gulf road, was a switch by which carriages could be
+shunted on to a connection with the Charleston line. I wrote to Toombs
+of the emergency, and sent one of Hardee's staff to meet him at the
+switch. The governor's army was quietly shunted off and woke up at
+Pocotaligo in South Carolina, where it was just in time to repulse the
+enemy after a spirited little action, thereby saving the railway.
+Doubtless the Georgians, a plucky people, would have responded to an
+appeal to leave their State under the circumstances, but Toombs enjoyed
+the joke of making them unconscious patriots.
+
+In the past autumn Cassius Clay of Kentucky killed a colored man who had
+attacked him. For more than thirty years Mr. Clay had advocated the
+abolition of slavery, and at the risk of his life. Dining with Toombs in
+New York just after the event, he said to me: "Seen the story about old
+Cassius Clay? Been an abolitionist all his days, and ends by shooting a
+nigger. I knew he would." A droll fellow is Robert Toombs. Full of
+talent and well instructed, he affects quaint and provincial forms of
+speech. His influence in Georgia is great, and he is a man to know.
+
+Two days at Savannah served to accomplish the object of my mission, and,
+taking leave of Hardee, I returned to my own department. An educated
+soldier of large experience, Hardee was among the best of our
+subordinate generals, and, indeed, seemed to possess the requisite
+qualities for supreme command; but this he steadily refused, alleging
+his unfitness for responsibility. Such modesty is not a common American
+weakness, and deserves to be recorded. General Hardee's death occurred
+after the close of the war.
+
+In this journey through Georgia, at Andersonville, I passed in sight of
+a large stockade inclosing prisoners of war. The train stopped for a few
+moments, and there entered the carriage, to speak to me, a man who said
+his name was _Wirtz_, and that he was in charge of the prisoners near
+by. He complained of the inadequacy of his guard and of the want of
+supplies, as the adjacent region was sterile and thinly populated. He
+also said that the prisoners were suffering from cold, were destitute of
+blankets, and that he had not wagons to supply fuel. He showed me
+duplicates of requisitions and appeals for relief that he had made to
+different authorities, and these I indorsed in the strongest terms
+possible, hoping to accomplish some good. I know nothing of this Wirtz,
+whom I then met for the first and only time, but he appeared to be
+earnest in his desire to mitigate the condition of his prisoners. There
+can be but little doubt that his execution was a "sop" to the passions
+of the "many-headed."
+
+Returned to Meridian, the situation of Hood in Tennessee absorbed all my
+attention. He had fought at Franklin, and was now near Nashville.
+Franklin was a bloody affair, in which Hood lost many of his best
+officers and troops. The previous evening, at dusk, a Federal column,
+retreating north, passed within pistol-shot of Hood's forces, and an
+attack on it might have produced results; but it reached strong works at
+Franklin, and held them against determined assaults, until night enabled
+it to withdraw quietly to Nashville. This mistake may be ascribed to
+Hood's want of physical activity, occasioned by severe wounds and
+amputations, which might have been considered before he was assigned to
+command. Maurice of Saxe won Fontenoy in a litter, unable from disease
+to mount his horse; but in war it is hazardous to convert exceptions
+into rules.
+
+Notwithstanding his frightful loss at Franklin, Hood followed the enemy
+to Nashville, and took position south of the place, where he remained
+ten days or more. It is difficult to imagine what objects he had in
+view. The town was open to the north, whence the Federal commander,
+Thomas, was hourly receiving reënforcements, while he had none to hope
+for. His plans perfected and his reënforcements joined, Thomas moved,
+and Hood was driven off; and, had the Federal general possessed dash
+equal to his tenacity and caution, one fails to see how Hood could have
+brought man or gun across the Tennessee River. It is painful to
+criticise Hood's conduct of this campaign. Like Ney, "the bravest of the
+brave," he was a splendid leader in battle, and as a brigade or division
+commander unsurpassed; but, arrived at higher rank, he seems to have
+been impatient of control, and openly disapproved of Johnston's conduct
+of affairs between Dalton and Atlanta. Unwillingness to obey is often
+interpreted by governments into capacity for command.
+
+Reaching the southern bank of the Tennessee, Hood asked to be relieved,
+and a telegraphic order assigned me to the duty. At Tupelo, on the
+Mobile and Ohio Railway, a hundred and odd miles north of Meridian, I
+met him and the remains of his army. Within my experience were assaults
+on positions, in which heavy losses were sustained without success; but
+the field had been held--retreats, but preceded by repulse of the foe
+and followed by victory. This was my first view of a beaten army, an
+army that for four years had shown a constancy worthy of the "Ten
+Thousand"; and a painful sight it was. Many guns and small arms had been
+lost, and the ranks were depleted by thousands of prisoners and missing.
+Blankets, shoes, clothing, and accouterments were wanting. I have
+written of the unusual severity of the weather in the latter part of
+November, and it was now near January. Some men perished by frost; many
+had the extremities severely bitten. Fleming, the active superintendent
+mentioned, strained the resources of his railway to transport the troops
+to the vicinity of Meridian, where timber for shelter and fuel was
+abundant and supplies convenient; and every energy was exerted to
+reëquip them.
+
+Sherman was now in possession of Savannah, but an interior line of rail
+by Columbus, Macon, and Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina,
+was open. Mobile was not immediately threatened, and was of inferior
+importance as compared with the safety of Lee's army at Petersburg.
+Unless a force could be interposed between Sherman and Lee's rear, the
+game would be over when the former moved. Accordingly, I dispatched to
+General Lee the suggestion of sending the "Army of Tennessee" to North
+Carolina, where Johnston had been restored to command. He approved, and
+directed me to send forward the men as rapidly as possible. I had long
+dismissed all thought of the future. The duty of a soldier in the field
+is simple--to fight until stopped by the civil arm of his government, or
+his government has ceased to exist; and military men have usually come
+to grief by forgetting this simple duty.
+
+Forrest had fought and worked hard in this last Tennessee campaign, and
+his division of cavalry was broken down. By brigades it was distributed
+to different points in the prairie and cane-brake regions, where forage
+could be had, and I hoped for time to restore the cattle and refit the
+command. With our limited resources of transportation, it was a slow
+business to forward troops to Johnston in North Carolina; but at length
+it was accomplished, and the month of March came round to raise the
+curtain for the last act of the bloody drama. Two clouds appeared on the
+horizon of my department. General Canby, a steady soldier, whom I had
+long known, had assumed command of all the Federal forces in the
+southwest, and was concentrating fifty thousand men at Fort Morgan and
+Pensacola against Mobile. In northern Alabama General Wilson had ten
+thousand picked mounted men ready for an expedition. At Selma was a
+foundry, where the best ordnance I have seen was made of Briarsfield
+iron, from a furnace in the vicinity; and, as this would naturally
+attract the enemy's attention to Selma, I endeavored to prepare for him.
+The Cahawba River, from the northeast, enters the Alabama below Selma,
+north of which it separates the barren mineral region from the fertile
+lands of the river basin; and at its crossing I directed Forrest to
+concentrate.
+
+Wilson, with the smallest body, would probably move first; and, once
+disposed of, Forrest could be sent south of the Alabama River to delay
+Canby and prolong the defense of Mobile. For a hundred miles north of
+the gulf the country is sterile, pine forest on a soil of white sand;
+but the northern end of the Montgomery and Pensacola Railway was in our
+possession, and would enable us to transport supplies. In a conference
+with Maury at Mobile I communicated the above to him, as I had
+previously to Forrest, and hastened to Selma. Distributed for forage,
+and still jaded by hard work, Forrest ordered his brigades to the
+Cahawba crossing, leading one in person. His whole force would have been
+inferior to Wilson's, but he was a host in himself, and a dangerous
+adversary to meet at any reasonable odds.
+
+Our information of the enemy had proved extremely accurate; but in this
+instance the Federal commander moved with unusual rapidity, and threw
+out false signals. Forrest, with one weak brigade, was in the path; but
+two of his brigadiers permitted themselves to be deceived by reports of
+the enemy's movements toward Columbus, Mississippi, and turned west,
+while another went into camp under some misconception of orders. Forrest
+fought as if the world depended on his arm, and sent to advise me of the
+deceit practiced on two of his brigades, but hoped to stop the enemy if
+he could get up the third, the absence of which he could not account
+for. I directed such railway plant as we had to be moved out on the
+roads, retaining a small yard engine to take me off at the last moment.
+There was nothing more to be done. Forrest appeared, horse and man
+covered with blood, and announced the enemy at his heels, and that I
+must move at once to escape capture. I felt anxious for him, but he said
+he was unhurt and would cut his way through, as most of his men had
+done, whom he had ordered to meet him west of the Cahawba. My engine
+started toward Meridian, and barely escaped. Before headway was attained
+the enemy was upon us, and capture seemed inevitable. Fortunately, the
+group of horsemen near prevented their comrades from firing, so we had
+only to risk a fusillade from a dozen, who fired wild. The driver and
+stoker, both negroes, were as game as possible, and as we thundered
+across Cahawba bridge, all safe, raised a loud "Yah! yah!" of triumph,
+and smiled like two sable angels. Wilson made no delay at Selma, but,
+crossing the Alabama River, pushed on to Montgomery, and thence into
+Georgia. I have never met this General Wilson, whose soldierly qualities
+are entitled to respect; for of all the Federal expeditions of which I
+have any knowledge, his was the best conducted.
+
+It would have been useless to pursue Wilson, had there been troops
+disposable, as many hundred miles intervened between him and North
+Carolina, where Johnston commanded the nearest Confederate forces, too
+remote to be affected by his movements. Canby was now before the eastern
+defenses of Mobile, and it was too late to send Forrest to that quarter.
+He was therefore directed to draw together and reorganize his division
+near Meridian.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR--SURRENDER.
+
+
+On the 26th of March Canby invested Spanish Fort, and began the siege by
+regular approaches, a part of his army investing Blakeley on the same
+day. General R.L. Gibson, now a member of Congress from Louisiana, held
+Spanish Fort with twenty-five hundred men. Fighting all day and working
+all night, Gibson successfully resisted the efforts of the immense force
+against him until the evening of April 8, when the enemy effected a
+lodgment threatening his only route of evacuation. Under instructions
+from Maury, he withdrew his garrison in the night to Mobile, excepting
+his pickets, necessarily left. Gibson's stubborn defense and skillful
+retreat make this one of the best achievements of the war. Although
+invested on the 26th of March, the siege of Blakeley was not pressed
+until April 1, when Steele's corps of Canby's army joined the original
+force before it. Here, with a garrison of twenty-eight hundred men,
+commanded General Liddell, with General Cockrell, now a Senator from
+Missouri, as his second. Every assault of the enemy, who made but little
+progress, was gallantly repulsed until the afternoon of the 9th, when,
+learning by the evacuation of Spanish Fort how small a force had delayed
+him, he concentrated on Blakeley and carried it, capturing the garrison.
+Maury intended to withdraw Liddell during the night of the 9th. It would
+have been more prudent to have done so on the night of the 8th, as the
+enemy would naturally make an energetic effort after the fall of Spanish
+Fort; but he was unwilling to yield any ground until the last moment,
+and felt confident of holding the place another day. After dismantling
+his works, Maury marched out of Mobile on the 12th of April, with
+forty-five hundred men, including three field batteries, and was
+directed to Cuba Station, near Meridian. In the interest of the thirty
+thousand non-combatants of the town, he properly notified the enemy that
+the place was open. During the movement from Mobile toward Meridian
+occurred the last engagement of the civil war, in a cavalry affair
+between the Federal advance and our rear guard under Colonel Spence.
+Commodore Farrand took his armed vessels and all the steamers in the
+harbor up the Tombigby River, above its junction with the Alabama, and
+planted torpedoes in the stream below. Forrest and Maury had about eight
+thousand men, but tried and true. Cattle were shod, wagons overhauled,
+and every preparation for rapid movement made.
+
+From the North, by wire and courier, I received early intelligence of
+passing events. Indeed, these were of a character for the enemy to
+disseminate rather than suppress. Before Maury left Mobile I had learned
+of Lee's surrender, rumors of which spreading among the troops, a number
+from the neighboring camps came to see me. I confirmed the rumor, and
+told them the astounding news, just received, of President Lincoln's
+assassination. For a time they were silent with amazement, then asked if
+it was possible that any Southern man had committed the act. There was a
+sense of relief expressed when they learned that the wretched assassin
+had no connection with the South, but was an actor, whose brains were
+addled by tragedies and Plutarch's fables.
+
+It was but right to tell these gallant, faithful men the whole truth
+concerning our situation. The surrender of Lee left us little hope of
+success; but while Johnston remained in arms we must be prepared to
+fight our way to him. Again, the President and civil authorities of our
+Government were on their way to the south, and might need our
+protection. Granting the cause for which we had fought to be lost, we
+owed it to our own manhood, to the memory of the dead, and to the honor
+of our arms, to remain steadfast to the last. This was received, not
+with noisy cheers, but solemn murmurs of approval, showing that it was
+understood and adopted. Forrest and Maury shared my opinions and
+objects, and impressed them on their men. Complete order was maintained
+throughout, and public property protected, though it was known later
+that this would be turned over to the Federal authorities. A
+considerable amount of gold was near our camps, and safely guarded; yet
+it is doubtful if our united means would have sufficed to purchase a
+breakfast.
+
+Members of the Confederate Congress from the adjoining and more western
+States came to us. These gentlemen had left Richmond very hurriedly, in
+the first days of April, and were sorely jaded by fatigue and anxiety,
+as the presence of Wilson's troops in Georgia had driven them to
+by-paths to escape capture. Arrived at a well-ordered camp, occupied by
+a formidable-looking force, they felt as storm-tossed mariners in a
+harbor of refuge, and, ignorant of recent events, as well as uncertain
+of the future, were eager for news and counsel. The struggle was
+virtually over, and the next few days, perhaps hours, would decide my
+course. In my judgment it would speedily become their duty to go to
+their respective homes. They had been the leaders of the people, had
+sought and accepted high office at their hands, and it was for them to
+teach the masses, by example and precept, how best to meet impending
+troubles. Possibly they might suffer annoyance and persecution from
+Federal power, but manhood and duty required them to incur the risk. To
+the credit of these gentlemen it should be recorded that they followed
+this advice when the time for action came. There was one exception which
+deserves mention.
+
+Ex-Governor Harris, now a United States Senator from Tennessee, occupied
+the executive chair of his State in 1862, and withdrew from Nashville
+when the army of General Sidney Johnston retreated to the Tennessee
+River in the spring of that year. By the death of President Lincoln,
+Andrew Johnson had succeeded to power, and he was from Tennessee, and
+the personal enemy of Governor Harris. The relations of their State with
+the Federal Union had been restored, and Harris's return would be
+productive of discord rather than peace. I urged him to leave the
+country for a time, and offered to aid him in crossing the Mississippi
+River; but he was very unwilling to go, and only consented after a
+matter was arranged, which I anticipate the current of events to relate.
+He had brought away from Nashville the coin of the Bank of Tennessee,
+which, as above mentioned, was now in our camp. An official of the bank
+had always been in immediate charge of this coin, but Harris felt that
+honor was involved in its safe return. At my request, General Canby
+detailed an officer and escort to take the coin to Nashville, where it
+arrived intact; but the unhappy official accompanying it was
+incarcerated for his fidelity. Had he betrayed his trust, he might have
+received rewards instead of stripes. 'Tis dangerous to be out of harmony
+with the practices of one's time.
+
+Intelligence of the Johnston-Sherman convention reached us, and Canby
+and I were requested by the officers making it to conform to its terms
+until the civil authorities acted. A meeting was arranged to take place
+a few miles north of Mobile, where the appearance of the two parties
+contrasted the fortunes of our respective causes. Canby, who preceded me
+at the appointed spot, a house near the railway, was escorted by a
+brigade with a military band, and accompanied by many officers in "full
+fig." With one officer, Colonel William Levy, since a member of Congress
+from Louisiana, I made my appearance on a hand-car, the motive power of
+which was two negroes. Descendants of the ancient race of Abraham,
+dealers in cast-off raiment, would have scorned to bargain for our rusty
+suits of Confederate gray. General Canby met me with much urbanity. We
+retired to a room, and in a few moments agreed upon a truce, terminable
+after forty-eight hours' notice by either party. Then, rejoining the
+throng of officers, introductions and many pleasant civilities passed. I
+was happy to recognize Commodore (afterward Admiral) James Palmer, an
+old friend. He was second to Admiral Thatcher, commanding United States
+squadron in Mobile Bay, and had come to meet me. A bountiful luncheon
+was spread, of which we partook, with joyous poppings of champagne corks
+for accompaniment, the first agreeable explosive sounds I had heard for
+years. The air of "Hail Columbia," which the band in attendance struck
+up, was instantly changed by Canby's order to that of "Dixie"; but I
+insisted on the first, and expressed a hope that Columbia would be again
+a happy land, a sentiment honored by many libations.
+
+There was, as ever, a skeleton at the feast, in the person of a general
+officer who had recently left Germany to become a citizen and soldier of
+the United States. This person, with the strong accent and idioms of the
+Fatherland, comforted me by assurances that we of the South would
+speedily recognize our ignorance and errors, especially about slavery
+and the rights of States, and rejoice in the results of the war. In vain
+Canby and Palmer tried to suppress him. On a celebrated occasion an
+Emperor of Germany proclaimed himself above grammar, and this earnest
+philosopher was not to be restrained by canons of taste. I apologized
+meekly for my ignorance, on the ground that my ancestors had come from
+England to Virginia in 1608, and, in the short intervening period of two
+hundred and fifty-odd years, had found no time to transmit to me correct
+ideas of the duties of American citizenship. Moreover, my grandfather,
+commanding the 9th Virginia regiment in our Revolutionary army, had
+assisted in the defeat and capture of the Hessian mercenaries at
+Trenton, and I lamented that he had not, by association with these
+worthies, enlightened his understanding. My friend smiled blandly, and
+assured me of his willingness to instruct me. Happily for the world,
+since the days of Huss and Luther, neither tyranny nor taste can repress
+the Teutonic intellect in search of truth or exposure of error. A
+kindly, worthy people, the Germans, but wearing on occasions.
+
+The party separated, Canby for Mobile, I for Meridian, where within two
+days came news of Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, the capture of
+President Davis in Georgia, and notice from Canby that the truce must
+terminate, as his Government disavowed the Johnston-Sherman convention.
+I informed General Canby that I desired to meet him for the purpose of
+negotiating a surrender of my forces, and that Commodore Farrand would
+accompany me to meet Admiral Thatcher. The military and civil
+authorities of the Confederacy had fallen, and I was called to
+administer on the ruins as residuary legatee. It seemed absurd for the
+few there present to continue the struggle against a million of men. We
+could only secure honorable interment for the remains of our cause--a
+cause that for four years had fixed the attention of the world, been
+baptized in the blood of thousands, and whose loss would be mourned in
+bitter tears by countless widows and orphans throughout their lives. At
+the time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind,
+but such have since crept in. Many Southern warriors, from the hustings
+and in print, have declared that they were anxious to die in the last
+ditch, and by implication were restrained from so doing by the readiness
+of their generals to surrender. One is not permitted to question the
+sincerity of these declarations, which have received the approval of
+public opinion by the elevation of the heroes uttering them to such
+offices as the people of the South have to bestow; and popular opinion
+in our land is a court from whose decisions there is no appeal on this
+side of the grave.
+
+On the 8th of May, 1865, at Citronelle, forty miles north of Mobile, I
+delivered the epilogue of the great drama in which I had played a humble
+part. The terms of surrender demanded and granted were consistent with
+the honor of our arms; and it is due to the memory of General Canby to
+add that he was ready with suggestions to soothe our military pride.
+Officers retained their side arms, mounted men their horses, which in
+our service were private property; and public stores, ordnance,
+commissary, and quartermaster, were to be turned over to officers of the
+proper departments and receipted for. Paroles of the men were to be
+signed by their officers on rolls made out for the purpose, and I was to
+retain control of railways and river steamers to transport the troops as
+nearly as possible to their homes and feed them on the road, in order to
+spare the destitute people of the country the burden of their
+maintenance. Railways and steamers, though used by the Confederate
+authorities, were private property, and had been taken by force which
+the owners could not resist; and it was agreed that they should not be
+seized by civil jackals following the army without special orders from
+Washington. Finally, I was to notify Canby when to send his officers to
+my camp to receive paroles and stores.
+
+Near the Tombigby River, to the east of Meridian, were many thousands of
+bales of cotton, belonging to the Confederate Government and in charge
+of a treasury agent. It seemed to me a duty to protect public property
+and transfer it to the United States, successors by victory to the
+extinct Confederacy. Accordingly, a guard had been placed over this
+cotton, though I hated the very name of the article, as the source of
+much corruption to our people. Canby remarked that cotton had been a
+curse to his side as well, and he would send to New Orleans for a United
+States Treasury agent, so that we might rid ourselves of this at the
+earliest moment. The conditions of surrender written out and signed, we
+had some conversation about the state of the country, disposition of the
+people, etc. I told him that all were weary of strife, and he would meet
+no opposition in any quarter, and pointed out places in the interior
+where supplies could be had, recommending him to station troops at such
+places. I was persuaded that moderation by his officers and men would
+lead to intercourse, traffic, and good feeling with the people. He
+thanked me for the suggestions, and adopted them.
+
+The Governors of Mississippi and Alabama, Clarke and Watts, had asked
+for advice in the emergency produced by surrender, which they had been
+informed was impending, and I thought their best course would be to
+summon their State Legislatures. These would certainly provide for
+conventions of the people to repeal ordinances of secession and abolish
+slavery, thus smoothing the way for the restoration of their States to
+the Union. Such action would be in harmony with the theory and practice
+of the American system, and clear the road of difficulties. The North,
+by its Government, press, and people, had been declaring for years that
+the war was for the preservation of the Union and for nothing else, and
+Canby and I, in the innocence of our hearts, believed it. As Canby
+thought well of my plan, I communicated with the Governors, who acted on
+it; but the Washington authorities imprisoned them for abetting a new
+rebellion.
+
+Returned to Meridian, I was soon ready for the Federal officers, who
+came quietly to our camp and entered on their appointed work; and I have
+now in my possession receipts given by them for public stores.
+Meanwhile, I received from Canby a letter informing me that he had
+directed two of his corps commanders, Generals Steele and Granger, to
+apply to me for instructions concerning the movement of their troops, as
+to time, places, and numbers. It was queer for one to be placed in
+_quasi_ command of soldiers that he had been fighting for four years,
+and to whom he had surrendered; but I delicately made some suggestions
+to these officers, which were adopted.
+
+With two or three staff officers, I remained at Meridian until the last
+man had departed, and then went to Mobile. General Canby most
+considerately took me, Tom, and my two horses on his boat to New
+Orleans; else I must have begged my way. The Confederate paper (not
+currency, for it was without exchangeable value) in my pocket would not
+have served for traveling expenses; and my battered old sword could
+hardly be relied on for breakfasts, dinners, and horse feed.
+
+After an absence of four years, I saw my native place and home, New
+Orleans. My estate had been confiscated and sold, and I was without a
+penny. The man of Uz admitted that naked he came into the world, and
+naked must leave it; but to find himself naked in the midst of it tried
+even his patience. My first care was to sell my horses, and a purchaser
+was found who agreed to take and pay for them the following morning. I
+felt somewhat eager to get hold of the "greenbacks," and suffered for my
+avarice. The best horse, one that had carried me many a weary mile and
+day without failing, could not move a hoof when the purchaser came to
+take him. Like other veterans, long unaccustomed to abundance of prog,
+he had overfed and was badly foundered. Fortunately, the liveryman
+proposed to take this animal as a consideration for the keep of the two,
+and the price received for the other would suffice to bring my wife and
+children from the Red River to New Orleans, and was sent to them for
+that purpose.
+
+Awaiting the arrival of my family, I had a few days of rest at the house
+of an old friend, when Generals Price, Buckner, and Brent came from
+Shreveport, the headquarters of the "Trans-Mississippi Department,"
+under flag of truce, and sent for me. They reported a deplorable
+condition of affairs in that region. Many of the troops had taken up the
+idea that it was designed to inveigle them into Mexico, and were greatly
+incensed. Some generals of the highest rank had found it convenient to
+fold their tents and quietly leave for the Rio Grande; others, who
+remained, were obliged to keep their horses in their quarters and guard
+them in person; and numbers of men had disbanded and gone off. By a
+meeting of officers, the gentlemen present were deputed to make a
+surrender and ask for Federal troops to restore order. The officers in
+question requested me to be present at their interview with General
+Canby, who also invited me, and I witnessed the conclusion. So, from the
+Charleston Convention to this point, I shared the fortunes of the
+Confederacy, and can say, as Grattan did of Irish freedom, that I "sat
+by its cradle and followed its hearse."
+
+For some weeks after my return to New Orleans, I had various occasions
+to see General Canby on matters connected with the surrender, and recall
+no instance in which he did not conform to my wishes. Narrow perhaps in
+his view, and harsh in discharge of duty, he was just, upright, and
+honorable, and it was with regret that I learned of his murder by a band
+of Modoc savages.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS.
+
+
+The military collapse of the South was sudden and unexpected to the
+world without, but by no means so to some within. I happen to know that
+one or two of our ablest and most trusted generals concurred with me in
+opinion that the failure at Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg in
+July, 1863, should have taught the Confederate Government and people the
+necessity of estimating the chances for defeat; but soldiers in the
+field can not give utterance to such opinions unless expressly solicited
+by the civil head of their government, and even then are liable to
+misconstruction.
+
+Of many of the important battles of the civil war I have written, and
+desire to dwell somewhat on Shiloh, but will first say a few words about
+Gettysburg, because of recent publications there-anent.
+
+Some facts concerning this battle are established beyond dispute. In the
+first day's fighting a part of Lee's army defeated a part of Meade's.
+Intending to continue the contest on that field, a commander not smitten
+by idiocy would desire to concentrate and push the advantage gained by
+previous success and its resultant _morale_. But, instead of attacking
+at dawn, Lee's attack was postponed until afternoon of the following
+day, in consequence of the absence of Longstreet's corps. Federal
+official reports show that some of Meade's corps reached him on the
+second day, several hours after sunrise, and one or two late in the
+afternoon. It is positively asserted by many officers present, and of
+high rank and character, that Longstreet was nearer to Lee on the first
+day than Meade's reënforcing corps to their chief, and even nearer than
+a division of Ewell's corps, which reached the field in time to share in
+the first day's success. Now, it nowhere appears in Lee's report of
+Gettysburg that he ordered Longstreet to him or blamed him for
+tardiness; but his report admits errors, and quietly takes the
+responsibility for them on his own broad shoulders. A recent article in
+the public press, signed by General Longstreet, ascribes the failure at
+Gettysburg to Lee's mistakes, which he (Longstreet) in vain pointed out
+and remonstrated against. That any subject involving the possession and
+exercise of intellect should be clear to Longstreet and concealed from
+Lee, is a startling proposition to those having knowledge of the two
+men. We have Biblical authority for the story that the angel in the path
+was visible to the ass, though unseen by the seer his master; but
+suppose, instead of smiting the honest, stupid animal, Balaam had
+caressed him and then been kicked by him, how would the story read? And
+thus much concerning Gettysburg.
+
+Shiloh was a great misfortune. At the moment of his fall Sidney
+Johnston, with all the energy of his nature, was pressing on the routed
+foe. Crouching under the bank of the Tennessee River, Grant was
+helpless. One short hour more of life to Johnston would have completed
+his destruction. The second in command, Beauregard, was on another and
+distant part of the field, and before he could gather the reins of
+direction darkness fell and stopped pursuit. During the night Buell
+reached the northern bank of the river and crossed his troops. Wallace,
+with a fresh division, got up from below. Together, they advanced in the
+morning, found the Confederates rioting in the plunder of captured
+camps, and drove them back with loss. But all this was as nothing
+compared to the calamity of Johnston's death.
+
+Educated at West Point, Johnston remained for eight years in the army of
+the United States, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the details of
+military duty. Resigning to aid the cause of the infant Republic of
+Texas, he became her Adjutant-General, Senior Brigadier, and Secretary
+of War. During our contest with Mexico, he raised a regiment of Texans
+to join General Zachary Taylor, and was greatly distinguished in the
+fighting around and capture of Monterey. General Taylor, with whom the
+early years of his service had been passed, declared him to be the best
+soldier he had ever commanded. More than once I have heard General
+Zachary Taylor express this opinion. Two cavalry regiments were added to
+the United States army in 1854, and to the colonelcy of one of these
+Johnston was appointed. Subsequently, a brigadier by brevet, he
+commanded the expedition against the Mormons in Utah.
+
+Thus he brought to the Southern cause a civil and military experience
+surpassing that of any other leader. Born in Kentucky, descended from an
+honorable colonial race, connected by marriage with influential families
+in the West, where his life had been passed, he was peculiarly fitted to
+command western armies. With him at the helm, there would have been no
+Vicksburg, no Missionary Ridge, no Atlanta. His character was lofty and
+pure, his presence and demeanor dignified and courteous, with the
+simplicity of a child; and he at once inspired the respect and gained
+the confidence of cultivated gentlemen and rugged frontiersmen.
+
+Besides, he had passed through the furnace of ignorant newspapers,
+hotter than that of the Babylonian tyrant. Commanding some raw,
+unequipped forces at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the habitual American
+exaggeration represented him as at the head of a vast army prepared and
+eager for conquest. Before time was given him to organize and train his
+men, the absurdly constructed works on his left flank were captured. At
+Fort Donelson on the Cumberland were certain political generals, who,
+with a self-abnegation worthy of Plutarch's heroes, were anxious to get
+away and leave the glory and renown of defense to others. Johnston was
+in no sense responsible for the construction of the forts, nor the
+assignment to their command of these self-denying warriors; but his line
+of communication was uncovered by their fall, and he was compelled to
+retire to the southern bank of the Tennessee River. From the
+enlighteners of public opinion a howl of wrath came forth, and Johnston,
+who had just been Alexander, Hannibal, Cæsar, Napoleon, was now a
+miserable dastard and traitor, unfit to command a corporal's guard.
+President Davis sought to console him, and some of the noblest lines
+ever penned by man were written by Johnston in reply. They even wrung
+tears of repentance from the pachyderms who had attacked him, and will
+be a text and consolation to future commanders, who serve a country
+tolerant of an ignorant and licentious press. Like pure gold, he came
+forth from the furnace above the reach of slander, the foremost man of
+all the South; and had it been possible for one heart, one mind, and one
+arm to save her cause, she lost them when Albert Sidney Johnston fell on
+the field of Shiloh.
+
+As soon after the war as she was permitted, the Commonwealth of Texas
+removed his remains from New Orleans, to inter them in a land he had
+long and faithfully served. I was honored by a request to accompany the
+coffin from the cemetery to the steamer; and as I gazed upon it there
+arose the feeling of the Theban who, after the downfall of the glory and
+independence of his country, stood by the tomb of Epaminondas.
+
+"Amid the clash of arms laws are silent," and so was Confederate
+statesmanship; or at least, of its objects, efforts, and expectations
+little is known, save the abortive mission of Messrs. Stevens, Hunter,
+and Campbell to Fortress Monroe in the last months of the struggle, and
+about this there has recently been an unseemly wrangle.
+
+The followers of the Calhoun school, who controlled the Government, held
+the right of secession to be too clear for discussion. The adverse
+argument of Mr. Webster, approved by a large majority of the Northern
+people, was considered to be founded on lust of power, not on reason.
+The governments of western Europe, with judgments unclouded by
+selfishness, would at once acknowledge it. France, whose policy since
+the days of the eleventh Louis had been one of intense centralization,
+and Germany and Italy, whose hopes and aspirations were in the same
+direction, would admit it, while England would not be restrained by
+anti-slavery sentiment. Indeed, the statesmen of these countries had
+devoted much time to the study of the Constitution of the United
+States, knew that it was a compact, and were in complete harmony with
+the opinions of Mr. Calhoun. There was to be no revolution, for this,
+though justified by oppression, involved the recognition of some measure
+of obligation to the Union, from which the right to secede was manifest.
+Hence the haste to manufacture a paper constitution, in which the powers
+of different departments were as carefully weighed as are dangerous
+drugs by dispensing chemists. Hence two houses of Congress, refuge for
+mischievous twaddlers to worry the executive and embarrass the armies.
+Hence the Governor Browns, who, reasoning that one State had as much
+right to disagree with eleven as eleven with twenty, declared each of
+their hamlets of more importance than the cities of others. While the
+sections were marching through the streets, with pikes crowned by gory
+heads, and clamoring for more, Sieyès had his pockets stuffed with
+constitutions and felt that his country was safe. It is not pretended
+that these ideas were entertained by the larger part of the Southern
+people, or were confessed by the ruling minority; but they existed,
+nevertheless, under different forms.
+
+Aggrieved by the action and tendencies of the Federal Government, and
+apprehending worse in the future, a majority of the people of the South
+approved secession as the only remedy suggested by their leaders. So
+travelers enter railway carriages, and are dragged up grades and through
+tunnels with utter loss of volition, the motive power, generated by
+fierce heat, being far in advance and beyond their control.
+
+We set up a monarch, too, King Cotton, and hedged him with a divinity
+surpassing that of earthly potentates. To doubt his royalty and power
+was a confession of ignorance or cowardice. This potent spirit, at the
+nod of our Prosperos, the cotton-planters, would arrest every loom and
+spindle in New England, destroy her wealth, and reduce her population to
+beggary. The power of Old England, the growth of eight hundred years,
+was to wither as the prophet's gourd unless she obeyed its behests. And
+a right "tricksy spirit" it proved indeed. There was a complete mental
+derangement on this subject. The Government undertook to own all cotton
+that could be exported. Four millions of bales, belonging to many
+thousands of individuals, could be disposed of to better advantage by
+the Government than by the proprietors; and this was enforced by our
+authorities, whose ancestors for generations had been resisting the
+intrusion of governments into private business. All cotton, as well as
+naval stores, that was in danger of falling into the enemy's possession,
+was, by orders based on legislative enactment, to be burned; and this
+policy continued to the end. It was fully believed that this destruction
+would appall our enemies and convince the world of our earnestness.
+Possibly there was a lurking idea that it was necessary to convince
+ourselves.
+
+In their long struggle for independence, the Dutch trafficked freely
+with the Spaniards, got rich by the trade, paid enormous taxes to
+support the war, and achieved their liberty. But the Dutch fought to rid
+themselves of a tyrant, while our first care was to set up one, Cotton,
+and worship it. Rules of common sense were not applicable to it. The
+Grand Monarque could not eat his dinners or take his emetics like
+ordinary mortals. Our people were much debauched by it. I write
+advisedly, for during the last two and a half years of the war I
+commanded in the State of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the great
+producing States. Out-post officers would violate the law, and trade. In
+vain were they removed; the temptation was too strong, and their
+successors did the same. The influence on the women was dreadful, and in
+many cases their appeals were heartrending. Mothers with suffering
+children, whose husbands were in the war or already fallen, would
+beseech me for permits to take cotton through the lines. It was useless
+to explain that it was against law and orders, and that I was without
+authority to act. This did not give food and clothing to their children,
+and they departed, believing me to be an unfeeling brute. In fact, the
+instincts of humanity revolted against this folly.
+
+It is with no pleasure that I have dwelt on the foregoing topics, but
+the world can not properly estimate the fortitude of the Southern people
+unless it understands and takes account of the difficulties under which
+they labored. Yet, great as were their sufferings during the war, they
+were as nothing compared to those inflicted upon them after its close.
+
+Extinction of slavery was expected by all and regretted by none,
+although loss of slaves destroyed the value of land. Existing since the
+earliest colonization of the Southern States, the institution was
+interwoven with the thoughts, habits, and daily lives of both races, and
+both suffered by the sudden disruption of the accustomed tie. Bank
+stocks, bonds, all personal property, all accumulated wealth, had
+disappeared. Thousands of houses, farm-buildings, work-animals, flocks
+and herds, had been wantonly burned, killed, or carried off. The land
+was filled with widows and orphans crying for aid, which the universal
+destitution prevented them from receiving. Humanitarians shuddered with
+horror and wept with grief for the imaginary woes of Africans; but their
+hearts were as adamant to people of their own race and blood. These had
+committed the unpardonable sin, had wickedly rebelled against the Lord's
+anointed, the majority. Blockaded during the war, and without journals
+to guide opinion and correct error, we were unceasingly slandered by our
+enemies, who held possession of every avenue to the world's ear.
+
+Famine and pestilence have ever followed war, as if our Mother Earth
+resented the defilement of her fair bosom by blood, and generated fatal
+diseases to punish humanity for its crimes. But there fell upon the
+South a calamity surpassing any recorded in the annals or traditions of
+man. An article in the "North American Review," from the pen of Judge
+Black, well describes this new curse, the carpet-baggers, as worse than
+Attila, scourge of God. He could only destroy existing fruits, while, by
+the modern invention of public credit, these caterans stole the labor of
+unborn generations. Divines, moralists, orators, and poets throughout
+the North commended their thefts and bade them God-speed in spoiling the
+Egyptians; and the reign of these harpies is not yet over. Driven from
+the outworks, they hold the citadel. The epithet of August, first
+applied to the mighty Julius and to his successor Octavius, was
+continued, by force of habit, to the slobbering Claudius; and so of the
+Senate of the United States, which august body contained in March last
+several of these freebooters. Honest men regarded them as monsters,
+generated in the foul ooze of a past era, that had escaped destruction
+to linger in a wholesomer age; and their speedy extinction was expected,
+when another, the most hideous of the species, was admitted. This
+specimen had been kept by force of bayonets for four years upon the
+necks of an unwilling people, had no title to a seat in the Senate, and
+was notoriously despised by every inhabitant of the State which he was
+seated to misrepresent. The Senators composing the majority by which
+this was done acted under solemn oaths to do the right; but the Jove of
+party laughs at vows of politicians. Twelve years of triumph have not
+served to abate the hate of the victors in the great war. The last
+presidential canvass was but a crusade of vengeance against the South.
+The favorite candidate of his party for the nomination, though in the
+prime of vigor, had not been in the field, to which his eloquent appeals
+sent thousands, but preferred the pleasanter occupation of making money
+at home. He had converted the power of his great place, that of Speaker
+of the House of Representatives, into lucre, and was exposed. By mingled
+chicanery and audacity he obtained possession of his own criminating
+letters, flourished them in the face of the House, and, in the Cambyses
+vein, called on his people to rally and save the luster of his loyalty
+from soil at the hands of rebels; and they came. From all the North
+ready acclaims went up, and women shed tears of joy, such as in King
+Arthur's day rewarded some peerless deed of Galahad. In truth, it was a
+manly thing to hide dishonorable plunder beneath the prostrate body of
+the South. The Emperor Commodus, in full panoply, met in the arena
+disabled and unarmed gladiators. The servile Romans applauded his easy
+victories. Ancient Pistol covers with patches the ignoble scabs of a
+corrupt life. The vulgar herd believes them to be wounds received in the
+Gallic wars, as it once believed in the virtue and patriotism of Marat
+and Barrère.
+
+In the Sermon on the Mount, the Divine Moralist instructed his hearers
+to forgive those who had injured them; but He knew too well the malice
+of the human heart to expect them to forgive those whom they had
+injured. The leaders of the radical masses of the North have inflicted
+such countless and cruel wrongs on the Southern people as to forbid any
+hope of disposition or ability to forgive their victims; and the land
+will have no rest until the last of these persecutors has passed into
+oblivion.
+
+During all these years the conduct of the Southern people has been
+admirable. Submitting to the inevitable, they have shown fortitude and
+dignity, and rarely has one been found base enough to take wages of
+shame from the oppressor and maligner of his brethren. Accepting the
+harshest conditions and faithfully observing them, they have struggled
+in all honorable ways, and for what? For their slaves? Regret for their
+loss has neither been felt nor expressed. But they have striven for that
+which brought our forefathers to Runnymede, the privilege of exercising
+some influence in their own government. Yet we fought for nothing but
+slavery, says the world, and the late Vice-President of the Confederacy,
+Mr. Alexander Stephens, reëchoes the cry, declaring that it was the
+corner-stone of his Government.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON.
+
+
+The following considerations induced me to make a pilgrimage to
+Washington, where, by accident of fortune, I had a larger acquaintance
+with influential politicians than other Southern commanders. When the
+Whig party dissolved, most of its Northern members joined the
+Republicans, and now belonged to the reigning faction; and I had
+consorted with many of them while my father was President and afterward.
+
+Mention has been made of the imprisonment of Governors Clarke and Watts
+for adopting my advice, and it was but right for me to make an effort to
+have them released. Moreover, Jefferson Davis was a prisoner in irons,
+and it was known that his health was feeble. Lee, Johnston, and I, with
+our officers and men, were at large, protected by the terms of our
+surrenders--terms which General Grant had honorably prevented the civil
+authorities from violating. If Mr. Davis had sinned, we all were guilty,
+and I could not rest without making an attempt for his relief.
+
+At the time, it was understood that prisoners on parole should not
+change their residence without military permission, and leave to go to
+New York was asked and obtained of General Canby. By steamer I reached
+that place in a week, and found that General Dix had just been relieved
+by General Hooker, to whom I at once reported. He uttered a shout of
+welcome (we were old acquaintances), declared that he was more pleased
+to see me than to see a church (which was doubtless true), made
+hospitable suggestions of luncheon, champagne, etc., and gave me a
+permit to go to Washington, regretting that he could not keep me with
+him. A warm-hearted fellow is "fighting Joe," who carried on war like a
+soldier.
+
+In Washington, at Willard's--a huge inn, filled from garret to cellar
+with a motley crowd--an acquaintance, whom I chanced to meet, informed
+me that a recent disturbance had induced the belief of the existence of
+a new plot for assassination, and an order had been published forbidding
+rebels to approach the capital without the permission of the War
+Secretary. Having been at sea for a week, I knew nothing of this, and
+Hooker had not mentioned it when he gave me the permit to come to
+Washington. My informant apprehended my arrest, and kindly undertook to
+protect me. Through his intervention I received from the President,
+Andrew Johnson, permission to stay or go where I chose, with an
+invitation to visit him at a stated time.
+
+Presenting myself at the "White House," I was ushered in to the
+President--a saturnine man, who made no return to my bow, but, after
+looking at me, asked me to take a seat. Upon succeeding to power Mr.
+Johnson breathed fire and hemp against the South, proclaimed that he
+would make treason odious by hanging traitors, and ordered the arrest of
+General Lee and others, when he was estopped by the action of General
+Grant. He had now somewhat abated his wolfish desire for vengeance, and
+asked many questions about the condition of the South, temper of the
+people, etc. I explained the conduct of Governors Clarke and Watts, how
+they were imprisoned for following my advice, submitted to and approved
+by General Canby, who would hardly have abetted a new rebellion; and he
+made memoranda of their cases, as well as of those of many other
+prisoners, confined in different forts from Boston to Savannah, all of
+whom were released within a short period. Fearing to trespass on his
+time, I left with a request that he would permit me to call again, as I
+had a matter of much interest to lay before him, and was told the hours
+at which I would be received.
+
+Thence to the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, who in former Whig times,
+as Senator from New York, had been a warm supporter of my father's
+administration. He greeted me cordially, and asked me to dine. A loin of
+veal was the _pièce de résistance_ of his dinner, and he called
+attention to it as evidence that he had killed the fatted calf to
+welcome the returned prodigal. Though not entirely recovered from the
+injuries received in a fall from his carriage and the wounds inflicted
+by the knife of Payne, he was cheerful, and appeared to sympathize with
+the objects of my mission--at least, so far as I could gather his
+meaning under the cloud of words with which he was accustomed to cover
+the slightest thought. One or two other members of the Cabinet, to whom
+Mr. Seward presented me, were also favorably inclined. One, the War
+Secretary, I did not meet. A spy under Buchanan, a tyrant under Lincoln,
+and a traitor to Johnson, this man was as cruel and crafty as Domitian.
+I never saw him. In the end conscience, long dormant, came as Alecto,
+and he was not; and the temple of Justice, on whose threshold he stood,
+escaped profanation.
+
+In a second interview, President Johnson heard the wish I had so much at
+heart, permission to visit Jefferson Davis. He pondered for some time,
+then replied that I must wait and call again.
+
+Meantime, an opportunity to look upon the amazing spectacle presented by
+the dwellers at the capital was afforded. The things seen by the
+Pilgrims in a dream were at this Vanity Fair visible in the flesh: "all
+such merchandise sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honors,
+preferments, states, lusts, pleasures; and delights of all sorts, as
+bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood,
+bodies, souls, greenbacks, pearls, precious stones, and what not." The
+eye of the inspired tinker had pierced the darkness of two hundred
+years, and seen what was to come. The martial tread of hundreds of
+volunteer generals, just disbanded, resounded in the streets. Gorged
+with loot, they spent it as lavishly as Morgan's buccaneers after the
+sack of Panama. Their women sat at meat or walked the highways,
+resplendent in jewels, spoil of Southern matrons. The camp-followers of
+the army were here in high carnival, and in character and numbers
+rivaled the attendants of Xerxes. Courtesans swarmed everywhere, about
+the inns, around the Capitol, in the antechambers of the "White House,"
+and were brokers for the transaction of all business. Of a tolerant
+disposition and with a wide experience of earthly wickedness, I did not
+feel called upon to cry aloud against these enormities, remembering the
+fate of Faithful; but I had some doubts concerning divine justice; for
+why were the "cities of the Plain" overthrown and this place suffered to
+exist?
+
+The officers of the army on duty at Washington were very civil to me,
+especially General Grant, whom I had known prior to and during the
+Mexican war, as a modest, amiable, but by no means promising lieutenant
+in a marching regiment. He came frequently to see me, was full of
+kindness, and anxious to promote my wishes. His action in preventing
+violation of the terms of surrender, and a subsequent report that he
+made of the condition of the South--a report not at all pleasing to the
+radicals--endeared him to all Southern men. Indeed, he was in a position
+to play a rôle second only to that of Washington, who founded the
+republic; for he had the power to restore it. His bearing and conduct at
+this time were admirable, modest and generous; and I talked much with
+him of the noble and beneficent work before him. While his heart seemed
+to respond, he declared his ignorance of and distaste for politics and
+politicians, with which and whom he intended to have nothing to do, but
+confine himself to his duties of commander-in-chief of the army. Yet he
+expressed a desire for the speedy restoration of good feeling between
+the sections, and an intention to advance it in all proper ways. We
+shall see when and under what influences he adopted other views.
+
+The President put me off from day to day, receiving me to talk about
+Southern affairs, but declining to give an answer to my requests. I
+found that he always postponed action, and was of an obstinate,
+suspicious temper. Like a badger, one had to dig him out of his hole;
+and he was ever in one except when on the hustings, addressing the
+crowd. Of humble birth, a tailor by trade, nature gave him a strong
+intellect, and he had learned to read after his marriage. He had
+acquired much knowledge of the principles of government, and made
+himself a fluent speaker, but could not rise above the level of the
+class in which he was born and to which he always appealed. He well
+understood the few subjects laboriously studied, and affected to despise
+other knowledge, while suspicious that those possessing such would take
+advantage of him. Self-educated men, as they are called, deprived of the
+side light thrown on a particular subject by instruction in cognate
+matters, are narrow and dogmatic, and, with an uneasy consciousness of
+ignorance, soothe their own vanity by underrating the studies of others.
+To the vanity of this class he added that of the demagogue (I use the
+term in its better sense), and called the wise policy left him by his
+predecessor "my policy." Compelled to fight his way up from obscurity,
+he had contracted a dislike of those more favored of fortune, whom he
+was in the habit of calling "the slave-aristocracy," and became
+incapable of giving his confidence to any one, even to those on whose
+assistance he relied in a contest, just now beginning, with the
+Congress.
+
+President Johnson never made a dollar by public office, abstained from
+quartering a horde of connections on the Treasury, refused to uphold
+rogues in high places, and had too just a conception of the dignity of a
+chief magistrate to accept presents. It may be said that these are
+humble qualities for a citizen to boast the possession of by a President
+of the United States. As well claim respect for a woman of one's family
+on the ground that she has preserved her virtue. Yet all whose eyes were
+not blinded by partisanship, whose manhood was not emasculated by
+servility, would in these last years have welcomed the least of them as
+manna in the desert.
+
+The President, between whom and the Congressional leaders the seeds of
+discord were already sown, dallied with me from day to day, and at
+length said that it would spare him embarrassment if I could induce
+Stevens, Davis, and others of the House, and Sumner of the Senate, to
+recommend the permission to visit Jefferson Davis; and I immediately
+addressed myself to this unpleasant task.
+
+Thaddeus Stevens received me with as much civility as he was capable of.
+Deformed in body and temper like Caliban, this was the Lord Hategood of
+the fair; but he was frankness itself. He wanted no restoration of the
+Union under the Constitution, which he called a worthless bit of old
+parchment. The white people of the South ought never again to be trusted
+with power, for they would inevitably unite with the Northern
+"Copperheads" and control the Government. The only sound policy was to
+confiscate the lands and divide them among the negroes, to whom, sooner
+or later, suffrage must be given. Touching the matter in hand, Johnson
+was a fool to have captured Davis, whom it would have been wiser to
+assist in escaping. Nothing would be done with him, as the executive had
+only pluck enough to hang two poor devils such as Wirtz and Mrs.
+Surratt. Had the leading traitors been promptly strung up, well; but the
+time for that had passed. (Here, I thought, he looked lovingly at my
+neck, as Petit André was wont to do at those of his merry-go-rounds.) He
+concluded by saying that it was silly to refuse me permission to visit
+Jefferson Davis, but he would not say so publicly, as he had no desire
+to relieve Johnson of responsibility.
+
+There was no excuse for longer sporting with this radical Amaryllis
+either in shade or in sunshine; so I sought Henry Winter Davis. Like the
+fallen angel, Davis preferred to rule in hell rather than serve in
+heaven or on earth. With the head of Medusa and the eye of the Basilisk,
+he might have represented Siva in a Hindoo temple, and was even more
+inaccessible to sentiment than Thaddeus Stevens. Others, too numerous
+and too insignificant to particularize, were seen. These were the
+cuttle-fish of the party, whose appointed duty it was to obscure popular
+vision by clouds of loyal declamation. As Sicilian banditti prepare for
+robberies and murders by pious offerings on shrines of favorite saints,
+these brought out the altar of the "nation," and devoted themselves
+afresh, whenever "Crédits Mobiliers" and kindred enormities were afoot,
+and sharpened every question of administration, finance, law, taxation,
+on the grindstone of sectional hate. So sputtering tugs tow from her
+moorings the stately ship, to send her forth to winds and waves of
+ocean, caring naught for the cargo with which she is freighted, but,
+grimy in zeal to earn fees, return to seek another.
+
+Hopeless of obtaining assistance from such statesmen, I visited Mr.
+Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts, who received me pleasantly.
+A rebel, a slave-driver, and, without the culture of Boston, ignorant, I
+was an admirable vessel into which he could pour the inexhaustible
+stream of his acquired eloquence. I was delighted to listen to beautiful
+passages from the classic as well as modern poets, dramatists,
+philosophers, and orators, and recalled the anecdote of the man sitting
+under a fluent divine, who could not refrain from muttering, "That is
+Jeremy Taylor; that, South; that, Barrow," etc. It was difficult to
+suppress the thought, while Mr. Sumner was talking, "That is Burke, or
+Howard, Wilberforce, Brougham, Macaulay, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Exeter
+Hall," etc.; but I failed to get down to the particular subject that
+interested me. The nearest approach to the practical was his
+disquisition on negro suffrage, which he thought should be accompanied
+by education. I ventured to suggest that negro education should precede
+suffrage, observing that some held the opinion that the capacity of the
+white race for government was limited, although accumulated and
+transmitted through many centuries. He replied that "the ignorance of
+the negro was due to the tyranny of the whites," which appeared in his
+view to dispose of the question of the former's incapacity. He seemed
+over-educated--had retained, not digested his learning; and beautiful
+flowers of literature were attached to him by filaments of memory, as
+lovely orchids to sapless sticks. Hence he failed to understand the
+force of language, and became the victim of his own metaphors, mistaking
+them for facts. He had the irritable vanity and weak nerves of a woman,
+and was bold to rashness in speculation, destitute as he was of the
+ordinary masculine sense of responsibility. Yet I hold him to have been
+the purest and most sincere man of his party. A lover, nay, a devotee of
+liberty, he thoroughly understood that it could only be preserved by
+upholding the supremacy of civil law, and would not sanction the
+garrison methods of President Grant. Without vindictiveness, he forgave
+his enemies as soon as they were overthrown, and one of the last efforts
+of his life was to remove from the flag of a common country all records
+of victories that perpetuated the memory of civil strife.
+
+Foiled in this direction, I worried the President, as old Mustard would
+a stot, until he wrote the permission so long solicited. By steamer from
+Baltimore I went down Chesapeake Bay, and arrived at Fortress Monroe in
+the early morning. General Burton, the commander, whose civility was
+marked, and who bore himself like a gentleman and soldier, received me
+on the dock and took me to his quarters to breakfast, and to await the
+time to see Mr. Davis.
+
+It was with some emotion that I reached the casemate in which Mr. Davis
+was confined. There were two rooms, in the outer of which, near the
+entrance, stood a sentinel, and in the inner was Jefferson Davis. We met
+in silence, with grasp of hands. After an interval he said, "This is
+kind, but no more than I expected of you." Pallid, worn, gray, bent,
+feeble, suffering from inflammation of the eyes, he was a painful sight
+to a friend. He uttered no plaint, and made no allusion to the irons
+(which had been removed); said the light kept all night in his room hurt
+his eyes a little, and, added to the noise made every two hours by
+relieving the sentry, prevented much sleep; but matters had changed for
+the better since the arrival of General Burton, who was all kindness,
+and strained his orders to the utmost in his behalf. I told him of my
+reception at Washington by the President, Mr. Seward, and others, of the
+attentions of Generals Grant and Humphreys, who promoted my wish to see
+him, and that with such aid I was confident of obtaining permission for
+his wife to stay with him. I could solicit favors for him, having
+declined any for myself. Indeed, the very accident of position, that
+enabled me to get access to the governing authorities, made indecent
+even the supposition of my acceptance of anything personal while a
+single man remained under the ban for serving the Southern cause; and
+therefore I had no fear of misconstruction. Hope of meeting his family
+cheered him much, and he asked questions about the condition and
+prospects of the South, which I answered as favorably as possible,
+passing over things that would have grieved him. In some way he had
+learned of attacks on his character and conduct, made by some Southern
+curs, thinking to ingratiate themselves with the ruling powers. I could
+not deny this, but remarked that the curse of unexpected defeat and
+suffering was to develop the basest passions of the human heart. Had he
+escaped out of the country, it was possible he might have been made a
+scapegoat by the Southern people, and, great as were the sufferings that
+he had endured, they were as nothing to coward stabs from beloved hands.
+The attacks mentioned were few, and too contemptible for notice; for now
+his calamities had served to endear him to all. I think that he derived
+consolation from this view.
+
+The day passed with much talk of a less disturbing character, and in the
+evening I returned to Baltimore and Washington. After some delay Mr.
+Davis's family was permitted to join him, and he speedily recovered
+strength. Later I made a journey or two to Richmond, Virginia, on
+business connected with his trial, then supposed to be impending.
+
+The slight service, if simple discharge of duty can be so called, I was
+enabled to render Mr. Davis, was repaid ten thousand fold. In the month
+of March, 1875, my devoted wife was released from suffering, long and
+patiently endured, originating in grief for the loss of her children and
+exposure during the war. Smitten by this calamity, to which all that had
+gone before seemed as blessings, I stood by her coffin, ere it was
+closed, to look for the last time upon features that death had respected
+and restored to their girlish beauty. Mr. Davis came to my side, and
+stooped reverently to touch the fair brow, when the tenderness of his
+heart overcame him and he burst into tears. His example completely
+unnerved me for the time, but was of service in the end. For many
+succeeding days he came to me, and was as gentle as a young mother with
+her suffering infant. Memory will ever recall Jefferson Davis as he
+stood with me by the coffin.
+
+Duty to imprisoned friends and associates discharged, I returned to New
+Orleans, and remained for some weeks, when an untoward event occurred,
+productive of grave consequences. The saints and martyrs who have
+attained worldly success have rarely declined to employ the temporal
+means of sinners. While calling on Hercules, they put their own
+shoulders to the wheel, and, in the midst of prayer, keep their powder
+dry. To prepare for the reëlection of President Lincoln in 1864,
+pretended State governments had been set up by the Federal military in
+several Southern States, where fragments of territory were occupied. In
+the event of a close election in the North, the electoral votes in these
+manufactured States would be under the control of the executive
+authority, and serve to determine the result. For some years the
+Southern States were used as thimble-riggers use peas: now they were
+under the cup of the Union, and now they were out. During his reign in
+New Orleans the Federal General Banks had prepared a Louisiana pea for
+the above purpose.
+
+At this time negro suffrage, as yet an unaccomplished purpose, was in
+the air, and the objective point of radical effort. To aid the movement,
+surviving accomplices of the Banks fraud were instigated to call a
+"State Convention" in Louisiana, though with no more authority so to do
+than they had to call the British Parliament. The people of New Orleans
+regarded the enterprise as those of London did the proposed meeting of
+tailors in Tooley street; and just before this debating society was to
+assemble, the Federal commander, General Sheridan, selected especially
+to restrain the alleged turbulent population of the city, started on an
+excursion to Texas, proving that he attached no importance to the matter
+and anticipated no disturbance.
+
+Living in close retirement, I had forgotten all about the "Convention."
+Happening to go to the center of the town, from my residence in the
+upper suburb, the day on which it met, on descending from the carriage
+of the tramway I heard pistol shots and saw a crowd of roughs, Arabs,
+and negroes running across Canal Street. I walked in the direction of
+the noise to inquire the cause of excitement, as there was nothing
+visible to justify it. The crowd seemed largely composed of boys of from
+twelve to fifteen, and negroes. I met no acquaintance, and could obtain
+no information, when a negro came flying past, pursued by a white boy,
+certainly not above fifteen years of age, with a pistol in hand. I
+stopped the boy without difficulty, and made him tell what he was up to.
+He said the niggers were having a meeting at Mechanics' Institute to
+take away his vote. When asked how long he had enjoyed that inestimable
+right of a freeman, the boy gave it up, pocketed his "Derringer," and
+walked off.
+
+By this time the row appeared to be over, so I went on my way without
+seeing the building called Mechanics' Institute, as it was around the
+corner near which the boy was stopped. Speedily the town was filled with
+excitement, and Baird, the Federal commander in the absence of Sheridan,
+occupied the streets with troops and arrested the movements of citizens.
+Many poor negroes had been killed most wantonly, indignation ran high
+among decent people, and the perpetrators of the bloody deeds deserved
+and would have received swift, stern punishment had civil law been
+permitted to act. But this did not suit the purposes of the radicals,
+who rejoiced as Torquemada might have done when the discovery of a score
+of heretics furnished him an excuse to torment and destroy a province.
+Applying the theory of the detective police, that among the
+beneficiaries of crime must be sought the perpetrators, one would
+conclude that the radical leaders prompted the assassination of Lincoln
+and the murder of negroes; for they alone derived profit from these
+acts.
+
+From this time forth the entire white race of the South devoted itself
+to the killing of negroes. It appeared to be an inherent tendency in a
+slave-driver to murder a negro. It was a law of his being, as of the
+monkey's to steal nuts, and could not be resisted. Thousands upon
+thousands were slain. Favorite generals kept lists in their pockets,
+proving time, place, and numbers, even to the smallest piccaninny. Nay,
+such was the ferocity of the slave-drivers, that unborn infants were
+ripped from their mothers' wombs. Probably these sable Macduffs were
+invented to avenge the wrongs of their race on tyrants protected by
+Satanic devices from injury at the hands of Africans of natural birth.
+Individual effort could not suffice the rage for slaughter, and the
+ancient order of "assassins" was revived, with an "Old Man" of the
+swamps at its head. Thus "Ku-Klux" originated, and covered the land with
+a network of crime. Earnest, credulous women in New England had their
+feelings lacerated by these stories, in which they as fondly believed as
+their foremothers in Salem witches.
+
+As crocodiles conceal their prey until it becomes savory and tender and
+ripe for eating, so the Radicals kept these dark corpses to serve up to
+the public when important elections approached, or some especial
+villainy was to be enacted by the Congress. People who had never been
+south of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers knew all about this "Ku-Klux"; but
+I failed, after many inquiries, to find a single man in the South who
+ever heard of it, saving in newspapers. Doubtless there were many acts
+of violence. When ignorant negroes, instigated by pestilent emissaries,
+went beyond endurance, the whites killed them; and this was to be
+expected. The breed to which these whites belong has for eight centuries
+been the master of the earth wherever it has planted its foot. A handful
+conquered and holds in subjection the crowded millions of India. Another
+and smaller bridles the fierce Caffre tribes of South Africa. Place but
+a score of them on the middle course of the Congo, and they will rule
+unless exterminated; and all the armies and all the humanitarians can
+not change this, until the appointed time arrives for Ham to dominate
+Japhet.
+
+Two facts may here be stated. Just in proportion as the whites recovered
+control of their local governments, in that proportion negroes ceased to
+be killed; and when it was necessary to Radical success to multiply
+negro votes, though no census was taken, formal statistics were
+published to prove large immigration of negroes into the very districts
+of slaughter. Certainty of death could not restrain the colored lambs,
+impelled by an uncontrollable ardor to vote the radical ticket, from
+traveling to the wolves. Such devotion deserved the tenderest
+consideration of Christian men and women, and all means of protection
+and loving care were due to this innocent, credulous race. A great
+bureau, the Freedmen's, was established, and in connection with it, at
+the seat of government, a bank. It was of importance to teach the
+freedmen, unused to responsibility, industry and economy; and the bank
+was to encourage these virtues by affording a safe place of deposit for
+their small savings. To make assurance doubly sure, the "Christian
+soldier of the United States army" was especially selected to keep the
+money, and he did--so securely, in point of fact, that it is to be
+apprehended the unfortunate depositors will never see it more. After so
+brilliant an experience in banking, prudence might have suggested to
+this officer the wisdom of retiring from public view. Fortune is
+sometimes jealous of great reputations and fresh laurels. The success of
+his first speech prevented "Single-speech Hamilton" from rising again in
+the House of Commons; Frederick failed to repeat Rossbach, and Napoleon,
+Austerlitz; but the "Christian soldier" rushed on his fate, and met it
+at the hands of the Nez Percés. The profound strategy, the skillful
+tactics, the ready valor that had extinguished bank balances, all failed
+against this wily foe.
+
+While the excitement growing out of the untoward event mentioned was at
+its height, President Johnson summoned me to Washington, where I
+explained all the circumstances, as far as I knew them, of the recent
+murders, and urged him to send General Hancock to command in New
+Orleans. He was sent, and immediately restored order and confidence. A
+gentleman, one of the most distinguished and dashing officers of the
+United States army, General Hancock recognizes both the great duties of
+a soldier of the Republic--to defend its flag and obey its laws,
+discharging the last with a fidelity equal to his devotion to the first
+in front of battle.
+
+The contest between the Congress and the President now waxed fierce, and
+Thaddeus Stevens, from his place in the House, denounced "the man at the
+other end of the avenue." The President had gone back to wise, lawful
+methods, and desired to restore the Union under the Constitution; and in
+this he was but following the policy declared in his last public
+utterance by President Lincoln. Mr. Johnson could establish this fact by
+members of his predecessor's Cabinet whom he had retained, and thus
+strengthen his position; but his vanity forbade him, so he called it "my
+policy," as if it were something new.
+
+At his instance, I had many interviews with him, and consulted
+influential men from different parts of the country. His Secretary of
+War was in close alliance with his enemies in the Congress, and
+constantly betraying him. This was susceptible of proof, and I so
+informed the President, and pointed out that, so far from assisting the
+people of the South, he was injuring them by inaction; for the Congress
+persecuted them to worry him. He was President and powerful; they were
+weak and helpless. In truth, President Johnson, slave to his own temper
+and appetites, was unfit to control others.
+
+General Grant yet appeared to agree with me about "reconstruction," as
+it was called; and I was anxious to preserve good feeling on his part
+toward the President. In the light of subsequent events, it is curious
+to recall the fact that he complained of Stanton's retention in the
+Cabinet, because the latter's greed of power prevented the
+Commander-in-Chief of the army from controlling the most minute details
+without interference. I urged this on the President as an additional
+motive for dismissing his War Secretary and replacing him by some one
+agreeable to General Grant; but all in vain. This official "old man of
+the sea" kept his seat on the Presidential neck, never closing crafty
+eye nor traitorous mouth, and holding on with the tenacity of an
+octopus.
+
+Many moderate and whilom influential Republicans determined to assemble
+in convention at Philadelphia, and invited delegates from all parts,
+North and South, to meet them. The object was to promote good feeling
+and an early restoration of the Union, and give aid to the President in
+his struggle with extremists. Averse to appearing before the public, I
+was reluctant to go to this Convention; but the President, who felt a
+deep interest in its success, insisted, and I went. It was largely
+attended, and by men who had founded and long led the Freesoil party.
+Ex-members of Lincoln's first Cabinet, Senators and members of the
+Congress, editors of Republican newspapers (among whom was Henry J.
+Raymond, the ablest political editor of the day and an eminent member of
+Congress as well), Southern men who had fought for the Confederacy, were
+there. Northern Republicans and Democrats, long estranged, buried the
+political hatchet and met for a common purpose, to restore the Union.
+Negro-worshipers from Massachusetts and slave-drivers from South
+Carolina entered the vast hall arm in arm. The great meeting rose to its
+feet, and walls and roof shook with applause. General John A. Dix of New
+York called the Convention to order, and, in an eloquent and felicitous
+speech, stated the objects of the assembly--to renew fraternal feeling
+between the sections, heal the wounds of war, obliterate bitter
+memories, and restore the Union of the fathers. Senator Doolittle of
+Wisconsin was chosen permanent president, and patriotic resolutions were
+adopted by acclamation. All this was of as little avail as the waving of
+a lady's fan against a typhoon. Radical wrath uprose and swept these
+Northern men out of political existence, and they were again taught the
+lesson that is ever forgotten, namely, that it is an easy task to
+inflame the passions of the multitude, an impossible one to arrest them.
+From selfish ambition, from thoughtless zeal, from reckless
+partisanship, from the low motives governing demagogues in a country of
+universal suffrage, men are ever sowing the wind, thinking they can
+control the whirlwind; and the story of the Gironde and the Mountain has
+been related in vain.
+
+The President was charmed with the Convention. Believing the people--his
+god--to be with him, his crest rose, and he felt every inch a President.
+Again I urged him to dismiss his War Secretary and replace Mr. Seward,
+Secretary of State, now in disfavor with his own creation, the Radical
+party, by General Dix, who was rewarded for his services at Philadelphia
+by the appointment of Naval Officer at New York. He was an exception to
+the rule above mentioned. A more cautious pilot than Palinurus, this
+respectable person is the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics; and like
+that eminent divine, his creeds sit so lightly as to permit him to take
+office under all circumstances. Secretary of the Treasury in the closing
+weeks of President Buchanan, he aroused the North by sending his
+immortal dispatch to the commander of a revenue cutter: "If any man
+attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." This
+bespoke the heart of the patriot, loving his country's banner, and the
+arm of the hero, ready to defend it; and, clad in this armor of proof,
+he has since been invulnerable. The President took kindly to the
+proposition concerning General Dix, and I flattered myself that it would
+come off, when suddenly the General was appointed Minister
+Plenipotentiary to France. I imagine that Mr. Seward had got wind of the
+project and hurried Dix out of the way. Thus, in a few days General Dix
+had the offer of the Netherlands, Naval Office, and France. "Glamis, and
+thane of Cawdor"; and his old age is yet so green, mayhap "the greatest
+is behind."
+
+To air his eloquence and enlighten the minds of his dear people, the
+President made a tour through the North and West, in which his conduct
+and declarations were so extraordinary as to defeat any hopes of success
+for "my policy."
+
+A circumstance connected with the Philadelphia Convention made an
+impression on me at the time. Mr. Raymond was editor of the "New York
+Times," the most powerful Republican journal in the North. Among many
+who had gained large wealth by speculations during the war was Mr.
+Leonard Jerome, a Republican in politics. This gentleman spent his
+fortune so lavishly that his acquaintances and the public shared its
+enjoyment. With other property, Mr. Jerome owned the controlling
+interest in the "Times," then very valuable. Dining in New York with him
+and Mr. Raymond, the latter told me it was useless to support the
+President, who was daily becoming more unpopular, and that the
+circulation and influence of his paper were rapidly diminishing in
+consequence of his adherence to "my policy." Whereupon Mr. Jerome
+replied: "I know but little about politics; but if you think it right to
+stand by the President, I will pay all losses that the 'Times' may
+suffer to the other proprietors." This was unselfish and patriotic; and
+I record it with the more pleasure, because Mr. Jerome has lost much of
+his wealth, and I fear, like many another Timon, some friends with it.
+
+After this period I saw little of President Johnson, who fought his
+fight in his own way, had his hands completely tied, and barely escaped
+impeachment; the Congress, meanwhile, making a whipping-post of the
+South, and inflicting upon it every humiliation that malignity could
+devise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT.
+
+
+Before the conventions to nominate candidates for the Presidency met in
+1868, I had much intercourse with General Grant, and found him ever
+modest and determined to steer clear of politics, or at least not permit
+himself to be used by partisans; and I have no doubt that he was
+sincere. But the Radical Satan took him up to the high places and
+promised him dominion over all in view. Perhaps none but a divine being
+can resist such temptation. He accepted the nomination from the
+Radicals, and was elected; and though I received friendly messages from
+him, I did not see him until near the close of his first administration.
+As ignorant of civil government as of the characters on the Moabitish
+stone, President Grant begun badly, and went from bad to worse. The
+appointments to office that he made, the associates whom he gathered
+around him, were astounding. All his own relatives, all his wife's
+relatives, all the relatives of these relatives, to the remotest
+cousinhood, were quartered on the public treasury. Never, since King
+Jamie crossed the Tweed with the hungry Scotch nation at his heels, has
+the like been seen; and the soul of old Newcastle, greatest of English
+nepotists, must have turned green with envy. The influence of this on
+the public was most disastrous. Already shortened by the war, the
+standard of morality, honesty, and right was buried out of sight.
+
+For two or three years I was much in the North, and especially in New
+York, where I had dear friends. The war had afforded opportunity and
+stimulated appetite for reckless speculation. Vast fortunes had been
+acquired by new men, destitute of manners, taste, or principles. The
+vulgar insolence of wealth held complete possession of public places and
+carried by storm the citadels of society. Indeed, society disappeared.
+As in the middle ages, to escape pollution, honorable men and refined
+women (and there are many such in the North) fled to sanctuary and
+desert, or, like early Christians in the catacombs, met secretly and in
+fear. The masses sank into a condition that would disgrace Australian
+natives, and lost all power of discrimination.
+
+The Vice-President of the United States accepted bribes, and perjured
+himself in vain to escape exposure. President Grant wrote him a letter
+to assure him of his continued esteem and confidence, and this
+Vice-President has since lectured before "Young Men's Christian
+Associations." Plunderings by members of the Congress excited no
+attention so long as they were confined to individuals or corporations.
+It was only when they voted themselves money out of taxes paid by the
+people, that these last growled and frightened some of the statesmen
+into returning it. A banker, the pet of the Government, holding the same
+especial relation to it that the Bank of England held to William of
+Orange, discovered that "a great national debt was a blessing," and was
+commended and rewarded therefor. With a palace on the shores of the
+Delaware, this banker owned a summer retreat on a lovely isle amid the
+waters of Lake Erie. A pious man, he filled this with many divines, who
+blessed all his enterprises. He contributed largely, too, to the support
+of an influential Christian journal to aid in disseminating truth to
+Jew, Gentile, and heathen. The divines and the Christian journal were
+employed to persuade widows and weak men to purchase his rotten
+securities, as things too righteous to occasion loss.
+
+The most eloquent preacher in the land, of a race devoted to adoration
+of negroes, as Hannibal to hatred of Rome, compromised the wife of a
+member of his congregation. Discovered by the husband, he groveled
+before him in humiliation as before "his God" (his own expression).
+Brought before the public, he swore that he was innocent, and denied the
+meaning of his own written words. The scandal endured for months and
+gave an opportunity to the metropolitan journals to display their
+enterprise by furnishing daily and minute reports of all details to
+their readers. The influence of the preacher was increased by this. His
+congregation flocked to him as the Anabaptists to John of Leyden, and
+shopkeepers profitably advertised their wares by doubling their
+subscriptions to augment his salary. Far from concealing this wound
+inflicted on his domestic honor, the injured husband proclaimed it from
+the housetops, clothed himself in it as in a robe of price, and has
+successfully used it to become a popular lecturer.
+
+To represent the country at the capital of an ancient monarchy, a man
+was selected whom, it is no abuse of language to declare, Titus Oates
+after his release from the pillory would have blushed to recognize. On
+the eve of his departure, as one may learn from the newspapers of the
+day, all that was richest and best in New York gathered around a banquet
+in his honor, congratulated the country to which he was accredited, and
+lamented the misfortune of their own that it would be deprived, even
+temporarily, of such virtue. Another was sent to an empire which is
+assured by our oft-succeeding envoys that it is the object of our
+particular affection. To the aristocracy of the realm this genial person
+taught the favorite game of the mighty West. A man of broad views,
+feeling that diplomatic attentions were due to commons as well as to
+crown and nobles, he occasionally withdrew himself from the social
+pleasures of the "West End" to inform the stags of Capel Court of the
+value of American mines. Benefactors are ever misjudged. Aristocracy and
+the many-antlered have since united to defame him; but Galileo in the
+dungeon, Pascal by his solitary lamp, More, Sidney, and Russell on the
+scaffold, will console him; and in the broad bosom of his native Ohio he
+has found the exception to the rule that prophets are not without honor
+but in their own country.
+
+The years of Methuselah and the pen of Juvenal would not suffice to
+exhaust the list, or depict the benighted state into which we had
+fallen; but it can be asserted of the popular idols of the day that
+unveiled, they resemble Mokanna, and can each exclaim:
+
+   "Here, judge if hell, with all its power to damn,
+   Can add one curse to the foul thing I am!"
+
+The examples of thousands of pure and upright people in the North were
+as powerless to mitigate the general corruption as song of seraphim to
+purify the orgies of harlots and burglars; for they were not in harmony
+with the brutal passions of the masses.
+
+In Boston, July, 1872, as co-trustees of the fund left by the late Mr.
+Peabody for the education of the poor in the Southern States, President
+Grant and I met for the first time since he had accepted the nomination
+from the Radical party. He was a candidate for reëlection, and much
+worshiped; and, though cordial with me, his general manner had something
+of "I am the State." Stopping at the same inn, he passed an evening in
+my room, to which he came alone; and there, avoiding public affairs, we
+smoked and chatted about the Nueces, Rio Grande, Palo Alto, etc.--things
+twenty-five years agone, when we were youngsters beginning life. He was
+reëlected in November by a large majority of electoral votes; but the
+people of Louisiana elected a Democratic Governor and Assembly. When, in
+January following, the time of meeting of the Assembly arrived, the
+country, habituated as it was to violent methods, was startled by the
+succeeding occurrences.
+
+The night before the Assembly was to meet, the Federal Judge in the city
+of New Orleans, a drunken reprobate, obtained from the commander of the
+United States troops a portion of his force, and stationed it in the
+State House. In the morning the members elect were refused admittance,
+and others not elected, many not even candidates during the election,
+were allowed to enter. One Packard, Marshal of the Federal Court, a
+bitter partisan and worthy adjunct of such a judge, had provided for an
+Assembly to suit himself by giving tickets to his friends, whom the
+soldiers passed in, excluding the elected members. The ring-streaked,
+spotted, and speckled among the cattle and goats, and the brown among
+the sheep, were turned into the supplanters' folds, which were filled
+with lowing herds and bleating flocks, while Laban had neither horn nor
+hoof. There was not a solitary return produced in favor of this Packard
+body, nor of the Governor subsequently installed; but the Radicals
+asserted that their friends would have been elected had the people voted
+as they wished, for every negro and some whites in the State upheld
+their party. By this time the charming credulity of the negroes had
+abated, and they answered the statement that slave-drivers were
+murdering their race in adjacent regions by saying that slave-drivers,
+at least, did not tell them lies nor steal their money.
+
+All the whites and many of the blacks in Louisiana felt themselves
+cruelly wronged by the action of the Federal authorities. Two Assemblies
+were in session and two Governors claiming power in New Orleans.
+Excitement was intense, business arrested, and collision between the
+parties imminent. As the Packard faction was supported by Federal
+troops, the situation looked grave, and a number of worthy people urged
+me to go to Washington, where my personal relations with the President
+might secure me access to him. It was by no means a desirable mission,
+but duty seemed to require me to undertake it.
+
+Accompanied by Thomas F. Bayard, Senator from Delaware, my first step in
+Washington was to call on the leader of the Radicals in the Senate,
+Morton of Indiana, when a long conversation ensued, from which I derived
+no encouragement. Senator Morton was the Couthon of his party, and this
+single interview prepared me for one of his dying utterances to warn the
+country against the insidious efforts of slave-driving rebels to regain
+influence in the Government. The author of the natural history of
+Ireland would doubtless have welcomed one specimen, by describing which
+he could have filled out a chapter on snakes; and there is temptation to
+dwell on the character of Senator Morton as one of the few Radical
+leaders who kept his hands clean of plunder. But it may be observed that
+one absorbing passion excludes all others from the human heart; and the
+small portion of his being in which disease had left vitality was set on
+vengeance. Death has recently clutched him, and would not be denied;
+and he is bewailed throughout the land as though he had possessed the
+knightly tenderness of Sir Philip Sidney and the lofty patriotism of
+Chatham.
+
+The President received me pleasantly, gave much time to the Louisiana
+difficulty, and, in order to afford himself opportunity for full
+information, asked me frequently to dine with his immediate family,
+composed of kindly, worthy people. I also received attention and
+hospitality from some members of his Cabinet, who with him seemed
+desirous to find a remedy for the wrong. More especially was this true
+of the Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, with whom and whose refined
+family I had an acquaintance. Of a distinguished Revolutionary race,
+possessor of a good estate, and with charming, cultivated surroundings,
+this gentleman seemed the Noah of the political world. Perhaps his
+retention in the Cabinet was due to a belief that, under the new and
+milder dispensation, the presence of one righteous man might avert the
+doom of Gomorrah. An exception existed in the person of the
+Attorney-General, a man, as eminent barristers declare, ignorant of law
+and self-willed and vulgar. For some reason he had much influence with
+the President, who later appointed him Chief Justice of the United
+States; but the Senatorial gorge, indelicate as it had proved, rose at
+this, as the easy-shaving barber's did at the coal-heaver, and rejected
+him.
+
+Weeks elapsed, during which I felt hopeful from the earnestness
+manifested in my mission by the President and several of his Cabinet.
+Parties were in hostile array in New Orleans, but my friends were
+restrained by daily reports of the situation at Washington. Only my
+opinion that there was some ground for hope could be forwarded.
+Conversations at dinner tables or in private interviews with the
+Executive and his advisers could not, then or since, be repeated; and
+this of necessity gave room for misconstruction, as will appear. At
+length, on the day before the Congress was by law to adjourn, the
+President sent a message to the Senate, informing that body that, in the
+event the Congress failed to take action on the Louisiana matter, he
+should esteem it his duty to uphold the Government created by the
+Federal Judge. I left Washington at once, and did not revisit it for
+nearly four years.
+
+I believe that President Grant was sincere with me, and went as far as
+he felt it safe. No doubt the Senatorial hyenas brought him to
+understand these unspoken words: "We have supported your acts, confirmed
+your appointments, protected and whitewashed your friends; but there are
+bones which we can not give up without showing our teeth, and Louisiana
+is one of them."
+
+The failure to obtain relief for the State of my birth, and whose soil
+covered the remains of all most dear, was sad enough, and the attempt
+had involved much unpleasant work; but I had my reward. Downfall of
+hope, long sustained, was bitter to the people, especially to the
+leaders expectant of office; and I became an object of distrust.
+"Nothing succeeds like success," and nothing fails like failure, and the
+world is quite right to denounce it. The British Ministry shot an
+admiral for failing to relieve Minorca--to encourage others, as Voltaire
+remarked. Byng died silent, without plaint, which was best. The drunken
+Federal Judge, author of the outrages, was universally condemned, with
+one exception, of which more anon. Both branches of the Congress,
+controlled by Radicals, pronounced his conduct to have been illegal and
+unjust, and he was driven from the bench with articles of impeachment
+hanging over him. Nevertheless, the Government evolved from his
+unjudicial consciousness was upheld by President Grant with Federal
+bayonets.
+
+Two years later the people of Louisiana elected an Assembly, a majority
+of whose members were opposed to the fraudulent Governor, Kellogg. The
+President sent United States soldiers into the halls of the Assembly to
+expel members at the point of the bayonet. Lieutenant-General Sheridan,
+the military maid of all (such) work, came especially to superintend
+this business, and it was now that he expressed the desire to
+exterminate "banditti." The destruction of buildings and food in the
+Valley of Virginia, to the confusion of the crows, was his Salamanca;
+but this was his Waterloo, and great was the fame of the
+Lieutenant-General of the Radicals.
+
+This _Governor_ Kellogg is the Senator recently seated, of whom mention
+has been made, and, if a lesser quantity than zero be conceivable, with
+a worse title to the office than he had to that of Governor of
+Louisiana. So far as known, he is a commonplace rogue; but his party has
+always rallied to his support, as the "Tenth Legion" to its eagles.
+Indeed, it is difficult to understand the qualities or objects that
+enlist the devotion and compel the worship of humanity. Travelers in the
+Orient tell of majestic fanes, whose mighty walls and countless columns
+are rich with elaborate carvings. Hall succeeds hall, each more
+beautifully wrought than the other, until the innermost, the holy of
+holies, is reached, and there is found enshrined--a shriveled ape.
+
+The sole exception referred to in the case of the drunken Federal Judge
+was a lawyer of small repute, who had been Democratic in his political
+tendencies. Languishing in obscurity, he saw and seized his opportunity,
+and rushed into print in defense of the Judge and in commendation of the
+President for upholding such judicial action. It is of record that this
+lawyer, in the society of some men of letters, declared Dante to be the
+author of the Decameron; but one may be ignorant of the Italian poets
+and thoroughly read in French memoirs. During the war of the Spanish
+succession, the Duke of Vendôme, filthiest of generals, not excepting
+Suvaroff, commanded the French army in Italy. To negotiate protection
+for their States, the Italian princes sent agents to Vendôme; but the
+agents sent by the Duke of Parma were so insulted by the bestialities of
+the French commander as to go back to their master without negotiating,
+and no decent man would consent to return. A starving little abbé
+volunteered for the service, and, possessing a special aptitude for
+baseness, succeeded in his mission. Thus Alberoni, afterward Cardinal
+and Prime Minister of Spain, got his foot on the first rung of the
+ladder of fame. The details of the story are too gross to repeat, and
+the Memoirs of the Duke of St. Simon must be consulted for them; but
+our lawyer assuredly had read them. Many may imitate Homer, however
+feebly; one genius originated his epics.
+
+Having entered on this lofty career, our Alberoni stuck to it with the
+tenacity of a ferret in pursuit of rabbits, and was rewarded, though not
+at the time nor to the extent he had reason to expect. The mission to
+England was promised him by the reigning powers, when, on the very eve
+of securing his prize, a stick was put in the wheels of his progress,
+and by a brother's hand. Another legal personage, practicing at the same
+bar, that of New York, and a friend, did the deed. "Chloe was false,
+Chloe was common, but constant while possessed"; but here Chloe was
+without the last quality. In 1868, General Grant's election pending,
+Chloe was affiliated with the Democratic party, and had been chosen one
+of the captains of its citadel, a sachem of Tammany. Scenting success
+for Grant, with the keenness of the vulture for his prey, he attended a
+Radical meeting and announced his intention to give twenty thousand
+dollars to the Radical election fund. This sum appears to have been the
+market value of a seat in the Cabinet, to which ultimately he was
+called. When the English mission became vacant by the resignation of the
+incumbent, disgusted by British ingratitude, Chloe quitted the Cabinet
+to take it, and Alberoni was left wearing weeds. Yet much allowance is
+due to family affection, the foundation of social organization.
+Descended from a noble stock, though under a somewhat different name,
+Chloe from mystic sources learned that his English relatives pined for
+his society, and devotion to family ties tempted him to betray his
+friend. Subsequently Alberoni was appointed to a more northern country,
+where he may find congenial society; for, in a despotism tempered only
+by assassination, the knees of all become pliant before power.
+
+It is pleasant to mark the early steps of nascent ambition. In the time
+of the great Napoleon every conscript carried the baton of a marshal in
+his knapsack; and in our happy land every rogue may be said to have an
+appointment to office in his pocket. This is also pleasant.
+
+Since the spring of 1873, when he gave himself up to the worst elements
+of his party, I have not seen President Grant; but his career suggests
+some curious reflections to one who has known him for thirty-odd years.
+What the waiting-woman promised in jest, Dame Fortune has seriously
+bestowed on this Malvolio, and his political cross-garterings not only
+find favor with the Radical Olivia, but are admired by the Sir Tobys of
+the European world. Indeed, Fortune has conceits as quaint as those of
+Haroun al-Raschid. The beggar, from profound sleep, awoke in the
+Caliph's bed. Amazed and frightened by his surroundings, he slowly
+gained composure as courtier after courtier entered, bowing low, to
+proclaim him King of kings, Light of the World, Commander of the
+Faithful; and he speedily came to believe that the present had always
+existed, while the real past was an idle dream. Of a nature kindly and
+modest, President Grant was assured by all about him that he was the
+delight of the Radicals, greatest captain of the age, and saviour of the
+nation's life. It was inevitable that he should begin by believing some
+of this, and end by believing it all. Though he had wasted but little
+time on books since leaving West Point, where in his day the curriculum
+was limited, he had found out to the last shilling the various sums
+voted by Parliament to the Duke of Wellington, and spoke of them in a
+manner indicating his opinion that he was another example of the
+ingratitude of republics. The gentle temper and sense of justice of
+Othello resisted the insidious wiles of Iago; but ignorance and
+inexperience yielded in the end to malignity and craft. President Grant
+was brought not only to smother the Desdemona of his early preferences
+and intentions, but to feel no remorse for the deed, and take to his
+bosom the harridan of radicalism. As Phalaris did those of Agrigentum
+opposed to his rule, he finished by hating Southerners and Democrats.
+
+During the struggle for the Presidency in the autumn of 1876, he
+permitted a member of his Cabinet, the Secretary of the Interior, to
+become the manager of the Radicals and use all the power of his office,
+established for the public service, to promote the success of his
+party's candidate.
+
+Monsieur Fourtou, Minister of the Interior, removed prefects and mayors
+to strengthen the power of De Broglie; whereupon all the newspapers in
+our land published long essays to show and lament the ignorance of the
+French and their want of experience in republican methods. One might
+suppose these articles to have been written by the "seven sleepers," so
+forgetful were they of yesterday's occurrences at home; but beams near
+at hand are ever blinked in our search of distant motes. The election
+over, but the result in dispute, President Grant, in Philadelphia,
+alarmed thoughtful people by declaring that "no man could take the great
+office of President upon whose title thereto the faintest shadow of
+doubt rested," and then, with all the power of the Government,
+successfully led the search for this non-existing person. To insure
+fairness in the count, so that none could carp, he requested eminent
+statesmen to visit South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, the electoral
+votes of which were claimed by both parties; but the statesmen were,
+without exception, the bitterest and most unscrupulous partisans,
+personally interested in securing victory for their candidate, and have
+since received their hire. Soldiers were quartered in the capitals of
+the three States to aid the equitable statesmen in reaching a correct
+result by applying the bayonet if the figures proved refractory. With
+equity and force at work, the country might confidently expect justice;
+and justice was done--that justice ever accorded by unscrupulous power
+to weakness.
+
+But one House of the Congress was controlled by the Democrats, and
+these, Herod-like, were seeking to slay the child, the Nation. To guard
+against this, President Grant ordered other troops to Washington and a
+ship of war to be anchored in the Potomac, and the child was preserved.
+Again, the 4th of March, appointed by law for the installation of
+Presidents, fell on Sunday. President Grant is of Scotch descent, and
+doubtless learned in the traditions of the land o' cakes. The example of
+Kirkpatrick at Dumfries taught him that it was wise to "mak sicker"; so
+the incoming man and the Chief Justice were smuggled into the White
+House on the sabbath day, and the oath of office was administered. If
+the chair of George Washington was to be filched, it were best done
+under cover. The value of the loot inspired caution.
+
+In Paris, at a banquet, Maître Gambetta recently toasted our
+ex-President "as the great commander who had sacredly obeyed and
+preserved his country's laws." Whether this was said in irony or
+ignorance, had General Grant taken with him to Paris his late Secretary
+of the Interior, the accomplished Z. Chandler, the pair might have
+furnished suggestions to Marshal MacMahon and Fourtou that would have
+changed the dulcet strains of Maître Gambetta into dismal howls.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+Dismissing hope of making my small voice heard in mitigation of the woes
+of my State, in May, 1873, I went to Europe and remained many months.
+Returned to New York, I found that the characters on the wall, so long
+invisible, had blazed forth, and the vast factitious wealth, like the
+gold of the dervish, withered and faded in a night. The scenes depicted
+of Paris and London, after the collapse of Mississippi schemes and South
+Sea bubbles, were here repeated on a greater scale and in more
+aggravated form. To most, the loss of wealth was loss of ancestry,
+repute, respectability, decency, recognition of their fellows--all.
+Small wonder that their withers were fearfully wrung, and their wails
+piteous. Enterprise and prosperity were frozen as in a sea of
+everlasting ice, and guardians of trusts, like Ugolino, plunged their
+robber fangs into the scalps and entrails of the property confided to
+them.
+
+A public journal has recently published a detailed list, showing that
+there has been plundered by fiduciaries since 1873 the amazing amount of
+thirty millions of money; and the work goes on. Scarce a newspaper is
+printed in whose columns may not be found some fresh instance of breach
+of trust. As poisoning in the time of Brinvilliers, stealing is
+epidemic, and the watch-dogs of the flocks are transformed into wolves.
+
+Since the tocsin sounded we have gone from bad to worse. During the past
+summer (1877) laborers, striking for increased wages or to resist
+diminution thereof, seized and held for many days the railway lines
+between East and West, stopping all traffic. Aided by mobs, they took
+possession of great towns and destroyed vast property. At Pittsburgh,
+in Pennsylvania, State troops attempting to restore order were attacked
+and driven off. Police and State authorities in most cases proved
+impotent, and the arm of Federal power was invoked to stay the evil.
+
+Thousands of the people are without employment, which they seek in vain;
+and from our cities issue heartrending appeals in behalf of the
+suffering poor. From the Atlantic as far to the west as the young State
+of Nebraska, there has fallen upon the land a calamity like that
+afflicting Germany after the Thirty Years' War. Hordes of idle, vicious
+tramps penetrate rural districts in all directions, rendering property
+and even life unsafe; and no remedy for this new disease has been
+discovered. Let us remember that these things are occurring in a country
+of millions upon millions of acres of vacant lands, to be had almost for
+the asking, and where, even in the parts first colonized, density of
+population bears but a small relation to that of western Europe. Yet we
+daily assure ourselves and the world that we have the best government
+under the canopy of heaven, and the happiest land, hope and refuge of
+humanity.
+
+Purified by fire and sword, the South has escaped many of these evils;
+but her enemies have sown the seeds of a pestilence more deadly than
+that rising from Pontine marshes. Now that Federal bayonets have been
+turned from her bosom, this poison, the influence of three fourths of a
+million of negro voters, will speedily ascend and sap her vigor and
+intelligence. Greed of office, curse of democracies, will impel
+demagogues to grovel deeper and deeper in the mire in pursuit of
+ignorant votes. Her old breed of statesmen has largely passed away
+during and since the civil war, and the few survivors are naturally
+distrusted, as responsible for past errors. Numbers of her gentry fell
+in battle, and the men now on the stage were youths at the outbreak of
+strife, which arrested their education. This last is also measurably
+true of the North. Throughout the land the experience of the active
+portion of the present generation only comprises conditions of discord
+and violence. The story of the six centuries of sturdy effort by which
+our English forefathers wrought out their liberties is unknown,
+certainly unappreciated. Even the struggles of our grandfathers are
+forgotten, and the names of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jay, Marshall,
+Madison, and Story awaken no fresher memories in our minds, no deeper
+emotions in our hearts, than do those of Solon, Leonidas, and Pericles.
+But respect for the memories and deeds of our ancestors is security for
+the present, seed-corn for the future; and, in the language of Burke,
+"Those will not look forward to their posterity who never look backward
+to their ancestors."
+
+Traditions are mighty influences in restraining peoples. The light that
+reaches us from above takes countless ages to traverse the awful chasm
+separating us from its parent star; yet it comes straight and true to
+our eyes, because each tender wavelet is linked to the other, receiving
+and transmitting the luminous ray. Once break the continuity of the
+stream, and men will deny its heavenly origin, and seek its source in
+the feeble glimmer of earthly corruption.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+Acadian exiles in Attakapas, 105;
+  their descendants, 106.
+
+Alabama delegates retire from Charleston Convention, 12.
+
+Alberoni, Abbé, 263.
+
+Andersonville Prison, 216.
+
+Antietam a drawn battle, 95.
+
+Antipathy to the South, 238.
+
+Anti-slavery agitation, 10.
+
+Army, Confederate, of Virginia moved to Gordonsville, 42.
+
+Ashby, General Turner, during march to Harrisonburg, 69;
+  his death, 71;
+  no disciplinarian, 72.
+
+Attakapas, home of the Acadians, 105.
+
+
+Bank of Tennessee, its treasure restored, 224.
+
+Banks, General N.P., his ignorance and arrogance, 164;
+ retreats to Alexandria, 182;
+ his army demoralized, 187;
+ his misleading dispatches, 135, 137, 146, 151, 174, 181.
+
+Baton Rouge, Confederates repulsed, 107.
+
+Bayou des Allemands surprised, 111.
+
+Beauregard, General P.G.T., his coolness and courage at Manassas, 19.
+
+Berwick's Bay captured by Confederates, 141;
+  the prisoners and spoil, 143.
+
+Bisland attacked by Federals, 130.
+
+Blunders of Confederates in first Richmond campaign, 86.
+
+Bourbeau Bayou, Confederate success there, 150.
+
+Boyd, Belle, Confederate spy, 51.
+
+Bragg, General B., occupies Pensacola, 15;
+  services in United States army, 99;
+  a strong disciplinarian, 100;
+  invades Kentucky, _ib._;
+  his petulance, _ib._
+
+Brent, Major J.L., Taylor's chief of artillery, 117;
+  his fertility of resource, 118.
+
+Brown, Joseph, Governor of Georgia, 212.
+
+Bugeaud's "Maxims," 39.
+
+Burton, General, commandant of Fortress Monroe, 246.
+
+Butler, General B.F., in the Charleston Convention, 11:
+  puts a stop to marauding, 112.
+
+
+Canby, General E.R.S., invests the Mobile forts, 221;
+  the city occupied, 222.
+
+Carpet-baggers, 236.
+
+Cavalry, Confederate, its indiscipline, 60.
+
+Charleston Convention, 10.
+
+Civil War, causes of the, 9.
+
+Cobb, Howell, and the defenses of Macon, 211;
+  his death, 213.
+
+Cold Harbor, battle of, 84.
+
+Collapse of the Confederacy, 230.
+
+Confederate government at Montgomery, its vacillation, 15.
+
+Conventions called to repeal secession ordinances, 227;
+  this action punished as rebellion, 228.
+
+Corruption, political and social, 257.
+
+Cotton, Confederate gunboat, 121.
+
+Courtesy to a wounded prisoner, 151.
+
+Creoles of Louisiana not an effete race, 109.
+
+Cushing, Caleb, in the Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+
+Davis, Henry Winter, 244.
+
+Davis, Jefferson, his amiability, 24;
+  a prisoner in Fortress Monroe, 246.
+
+Disease in the Confederate Army of Virginia, 23.
+
+Diana, gunboat, captured by Confederates, 128.
+
+"District of Louisiana," its military resources, 108.
+
+Dix, General John A., in the Philadelphia Convention, 253;
+  the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics, 253.
+
+
+Embezzlement and breach of trust, 268.
+
+Engineer service unfits for command, 98.
+
+Ewell, Lieutenant-General R.S., his services in the United States army, 37;
+  his manner and personal appearance, _ib._;
+  his absence of mind, 78.
+
+
+Farragut, Admiral D.G., opens the Mississippi to Vicksburg, 125.
+
+Fessenden, General, his account of the Pleasant Hill battle, 171.
+
+Fish, Hamilton, 261.
+
+Forrest, General, by nature a great soldier, 199;
+  secret of his success, 200;
+  his kindly disposition, _ib._
+
+Fort Butler unsuccessfully attacked, 144.
+
+Fort de Russy captured, 155.
+
+Frazier's Farm, 91.
+
+Freedmen's Bureau and Bank, 251.
+
+Fremont routed at Strasburg, 65;
+  beaten at Cross Keys, 73.
+
+Front Royal captured by Taylor, 53.
+
+Fuller, Captain, improvises a gunboat, 119;
+  delays Federal advance up the Teche, 121.
+
+Fusilier, Leclerc, his gallantry and munificence, 109.
+
+
+Gettysburg battle, 230.
+
+Gibson, General R.L., his defense of Spanish Fort, 221.
+
+Governments set up by the military in Southern States, 248.
+
+Grant, General, opposed to advance on Richmond by land, 33;
+  testimony concerning this point, 34, _note_;
+  begins operations against Vicksburg, 121;
+  classed with Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland, 149;
+  his error at Vicksburg, 149;
+  his modesty and generosity, 242;
+  opposed to reconstruction at first, 256;
+  his part in the election of 1876, 266.
+
+Green, Major-General Thomas, killed, 177.
+
+Gunboats, the terror they at first inspired, 118.
+
+
+Hancock, Major-General W.S., restores order at New Orleans, 251.
+
+Hardee, Major-General, his modesty, 215.
+
+Hood, Lieutenant-General, his losses at Franklin, 216;
+  superseded by Taylor, 217;
+  his army after defeat, _ib._
+
+Horsemen strapped to their steeds, 55.
+
+
+Ignorance claims its victims, 93.
+
+Immigration, how it determined the events of 1860, 10.
+
+Indianola, iron-clad, passes Vicksburg, 123;
+  sunk by the Confederates, 125.
+
+"Initiative" and "defensive," 20.
+
+Irishmen as soldiers, 76.
+
+
+Jackson, General T.J. (Stonewall), his appearance and manner, 49;
+  his care for the ammunition trains, 56;
+  routs Banks at Winchester, 59;
+  his inner nature, 79;
+  ranked with Nelson and Havelock, 80.
+
+Jerome, Leonard, and the New York "Times," 254.
+
+Johnson, Andrew, 240, 242.
+
+Johnston, General Albert Sidney, his services in the United States
+  Army, 231;
+  character, 232;
+  his death an irreparable loss, 233.
+
+Johnston, General Joseph E., his estrangement from Jefferson Davis, 26;
+  moves his army to Orange Court House, 35;
+  services in United States army, _ib._;
+  a master of logistics, 43;
+  his neglect of opportunity, _ib._
+
+
+Kellogg, William Pitt, 263.
+
+Kentucky, invasion of, 101.
+
+"King Cotton" a tyrant, 235.
+
+Ku-Klux assassinations, 250.
+
+
+Labor troubles in the North, 268.
+
+Lee, General R.E., his force at opening of first Richmond campaign, 86;
+  his strategy commended, _ib._;
+  place in Southern history, 96;
+  his mistakes, 97;
+  his tactics inferior to his strategy, _ib._;
+  his surrender proclaimed to Taylor's army, 222.
+
+Lee, General A.L., his account of the battle of Pleasant Hill, 173.
+
+Louisiana secedes from the Union, 13;
+  temper of the people, _ib._
+
+Louisiana Brigade, 78;
+  its losses at Cold Harbor, 85.
+
+Louisiana, the State government overturned, 259-262.
+
+Louisiana, Western, its topography and river systems, 103.
+
+
+Malvern Hill battle, 91.
+
+Manassas, first battle of, encourages the Confederates, 18;
+  effect at the North, 31.
+
+Mansfield, battle of, 162.
+
+Mechanical resources wanting to the South, 202.
+
+Missouri compromise, 9.
+
+Mobile, its defenses, 201;
+  occupied by General Canby, 222.
+
+Moore, Thomas O., Governor of Louisiana, 102.
+
+Morton, Senator, 260.
+
+Mouton, Alexander, president of Louisiana Convention, 12;
+  his zeal for the Southern cause, 108.
+
+McClellan, General George B., assumes command of Potomac army, 31;
+  his work as an organizer, 32;
+  his strategy, 33;
+  his force at beginning of Richmond campaign, 86;
+  in battle of Cold Harbor, 87;
+  his topographical knowledge, _ib._;
+  as a commander, 93;
+  lacked audacity, 95.
+
+McDowell, Major-General Irvin, his plan of battle at Manassas, 19.
+
+Magruder, General, as a commander, 93.
+
+Malvern Hill, battle of, 92.
+
+
+Negro slaves, their fidelity, 210.
+
+
+Office-seeking, the curse of democracies, 269.
+
+
+Pemberton, General, his services in the United States army, 116;
+  his unfitness for independent command, 117;
+  his blunder at Vicksburg, 148.
+
+Philadelphia Convention, 252.
+
+Pleasant Hill, battle of, 168.
+
+Polignac, Prince Charles, 154.
+
+Pope, General, his incapacity, 95.
+
+Port Hudson taken by Federals, 145.
+
+Port Republic, Federal repulse, 16.
+
+Porter, Admiral D.D., ascends Red River, 155;
+  assists in taking Fort de Russy, _ib._;
+  his report on battle of Pleasant Hill, 174;
+  his losses in descending Red River, 185;
+  report on Banks's retreat to Alexandria, 187.
+
+Presidential election of 1876, 266.
+
+Provost-marshals, their exactions, 208.
+
+
+Queen of the West, gunboat, runs the Vicksburg batteries, 122;
+  captured by Confederates, 124.
+
+
+Railroads, inefficiency of the Southern, 203.
+
+Red River opened by the Federals, 136.
+
+Richmond, Dean, in the Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+River systems of Western Louisiana, 103.
+
+
+Salt mines at Petit Anse, 114.
+
+Selma taken by Federals, 219.
+
+Seward, W.H., 240.
+
+Seymour, Colonel, killed at Cold Harbor, 85.
+
+Sheridan, General P.H., in New Orleans, 262;
+  his course approved by a renegade Democrat, 263.
+
+Sherman, General W.T., his way of making war, 195.
+
+Shiloh, battle of, 231.
+
+Slavery not the cause of the civil war, 10.
+
+Smith, Lieutenant-General E. Kirby, in command of the "Trans-Mississippi
+  Department," 126;
+  his military record, 127;
+  orders reënforcement of Pemberton, 138;
+  his administration, 153;
+  his anxiety about safety of Shreveport, 176;
+  allows Banks and Porter to escape, 190;
+  compared to Quintilius Varus, 192.
+
+South Carolina delegates in Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+Southern leaders after Lee's surrender, 223.
+
+"Southern Outrages," 249.
+
+Southrons have no aptitude for marching, 36.
+
+Stanton, E.M., 241.
+
+Statesmanship lacking to the Confederacy, 233.
+
+Stephens, Alexander H., his character, 29;
+  his views concerning military matters, _ib._;
+  his tergiversation, _ib._;
+  neglect of Jefferson Davis, 30.
+
+Stevens, Thaddeus, 243.
+
+Straggling in the Southern army, 36.
+
+Strasburg, affair at, 65.
+
+Sufferings of the people after the war, 236.
+
+Sumner, Charles, 245.
+
+
+Tactical mistakes of Confederate generals, 93.
+
+Taylor, R. (the author), a delegate to Charleston, 10;
+  his efforts to promote harmony, 12;
+  sees war to be inevitable, 13;
+  commissioned colonel, 16;
+  brigadier, 23;
+  habit of noting topography and resources of districts, 40;
+  disposition for meeting or making an attack, _ib._;
+  his Louisiana brigade, 47;
+  major-general, 93;
+  in command of District of Louisiana, 102;
+  lieutenant-general, 196;
+  supersedes Hood, 217;
+  his army sent into North Carolina, 218;
+  his surrender, 226;
+  return home, 228;
+  visits Jeff. Davis in Fortress Monroe, 246.
+
+Teche country, 105;
+  military operations in, 131, 135.
+
+Tents, useless _impedimenta_, 40.
+
+Toombs, General Robert, takes Georgia "home-guards" out of their
+  State, 215.
+
+Topography, ignorance of, among Confederates, 86.
+
+"Trans-Mississippi Department," its last hours, 229.
+
+Troopers strapped to their horses, 55;
+  protected by breastplates, _ib._
+
+Truce concluded between Generals Canby and Taylor, 224.
+
+Turenne, anecdote of, 64.
+
+
+Universal suffrage, its effects on a people, 209.
+
+
+Valley of Virginia, its opulence, 45;
+  laid waste by General Sheridan, 46.
+
+Vicksburg, attempts to relieve it, 138.
+
+Vicksburg and Fort Hudson, importance of, to the Confederates, 116.
+
+
+Walker, General W.H.T., his services in the United States army, 22;
+  joins forces with Taylor, 150.
+
+War, its demoralizing effects on the North, 257.
+
+Washington City after the war, 241.
+
+Weitzel, General, ascends the Teche, 120;
+  his successes, 121.
+
+Western Louisiana, its topography, 103.
+
+Wheat, Major, his turbulent battalion, 25;
+  his checkered career, 26.
+
+Wilson, General, captures Selma, 220.
+
+Winchester, battle of, 56.
+
+Winder, General Charles, 79.
+
+Winston, ex-Governor, his conservatism, 12;
+  his change of views, _ib._
+
+Wirtz, his efforts to better the condition of prisoners, 216.
+
+Wyndham, Colonel Percy, 26.
+
+
+Yancey, William L., his influence in the Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+RECENT
+American History and Biography.
+
+I.
+
+_Four Years with General Lee:_
+
+Being a Summary of the more Important Events touching the Career of
+General Robert E. Lee, in the War between the States; together with an
+Authoritative Statement of the Strength of the Army which he commanded
+in the Field. By WILLIAM H. TAYLOR, of his Staff, and late
+Adjutant-General of the Army of Northern Virginia. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00.
+
+II.
+
+_The Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston._
+
+By his Son, Colonel WILLIAM PRESTON JOHNSTON. One large octavo volume,
+774 pages. With Maps, a fine Portrait on Steel, and 8 full-page
+Illustrations. Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half turkey, $7.00.
+
+III.
+
+_The Autobiography of William H. Seward. (1801-1834)._
+
+With a later Memoir by his Son, FREDERICK W. SEWARD, late Assistant
+Secretary of State. Per volume, over 800 pages, cloth, $4.25; sheep,
+$5.25; half turkey, $6.25; full turkey, $8.25.
+
+IV.
+
+_Military History of General U.S. Grant._
+
+from April, 1861, to April, 1865. By ADAM BADEAU, Colonel and
+Aide-de-Camp to the General-in-Chief, Brevet Brigadier-General U.S.A.
+With Portrait, and numerous Maps. Vol. I. 8vo. Cloth, $4.00; half calf,
+extra, $6.50.
+
+V.
+
+_Memoirs of W.T. Sherman._
+
+By Himself. (With a Military Map showing the Marches of the United
+States Forces under General Sherman's command.) Two handsome vols., 8vo.
+Blue cloth, $5.50; sheep, $7.00; half morocco, $8.50; full morocco,
+$12.00.
+
+Cheap edition. 1 vol. Cloth, $3.50.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+AMERICAN PAINTERS:
+_Biographical Sketches of Fifty American Artists._
+WITH EIGHTY-THREE EXAMPLES OF THEIR WORKS,
+ENGRAVED ON WOOD IN A PERFECT MANNER.
+
+Quarto; cloth, extra gilt Price, $7.00; full morocco, $13.00.
+
+_The painters represented in this work are as follows:_
+
+CHURCH,
+INNES,
+HUNTINGTON,
+PAGE,
+SANFORD GIFFORD,
+SWAIN GIFFORD,
+DURAND,
+R.W. WEIR,
+W.T. RICHARDS,
+T. MORAN,
+P. MORAN,
+PERRY,
+BELLOWS,
+SHATTUCK,
+MILLER,
+J.F. WEIR,
+HUNT,
+WHITTREDGE,
+W. HART,
+J.M. HART,
+McENTEE,
+COLMAN,
+HICKS,
+WINSLOW HOMER,
+DE HAAS,
+J.G. BROWN,
+WYANT,
+WOOD,
+BRISTOL,
+REINHART,
+BRIDGMAN,
+BIERSTADT,
+J.H. BEARD,
+W.H. BEARD,
+PORTER,
+G.L. BROWN,
+APPLETON BROWN,
+CROPSEY,
+CASILEAR,
+E. JOHNSON,
+SHIRLAW,
+CHASE,
+BRICHER,
+ROBBINS,
+WILMARTH,
+EATON,
+GUY,
+QUARTLEY,
+HOPKINSON SMITH,
+MEEKER.
+
+The publishers feel justified in saying that the contemporaneous art of
+no country has ever been so adequately represented in a single volume as
+our American Painters are in this work, while the engravings are equal
+in execution to the finest examples of wood-engraving produced here or
+abroad.
+
+OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
+
+"The richest and in many ways the most notable of fine art books is
+'American Painters,' just published, with unstinted liberality in the
+making. Eighty-three examples of the work of American artists,
+reproduced in the very best style of wood-engraving, and printed with
+rare skill, constitute the chief purpose of the book; while the text
+which accompanies them, the work of Mr. George W. Sheldon, is a series
+of bright and entertaining biographical sketches of the artists, with a
+running commentary--critical, but not too critical--upon the peculiarities
+of their several methods, purposes, and conceptions."--_New York
+Evening Post._
+
+"The volume gives good evidence of the progress of American art. It
+shows that we have deft hands and imaginative brains among painters of
+the country, and it shows, moreover, that we have publishers who are
+liberal and cultured enough to present their works in a handsome and
+luxurious form that will make them acceptable. 'American Painters' will
+adorn the table of many a drawing-room where art is loved, and where it
+is made still dearer from the fact that it is native."--_New York
+Express._
+
+"It is at once a biographical dictionary of artists, a gallery of pen
+portraits and of beautiful scenes, sketched by the painters and
+multiplied by the engraver. It is in all respects a work of art, and
+will meet the wants of a large class whose tastes are in that
+direction."--_New York Observer._
+
+"One of the most delightful volumes issued from the press of this
+country."--_New York Daily Graphic._
+
+"Outside and inside it is a thing of beauty. The text is in large, clear
+type, the paper is of the finest, the margins broad, and the
+illustrations printed with artistic care. The volume contains brief
+sketches of fifty prominent American artists, with examples from their
+works. Some idea of the time and labor expended in bringing out the work
+may be gathered from the fact that to bring it before the public in its
+present form cost the publishers over $12,000."--_Boston Evening
+Transcript._
+
+"This book is a notable one, and among the many fine art books it will
+rank as one of the choicest, and one of the most elegant, considered as
+an ornament or parlor decoration. The engravings are in the highest
+style known to art. Mr. Sheldon has accompanied the illustrations with a
+series of very entertaining biographical sketches. As far as possible,
+he has made the artists their own interpreters, giving their own
+commentaries upon art and upon their purposes in its practice instead of
+his own."--_Boston Post._
+
+"'American Painters' consists of biographical sketches of fifty leading
+American artists, with eighty-three examples of their works, engraved on
+wood with consummate skill, delicacy of touch, and appreciation of
+distinctive manner. It is a gallery of contemporary American
+art."--_Philadelphia Press._
+
+"This work is one of surpassing interest, and of marvelous typographical
+and illustrative beauty."--_Philadelphia Item._
+
+"The whole undertaking is a noble one, illustrative of the best period
+of American art, and as such deserves the attention and support of the
+public."--_Chicago Tribune._
+
+
+_D. APPLETON & CO., Publishers, 549 & 551 Broadway, New York._
+
+
+
+
+THE
+FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY EPOCH.
+Being a History of France from the Beginning of the First French
+Revolution to the End of the Second Empire.
+
+BY
+HENRI VAN LAUN,
+Author of "History of French Literature," etc.
+
+In 2 vols., 12mo. Cloth, $3.50.
+
+"As a history for readers who are not disposed to make an exhaustive
+study of the subject treated, the book impresses us as eminently
+good."--_N.Y. Evening Post._
+
+"This work throws a flood of light on the problems which are now
+perplexing the politicians and statesmen of Europe."--_N.Y. Daily
+Graphic._
+
+"This is a work for which there is no substitute at present in the
+English language. For American readers it may be said to have secured a
+temporary monopoly of a most interesting topic. Educated persons can
+scarcely afford to neglect it."--_N.Y. Sun._
+
+"The opinion is here advanced and tolerably well fortified that Napoleon
+would have been beaten at Waterloo if Blücher had not come up. The book
+is a compendium of the events between 1789 and 1871: it is a popular
+treatment of the subject for students and family reading."--_Chicago
+Tribune._
+
+"Nothing can surpass the clearness of the narrative, and it may be truly
+said that this history is as interesting as a romance."--_Philadelphia
+Press._
+
+"The general reader will get, as he goes along with it, a more distinct
+idea of the salient features which marked the course of events than he
+might from some of the thousand and one more picturesque and more
+dramatic, but less truthful, histories of the same epoch."--_N.Y.
+Express._
+
+"We heartily commend it to our readers as one of the most compact,
+attractive, trustworthy, and instructive historical works in
+existence."--_Utica Daily Observer._
+
+"The author shows judgment and skill in culling from the large materials
+at command that which is of value, and also a masterly ability in
+presenting them tersely, and at the same time throwing in enough of
+incident and the lighter thought to make the volumes wholly
+enjoyable."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._
+
+"If you desire to read facts and not theories, events and not
+imaginings, in chaste though vigorous language, peruse these
+volumes."--_Providence Press._
+
+"The author has accomplished a difficult and much-needed undertaking in
+a very satisfactory way."--_Boston Journal._
+
+"No student of American history can afford to be without this
+book."--_St. Louis Times-Journal._
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT'S
+POETICAL WORKS.
+
+Illustrated 8vo Edition of Bryant's Poetical Works. 100 Engravings by
+Birket Foster, Harry Fenn, Alfred Fredericks, and other Artists. 1 vol.,
+8vo. Cloth, gilt side and edge, $4.00; half calf, marble edge, $6.00;
+full morocco, antique, $8.00; tree calf, $10.00.
+
+Household Edition. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.00; half calf, $4.00;
+morocco, $5.00; tree calf, $5.00.
+
+Red-Line Edition. With 24 Illustrations, and Portrait of Bryant on
+Steel. Printed on tinted paper, with red line. Square 12mo. Cloth,
+extra, $3.00; half calf, $5.00; morocco, $7.00; tree calf, $8.00.
+
+Blue-and-Gold Edition. 18mo. Cloth, gilt edge, $1.50; half calf, marble
+edge, $3.00; morocco, gilt edge, $4.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Song of the Sower. Illustrated with 42 Engravings on Wood, from
+Original Designs by Hennessy, Fenn, Winslow Homer, Hows, Griswold,
+Nehlig, and Perkins; engraved in the most perfect manner by our best
+Artists. Elegantly printed and bound. Cloth, extra gilt $5.00; morocco,
+antique, $9.00.
+
+
+The Story of the Fountain. With 42 Illustrations by Harry Fenn, Alfred
+Fredericks, John A. Hows, Winslow Homer, and others. In one handsome
+quarto volume. Printed in the most perfect manner, on heavy calendered
+paper. Uniform with "The Song of the Sower." 8vo. Square cloth, extra
+gilt, $5.00; morocco, antique, $9.00.
+
+
+The Little People of the Snow. Illustrated with exquisite Engravings,
+printed in Tints, from Designs by Alfred Fredericks. Cloth, $5.00;
+morocco, $9.00.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+The Poet and Painter;
+OR, GEMS OF ART AND SONG.
+
+An imperial 8vo volume, containing Choice Selections from the English
+Poets. Superbly illustrated with Ninety-nine Steel Engravings. Printed
+in the best manner on the page with the text. New edition: cloth, extra,
+$12.00; morocco, antique, or extra, $20.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Household Book of Poetry.
+BY CHARLES A. DANA.
+
+New edition, enlarged, with Additions from recent Authors. Illustrated
+with Steel Engravings by celebrated Artists. 1 vol., royal 8vo. Cloth,
+extra, gilt edges, $5.00; morocco, antique, $10.00; crushed levant,
+$15.00.
+
+The Household Book of Poetry. New cheap edition. Cloth, extra, red
+edges, $3.50; morocco, gilt edges, $7.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Fitz-Greene Halleck's Poetical Works.
+EDITED BY JAMES GRANT WILSON.
+
+Complete Poetical Works. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.50; half calf, extra,
+$4.50; morocco, antique, $6.00.
+
+Large-paper copy of the same. 8vo. Cloth, $10.00; morocco, antique,
+$15.00.
+
+Complete Poetical Works. 1 vol., 18mo. In blue-and-gold, $1.00; morocco,
+antique, $8.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Appletons' Library of the British Poets
+FROM CHAUCER TO TENNYSON AND THE LATER POETS.
+EDITED BY ROSSITER JOHNSON.
+
+Complete in three large 8vo volumes. Illustrated with Portraits and
+Views on Steel. Price, per volume, cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half
+turkey, $7.00; half russia, $8.00; full russia or full turkey, $10.00.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 23747-8.txt or 23747-8.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/7/4/23747
+
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://www.gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
diff --git a/23747-8.zip b/23747-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e672d31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-8.zip
diff --git a/23747-h.zip b/23747-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f74c1d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-h.zip
diff --git a/23747-h/23747-h.htm b/23747-h/23747-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6533066
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-h/23747-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,10344 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Destruction and Reconstruction:, by Richard Taylor</title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+/*<![CDATA[  XML blockout */
+<!--
+
+
+  p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
+    h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+         }
+    hr { width: 33%;
+	 margin-top: 2em;
+	 margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+       }
+
+
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+            /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+                position: absolute;
+                left: 92%;
+                font-size: smaller;
+                text-align: right;
+              } /* page numbers */
+
+
+
+    .bb       {border-bottom: solid 2px;}
+    .bl       {border-left: solid 2px;}
+    .bt       {border-top: solid 2px;}
+    .br       {border-right: solid 2px;}
+    .bbox     {border: solid 2px;}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+    a  {text-decoration: none} /* no lines under links */
+
+
+
+    .footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;}
+    .footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+    .footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+    .fnanchor         {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
+
+    hr.full { width: 100%;
+              margin-top: 3em;
+              margin-bottom: 0em;
+              margin-left: auto;
+              margin-right: auto;
+              height: 4px;
+              border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */
+              border-style: solid;
+              border-color: #000000;
+              clear: both; }
+    pre      {font-size: 85%;}
+
+    // -->
+    /* XML end  ]]>*/
+    </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Destruction and Reconstruction:, by Richard
+Taylor</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Destruction and Reconstruction:</p>
+<p>       Personal Experiences of the Late War</p>
+<p>Author: Richard Taylor</p>
+<p>Release Date: December 5, 2007  [eBook #23747]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Graeme Mackreth,<br />
+    and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h1>DESTRUCTION</h1>
+
+<h5>AND</h5>
+
+<h1>RECONSTRUCTION:</h1>
+
+<h3><i>PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THE LATE WAR.</i></h3>
+
+<h5>BY</h5>
+
+<h2>RICHARD TAYLOR,</h2>
+<h4>LIEUTENANT-GENERAL IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.</h4>
+
+
+
+
+<p class='center' style="margin-top: 10em;"><small>NEW YORK:<br />
+D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,<br />
+549 AND 551 BROADWAY.<br />
+1879.</small></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class='center' style="margin-top: 5em; margin-bottom: 10em;"><small>COPYRIGHT BY<br />
+
+D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,<br />
+
+1879.</small></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>These reminiscences of Secession, War, and Reconstruction it has seemed
+to me a duty to record. An actor therein, accident of fortune afforded
+me exceptional advantages for an interior view.</p>
+
+<p>The opinions expressed are sincerely entertained, but of their
+correctness such readers as I may find must judge. I have in most cases
+been a witness to the facts alleged, or have obtained them from the best
+sources. Where statements are made upon less authority, I have carefully
+endeavored to indicate it by the language employed.</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 25em;">R. TAYLOR.</p>
+
+
+<p><i>December, 1877.</i></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+<p>
+<a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Secession.</span>                <br />
+<br />
+Causes of the Civil War&mdash;The Charleston Convention&mdash;Convention
+of Louisiana&mdash;Temper of the People.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">First Scenes of the War.</span>   <br />
+<br />
+Blindness of the Confederate Government&mdash;General Bragg occupies
+Pensacola&mdash;Battle of Manassas&mdash;Its Effects on the North and the
+South&mdash;"Initiative" and "Defensive" in War.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">After Manassas.</span> <br />
+<br />
+General W.H.T. Walker&mdash;The Louisiana Brigade&mdash;The "Tigers"&mdash;Major
+Wheat&mdash;General Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis&mdash;Alexander
+H. Stephens.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Opening of the Peninsular Campaign.</span>   <br />
+<br />
+McClellan as an Organizer&mdash;The James River Route to
+Richmond&mdash;Army of Northern Virginia moved to Orange Court
+House&mdash;Straggling&mdash;General Ewell&mdash;Bugeaud's "Maxims"&mdash;Uselessness
+of Tents&mdash;Counsels to Young Officers.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span><br />
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">The Valley Campaign.</span>   <br />
+<br />
+The Army moved to Gordonsville&mdash;Joseph E. Johnston as a
+Commander&mdash;Valley of Virginia&mdash;Stonewall Jackson&mdash;Belle
+Boyd&mdash;Federals routed at Front Royal&mdash;Cuirassiers strapped to their
+Horses&mdash;Battle of Winchester&mdash;A "Walk Over" at Strasburg&mdash;General
+Ashby&mdash;Battle of Port Republic.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h3>
+<p>
+"<span class="smcap">The Seven Days around Richmond.</span>"  <br />
+<br />
+Clever Strategy&mdash;The Valley Army summoned to the Defense of
+Richmond&mdash;Battles of Cold Harbor, Frazier's Farm, Malvern
+Hill&mdash;Ignorance of the Topography&mdash;McClellan as a Commander&mdash;General
+R.E. Lee&mdash;His magnificent Strategy&mdash;His Mistakes.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">The District of Louisiana.</span>    <br />
+<br />
+General Bragg&mdash;Invasion of Kentucky&mdash;Western Louisiana&mdash;Its
+Topography and River Systems&mdash;The Attakapas, Home of the
+Acadians&mdash;The Creole Population.<br />
+</p>
+
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Operations in Louisiana and on the Mississippi.</span>     <br />
+<br />
+Federal Post at Bayou Des Allemands Surprised&mdash;Marauding by<br />
+the Federals&mdash;Salt Mines at Petit Anse&mdash;General Pemberton&mdash;Major
+Brent Chief of Artillery&mdash;Federal Operations on the Lafourche&mdash;Gunboat
+Cotton&mdash;General Weitzel Advances up the Teche&mdash;Capture of Federal
+Gunboats&mdash;General Kirby Smith.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Attacked by the Federals&mdash;Attempt to Relieve Vicksburg&mdash;Capture
+of Berwick's Bay.</span>                                                 <br />
+<br />
+Federal Advance against Bisland&mdash;Retreat of the
+Confederates&mdash;Banks's Dispatches&mdash;Relief of Vicksburg
+impracticable&mdash;Capture of Federal Post at Berwick's Bay&mdash;Attack
+on Fort Butler&mdash;Fall of Vicksburg and of Port Hudson.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span><br />
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Movement to the Red River&mdash;Campaign against Banks.</span> <br />
+<br />
+The Confederate Losses at Vicksburg and Port Hudson&mdash;Federals
+beaten at Bayou Bourbeau&mdash;Trans-Mississippi Department, its Bureaux
+and Staff&mdash;A Federal Fleet and Army ascend Red River&mdash;Battle of
+Pleasant Hill&mdash;Success of the Confederates&mdash;Perilous Situation
+of Banks's Army and the Fleet.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Escape of Banks and Porter.</span>    <br />
+<br />
+The Fleet descends Red River to Grand Ecore&mdash;Banks concentrates
+his Army there&mdash;Taylor's Force weakened by General Kirby
+Smith&mdash;Confederates harass Rear of Federal Column&mdash;The Federals
+cross the River at Monette's Ferry and reach Alexandria&mdash;Retreat
+of the Fleet harassed&mdash;It passes over the Falls at Alexandria.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a><br /></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">East of the Mississippi.</span>  <br />
+<br />
+The Mississippi controlled by the Federals&mdash;Taylor assigned
+to the Command of Alabama, Mississippi, etc.&mdash;Forrest's
+Operations&mdash;General Sherman in Georgia&mdash;Desperate Situation
+of Hood&mdash;Remnant of his Army sent to North Carolina.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Closing Operations of the War&mdash;Surrender.</span>   <br />
+<br />
+Fall of Mobile&mdash;Last Engagement of the War&mdash;Johnston-Sherman
+Convention&mdash;Taylor surrenders to General Canby&mdash;Last Hours of the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department."<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Criticisms and Reflections.</span> <br />
+<br />
+Gettysburg&mdash;Shiloh&mdash;Albert Sidney Johnston&mdash;Lack of
+Statesmanship in the Confederacy&mdash;"King Cotton"&mdash;Carpet-Baggers.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span><br />
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Reconstruction Under Johnson.</span>     <br />
+<br />
+Interceding for Prisoners&mdash;Debauchery and Corruption in
+Washington&mdash;General Grant&mdash;Andrew Johnson&mdash;Stevens, Winter
+Davis, Sumner&mdash;Setting up and pulling down State Governments&mdash;The
+"Ku-Klux"&mdash;Philadelphia Convention.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Reconstruction under Grant.</span>        <br />
+<br />
+Demoralization at the North&mdash;a Corrupt Vice-President&mdash;a
+Hypocritical Banker&mdash;a Great Preacher profiting by his own
+Evil Reputation&mdash;Knaves made Plenipotentiaries&mdash;A Spurious
+Legislature installed in the Louisiana State House&mdash;General
+Sheridan in New Orleans&mdash;An American Alberoni&mdash;Presidential
+Election of 1876&mdash;Congress over-awed by a Display of Military
+Force.<br />
+
+</p>
+<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h3>
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">Conclusion.</span>  <br />
+<br />
+The Financial Crisis&mdash;Breaches of Trust&mdash;Labor
+Troubles&mdash;Destitution&mdash;Negro Suffrage fatal to the South.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span><br />
+</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="DESTRUCTION_AND_RECONSTRUCTION" id="DESTRUCTION_AND_RECONSTRUCTION"></a>DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>SECESSION.</p>
+
+
+<p>The history of the United States, as yet unwritten, will show the causes
+of the "Civil War" to have been in existence during the Colonial era,
+and to have cropped out into full view in the debates of the several
+State Assemblies on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in which
+instrument Luther Martin, Patrick Henry, and others, insisted that they
+were implanted. African slavery at the time was universal, and its
+extinction in the North, as well as its extension in the South, was due
+to economic reasons alone.</p>
+
+<p>The first serious difficulty of the Federal Government arose from the
+attempt to lay an excise on distilled spirits. The second arose from the
+hostility of New England traders to the policy of the Government in the
+war of 1812, by which their special interests were menaced; and there is
+now evidence to prove that, but for the unexpected peace, an attempt to
+disrupt the Union would then have been made.</p>
+
+<p>The "Missouri Compromise" of 1820 was in reality a truce between
+antagonistic revenue systems, each seeking to gain the balance of power.
+For many years subsequently, slaves&mdash;as domestic servants&mdash;were taken to
+the Territories without exciting remark, and the "Nullification"
+movement in South Carolina was entirely directed against the tariff.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Anti-slavery was agitated from an early period, but failed to attract
+public attention for many years. At length, by unwearied industry, by
+ingeniously attaching itself to exciting questions of the day, with
+which it had no natural connection, it succeeded in making a lodgment in
+the public mind, which, like a subject exhausted by long effort, is
+exposed to the attack of some malignant fever, that in a normal
+condition of vigor would have been resisted. The common belief that
+slavery was the cause of civil war is incorrect, and Abolitionists are
+not justified in claiming the glory and spoils of the conflict and in
+pluming themselves as "choosers of the slain."</p>
+
+<p>The vast immigration that poured into the country between the years 1840
+and 1860 had a very important influence in directing the events of the
+latter year. The numbers were too great to be absorbed and assimilated
+by the native population. States in the West were controlled by German
+and Scandinavian voters, while the Irish took possession of the seaboard
+towns. Although the balance of party strength was not much affected by
+these naturalized voters, the modes of political thought were seriously
+disturbed, and a tendency was manifested to transfer exciting topics
+from the domain of argument to that of violence.</p>
+
+<p>The aged and feeble President, Mr. Buchanan, unfitted for troublous
+times, was driven to and fro by ambitious leaders of his own party, as
+was the last weak Hapsburg who reigned in Spain by the rival factions of
+France and Austria.</p>
+
+<p>Under these conditions the National Democratic Convention met at
+Charleston, South Carolina, in the spring of 1860, to declare the
+principles on which the ensuing presidential campaign was to be
+conducted, and select candidates for the offices of President and
+Vice-President. Appointed a delegate by the Democracy of my State,
+Louisiana, in company with others I reached Charleston two days in
+advance of the time. We were at once met by an invitation to join in
+council delegates from the Gulf States, to agree upon some common ground
+of action in the Convention, but declined for the reason that we were
+accredited to the National Convention, and had no authority<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> to
+participate in other deliberations. This invitation and the terms in
+which it was conveyed argued badly for the harmony of the Convention
+itself, and for the preservation of the unity of the Democracy, then the
+only organization supported in all quarters of the country.</p>
+
+<p>It may be interesting to recall the impression created at the time by
+the tone and temper of different delegations. New England adhered to the
+old tenets of the Jefferson school. Two leaders from Massachusetts,
+Messrs. Caleb Cushing and Benjamin F. Butler, of whom the former was
+chosen President of the Convention, warmly supported the candidacy of
+Mr. Jefferson Davis. New York, under the direction of Mr. Dean Richmond,
+gave its influence to Mr. Douglas. Of a combative temperament, Mr.
+Richmond was impressed with a belief that "secession" was but a bugbear
+to frighten the northern wing of the party. Thus he failed to appreciate
+the gravity of the situation, and impaired the value of unusual common
+sense and unselfish patriotism, qualities he possessed to an eminent
+degree. The anxieties of Pennsylvania as to candidates were accompanied
+by a philosophic indifference as to principles. The Northwest was ardent
+for Douglas, who divided with Guthrie Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee.</p>
+
+<p>Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana held moderate
+opinions, and were ready to adopt any honorable means to preserve the
+unity of the party and country. The conduct of the South Carolina
+delegates was admirable. Representing the most advanced constituency in
+the Convention, they were singularly reticent, and abstained from adding
+fuel to the flames. They limited their r&ocirc;le to that of dignified,
+courteous hosts, and played it as Carolina gentlemen are wont to do.
+From Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas came the fiery
+spirits, led by Mr. William L. Yancey of Alabama, an able rhetorician.
+This gentleman had persuaded his State Convention to pass a resolution,
+directing its delegates to withdraw from Charleston if the Democracy
+there assembled refused to adopt the extreme Southern view as to the
+rights of citizens in the territories. In this he was opposed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+ex-Governor Winston, a man of conservative tendencies, and long the
+rival of Mr. Yancey in State politics. Both gentlemen were sent to
+Charleston, but the majority of their co-delegates sustained Mr. Yancey.</p>
+
+<p>Several days after its organization the National Convention reached a
+point which made the withdrawal of Alabama imminent. Filled with anxious
+forebodings, I sought after nightfall the lodgings of Messrs. Slidell,
+Bayard, and Bright, United States senators, who had come to Charleston,
+not as delegates, but under the impulse of hostility to the principles
+and candidacy of Mr. Douglas. There, after pointing out the certain
+consequences of Alabama's impending action, I made an earnest appeal for
+peace and harmony, and with success. Mr. Yancey was sent for, came into
+our views after some discussion, and undertook to call his people
+together at that late hour, and secure their consent to disregard
+instructions. We waited until near dawn for Yancey's return, but his
+efforts failed of success. Governor Winston, originally opposed to
+instructions as unwise and dangerous, now insisted that they should be
+obeyed to the letter, and carried a majority of the Alabama delegates
+with him. Thus the last hope of preserving the unity of the National
+Democracy was destroyed, and by one who was its earnest advocate.</p>
+
+<p>The withdrawal of Alabama, followed by other Southern States, the
+adjournment of a part of the Convention to Baltimore and of another part
+to Richmond, and the election of Lincoln by votes of Northern States,
+require no further mention.</p>
+
+<p>In January, 1861, the General Assembly of Louisiana met. A member of the
+upper branch, and chairman of its Committee on Federal Relations, I
+reported, and assisted in passing, an act to call a Convention of the
+people of the State to consider of matters beyond the competency of the
+Assembly. The Convention met in March, and was presided over by
+ex-Governor and ex-United States Senator Alexander Mouton, a man of high
+character. I represented my own parish, St. Charles, and was appointed
+chairman of the Military and Defense Commit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>tee, on behalf of which two
+ordinances were reported and passed: one, to raise two regiments; the
+other, to authorize the Governor to expend a million of dollars in the
+purchase of arms and munitions. The officers of the two regiments were
+to be appointed by the Governor, and the men to be enlisted for five
+years, unless sooner discharged. More would have been desirable in the
+way of raising troops, but the temper of men's minds did not then
+justify the effort. The Governor declined to use his authority to
+purchase arms, assured as he was on all sides that there was no danger
+of war, and that the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge, completely in
+our power, would furnish more than we could need. It was vainly urged in
+reply that the stores of the arsenal were almost valueless, the arms
+being altered flintlock muskets, and the accouterments out of date. The
+current was too strong to stem.</p>
+
+<p>The Convention, by an immense majority of votes, adopted an ordinance
+declaring that Louisiana ceased to be a State within the Union. Indeed,
+similar action having already been taken by her neighbors, Louisiana of
+necessity followed. At the time and since, I marveled at the joyous and
+careless temper in which men, much my superiors in sagacity and
+experience, consummated these acts. There appeared the same general
+<i>ga&icirc;t&eacute; de c&oelig;ur</i> that M. Ollivier claimed for the Imperial Ministry
+when war was declared against Prussia. The attachment of northern and
+western people to the Union; their superiority in numbers, in wealth,
+and especially in mechanical resources; the command of the sea; the lust
+of rule and territory always felt by democracies, and nowhere to a
+greater degree than in the South&mdash;all these facts were laughed to scorn,
+or their mention was ascribed to timidity and treachery.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the Convention adjourned, finding myself out of harmony with
+prevailing opinion as to the certainty of war and necessity for
+preparation, I retired to my estate, determined to accept such
+responsibility only as came to me unsought.</p>
+
+<p>The inauguration of President Lincoln; the confederation of South
+Carolina, Georgia, and the five Gulf States; the attitude of the border
+slave States, hoping to mediate; the assem<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>bling of Confederate forces
+at Pensacola, Charleston, and other points; the seizure of United States
+forts and arsenals; the attack on "Sumter"; war&mdash;these followed with
+bewildering rapidity, and the human agencies concerned seemed as
+unconscious as scene-shifters in some awful tragedy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<p  class='center'>FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR.</p>
+
+
+<p>I was drawn from my retreat by an invitation from General Bragg, a
+particular friend, to visit Pensacola, where he commanded the southern
+forces, composed of volunteers from the adjacent States. Full of
+enthusiasm for their cause, and of the best material, officers and men
+were, with few exceptions, without instruction, and the number of
+educated officers was, as in all the southern armies, too limited to
+satisfy the imperious demands of the staff, much less those of the
+drill-master. Besides, the vicious system of election of officers struck
+at the very root of that stern discipline without which raw men cannot
+be converted into soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>The Confederate Government, then seated at Montgomery, weakly receded
+from its determination to accept no volunteers for short terms of
+service, and took regiments for twelve months. The same blindness smote
+the question of finance. Instead of laying taxes, which the general
+enthusiasm would have cheerfully endured, the Confederate authorities
+pledged their credit, and that too for an amount which might have
+implied a pact with Mr. Seward that, should war unhappily break out, its
+duration was to be strictly limited to sixty days. The effect of these
+errors was felt throughout the struggle.</p>
+
+<p>General Bragg occupied Pensacola, the United States navy yard, and Fort
+Barrancas on the mainland; while Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa island, was
+held by Federal troops, with several war vessels anchored outside the
+harbor. There was an understanding that no hostile movement would be
+made by either side without notice. Consequently, Bragg worked at his
+bat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>teries bearing on Pickens, while Major Brown, the Federal commander,
+strengthened with sand bags and earth the weak landward curtain of his
+fort; and time was pleasantly passed by both parties in watching each
+other's occupation.</p>
+
+<p>Some months before this period, when Florida enforced her assumed right
+to control all points within her limits, a small company of United
+States artillery, under Lieutenant Slemmer, was stationed at Barrancas,
+where it was helpless. After much man&oelig;uvring, the State forces of
+Florida induced Slemmer to retire from Barrancas to Pickens, then
+<i>garrisoned</i> by one ordnance sergeant, and at the mercy of a corporal's
+guard in a rowboat. Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, was in a similar
+condition before Anderson retired to it with his company. The early
+seizure of these two fortresses would have spared the Confederates many
+serious embarrassments; but such small details were neglected at that
+time.</p>
+
+<p>My visit to Pensacola was brought to a close by information from the
+Governor of Louisiana of my appointment to the colonelcy of the 9th
+Louisiana infantry, a regiment just formed at camp on the railway some
+miles north of New Orleans, and under orders for Richmond. Accepting the
+appointment, I hastened to the camp, inspected the command, ordered the
+Lieutenant Colonel&mdash;Randolph, a well-instructed officer for the time&mdash;to
+move by rail to Richmond as rapidly as transportation was furnished, and
+went on to New Orleans, as well to procure equipment, in which the
+regiment was deficient, as to give some hours to private affairs. It was
+known that there was a scarcity of small-arm ammunition in Virginia,
+owing to the rapid concentration of troops; and I was fortunate in
+obtaining from the Louisiana authorities a hundred thousand rounds, with
+which, together with some field equipment, I proceeded by express to
+Richmond, where I found my command, about a thousand strong, just
+arrived and preparing to go into camp. The town was filled with rumor of
+battle away north at Manassas, where Beauregard commanded the
+Confederate forces. A multitude of wild reports, all equally inflamed,
+reached my ears while looking after the transportation of my ammunition,
+of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> which I did not wish to lose sight. Reaching camp, I paraded the
+regiment, and stated the necessity for prompt action, and my purpose to
+make application to be sent to the front immediately. Officers and men
+were delighted with the prospect of active service, and largely supplied
+want of experience by zeal. Ammunition was served out, three days'
+rations were ordered for haversacks, and all camp equipage not
+absolutely essential was stored.</p>
+
+<p>These details attended to, at 5 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> I visited the war office, presided
+over by General Pope Walker of Alabama. When the object of my visit was
+stated, the Secretary expressed much pleasure, as he was anxious to send
+troops forward, but had few in readiness to move, owing to the lack of
+ammunition, etc. As I had been in Richmond but a few hours, my desire to
+move and adequate state of preparation gained me some "red-letter" marks
+at the war office. The Secretary thought that a train would be in
+readiness at 9 o'clock that night. Accordingly, the regiment was marched
+to the station, where we remained several weary hours. At length, long
+after midnight, our train made its appearance. As the usual time to
+Manassas was some six hours, we confidently expected to arrive in the
+early forenoon; but this expectation our engine brought to grief. It
+proved a machine of the most wheezy and helpless character, creeping
+snail-like on levels, and requiring the men to leave the carriages to
+help it up grades. As the morning wore on, the sound of guns, re&euml;choed
+from the Blue Ridge mountains on our left, became loud and constant. At
+every halt of the wretched engine the noise of battle grew more and more
+intense, as did our impatience. I hope the attention of the recording
+angel was engrossed that day in other directions. Later we met men,
+single or in squads, some with arms and some without, moving south, in
+which quarter they all appeared to have pressing engagements.</p>
+
+<p>At dusk we gained Manassas Junction, near the field where, on that day,
+the battle of first "Manassas" had been fought and won. Bivouacking the
+men by the roadside, I sought through the darkness the headquarters of
+General Beau<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>regard, to whom I was instructed to report. With much
+difficulty and delay the place was found, and a staff officer told me
+that orders would be sent the following morning. By these I was directed
+to select a suitable camp, thus indicating that no immediate movement
+was contemplated.</p>
+
+<p>The confusion that reigned about our camps for the next few days was
+extreme. Regiments seemed to have lost their colonels, colonels their
+regiments. Men of all arms and all commands were mixed in the wildest
+way. A constant fusillade of small arms and singing of bullets were kept
+up, indicative of a superfluity of disorder, if not of ammunition. One
+of my men was severely wounded in camp by a "stray," and derived no
+consolation from my suggestion that it was a delicate attention of our
+comrades to mitigate the disappointment of missing the battle. The
+elation of our people at their success was natural. They had achieved
+all, and more than all, that could have been expected of raw troops; and
+some commands had emulated veterans by their steadiness under fire.
+Settled to the routine of camp duty, I found many opportunities to go
+over the adjacent battle field with those who had shared the action,
+then fresh in their memories. Once I had the privilege of so doing in
+company with Generals Johnston and Beauregard; and I will now give my
+opinion of this, as I purpose doing of such subsequent actions, and
+commanders therein, as came within the range of my personal experience
+during the war.</p>
+
+<p>Although since the days of Nimrod war has been the constant occupation
+of men, the fingers of one hand suffice to number the great commanders.
+The "unlearned" hardly think of usurping Tyndall's place in the lecture
+room, or of taking his cuneiform bricks from Rawlinson; yet the world
+has been much more prolific of learned scientists and philologers than
+of able generals. Notwithstanding, the average American (and, judging
+from the dictatorship of Ma&icirc;tre Gambetta, the Frenchman) would not have
+hesitated to supersede Napoleon at Austerlitz or Nelson at Trafalgar.
+True, Cleon captured the Spartan garrison, and Narses gained victories,
+and Bunyan wrote<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> the "Pilgrim's Progress;" but pestilent demagogues and
+mutilated guardians of Eastern zenanas have not always been successful
+in war, nor the great and useful profession of tinkers written allegory.
+As men without knowledge have at all times usurped the right to
+criticise campaigns and commanders, they will doubtless continue to do
+so despite the protests of professional soldiers, who discharge this
+duty in a reverent spirit, knowing that the greatest is he who commits
+the fewest blunders.</p>
+
+<p>General McDowell, the Federal commander at Manassas, and a trained
+soldier of unusual acquirement, was so hounded and worried by ignorant,
+impatient politicians and newspapers as to be scarcely responsible for
+his acts. This may be said of all the commanders in the beginning of the
+war, and notably of Albert Sidney Johnston, whose early fall on the
+field of Shiloh was irreparable, and mayhap determined the fate of the
+South. McDowell's plan of battle was excellent, and its execution by his
+mob no worse than might have been confidently expected. The late
+Governor Andrew of Massachusetts observed that his men thought they were
+going to a town meeting, and this is exhaustive criticism. With soldiers
+at his disposal, McDowell would have succeeded in turning and
+overwhelming Beauregard's left, driving him from his rail communications
+with Richmond, and preventing the junction of Johnston from the valley.
+It appears that Beauregard was to some extent surprised by the attack,
+contemplating movements by his own centre and right. His exposed and
+weak left stubbornly resisted the shock of attacking masses, while he,
+with coolness and personal daring most inspiriting to his men, brought
+up assistance from centre and right; and the ground was held until
+Johnston, who had skillfully eluded Patterson, arrived and began feeding
+our line, when the affair was soon decided.</p>
+
+<p>There can be little question that with a strong brigade of soldiers
+Johnston could have gone to Washington and Baltimore. Whether, with his
+means, he should have advanced, has been too much and angrily discussed
+already. Napoleon held that, no matter how great the confusion and
+exhaustion of a victorious army might be, a defeated one must be a
+hundred-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>fold worse, and action should be based on this. Assuredly, if
+there be justification in disregarding an axiom of Napoleon, the wild
+confusion of the Confederates after Manassas afforded it.</p>
+
+<p>The first skirmishes and actions of the war proved that the Southron,
+untrained, was a better fighter than the Northerner&mdash;not because of more
+courage, but of the social and economic conditions by which he was
+surrounded. Devoted to agriculture in a sparsely populated country, the
+Southron was self-reliant, a practiced horseman, and skilled in the use
+of arms. The dense population of the North, the habit of association for
+commercial and manufacturing purposes, weakened individuality of
+character, and horsemanship and the use of arms were exceptional
+accomplishments. The rapid development of railways and manufactures in
+the West had assimilated the people of that region to their eastern
+neighbors, and the old race of frontier riflemen had wandered to the far
+interior of the continent. Instruction and discipline soon equalized
+differences, and battles were decided by generalship and numbers; and
+this was the experience of our kinsmen in their great civil war. The
+country squires who followed the banners of Newcastle and Rupert at
+first swept the eastern-counties yeomanry and the London train-bands
+from the field; but fiery and impetuous valor was at last overmatched by
+the disciplined purpose and stubborn constancy of Cromwell's Ironsides.</p>
+
+<p>The value of the "initiative" in war cannot be overstated. It surpasses
+in power mere accession of numbers, as it requires neither transport nor
+commissariat. Holding it, a commander lays his plans deliberately, and
+executes them at his own appointed time and in his own way. The
+"defensive" is weak, lowering the morale of the army reduced to it,
+enforcing constant watchfulness lest threatened attacks become real, and
+keeping commander and troops in a state of anxious tension. These
+truisms would not deserve mention did not the public mind ignore the
+fact that their application is limited to trained soldiers, and often
+become impatient for the employment of proved ability to sustain sieges
+and hold lines in offensive movements. A collection of untrained men is
+neither more nor less than a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> mob, in which individual courage goes for
+nothing. In movement each person finds his liberty of action merged in a
+crowd, ignorant and incapable of direction. Every obstacle creates
+confusion, speedily converted into panic by opposition. The heroic
+defenders of Saragossa could not for a moment have faced a battalion of
+French infantry in the open field. Osman's solitary attempt to operate
+outside of Plevna met with no success; and the recent defeat of Moukhtar
+may be ascribed to incaution in taking position too far from his line of
+defense, where, when attacked, man&oelig;uvres of which his people were
+incapable became necessary.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<p  class='center'>AFTER MANASSAS.</p>
+
+
+<p>After the action at Manassas, the summer and winter of 1861 wore away
+without movements of special note in our quarter, excepting the defeat
+of the Federals at Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac, by a detached brigade
+of Confederates, commanded by General Evans of South Carolina, a
+West-Pointer enjoying the sobriquet of <i>Shanks</i> from the thinness of his
+legs.</p>
+
+<p>In the organization of our army, my regiment was brigaded with the 6th,
+7th, and 8th regiments of the Louisiana infantry, and placed under
+General William H.T. Walker of Georgia. Graduated from West Point in the
+summer of 1837, this officer joined the 6th United States infantry
+operating against the Seminoles in Florida. On Christmas day following
+was fought the battle of Okeechobee, the severest fight of that Indian
+war. The savages were posted on a thickly jungled island in the lake,
+through the waters of which, breast-high, the troops advanced several
+hundred yards to the attack. The loss on our side was heavy, but the
+Indians were so completely routed as to break their spirit. Colonel
+Zachary Taylor commanded, and there won his yellow sash and grade.
+Walker was desperately wounded, and the medical people gave him up; but
+he laughed at their predictions and recovered. In the war with Mexico,
+assaulting Molino del Rey, he received several wounds, all pronounced
+fatal, and science thought itself avenged. Again he got well, as he
+said, to spite the doctors. Always a martyr to asthma, he rarely enjoyed
+sleep but in a sitting posture; yet he was as cheerful and full of
+restless activity as the celebrated Earl of Peterborough. Peace with
+Mexico established, Walker<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> became commandant of cadets at West Point.
+His ability as an instructor, and his lofty, martial bearing, deeply
+impressed his new brigade and prepared it for stern work. Subsequently
+Walker died on the field near Atlanta, defending the soil of his native
+State&mdash;a death of all others he would have chosen. I have dwelt somewhat
+on his character, because it was one of the strangest I have met. No
+enterprise was too rash to awaken his ardor, if it necessitated daring
+courage and self-devotion. Truly, he might have come forth from the
+pages of old Froissart. It is with unaffected feeling that I recall his
+memory and hang before it my humble wreath of immortelles.</p>
+
+<p>In camp our army experienced much suffering and loss of strength. Drawn
+almost exclusively from rural districts, where families lived isolated,
+the men were scourged with mumps, whooping-cough, and measles, diseases
+readily overcome by childhood in urban populations. Measles proved as
+virulent as smallpox or cholera. Sudden changes of temperature drove the
+eruption from the surface to the internal organs, and fevers, lung and
+typhoid, and dysenteries followed. My regiment was fearfully smitten,
+and I passed days in hospital, nursing the sick and trying to comfort
+the last moments of many poor lads, dying so far from home and friends.
+Time and frequent changes of camp brought improvement, but my own health
+gave way. A persistent low fever sapped my strength and impaired the use
+of my limbs. General Johnston kindly ordered me off to the Fauquier
+springs, sulphur waters, some twenty miles to the south. There I was
+joined and carefully nursed by a devoted sister, and after some weeks
+slowly regained health.</p>
+
+<p>On the eve of returning to the army, I learned of my promotion to
+brigadier, to relieve General Walker, transferred to a brigade of
+Georgians. This promotion seriously embarrassed me. Of the four colonels
+whose regiments constituted the brigade, I was the junior in commission,
+and the other three had been present and "won their spurs" at the recent
+battle, so far the only important one of the war. Besides, my known
+friendship for President Davis, with whom I was connected by his first
+marriage with my elder sister, would justify the opinion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> that my
+promotion was due to favoritism. Arrived at headquarters, I obtained
+leave to go to Richmond, where, after an affectionate reception, the
+President listened to the story of my feelings, the reasons on which
+they were based, and the request that the promotion should be revoked.
+He replied that he would take a day for reflection before deciding the
+matter. The following day I was told that the answer to my appeal would
+be forwarded to the army, to which I immediately returned. The President
+had employed the delay in writing a letter to the senior officers of the
+brigade, in which he began by stating that promotions to the grade of
+general officer were by law intrusted to him, and were made for
+considerations of public good, of which he alone was judge. He then, out
+of abundant kindness for me, went on to soothe the feelings of these
+officers with a tenderness and delicacy of touch worthy a woman's hand,
+and so effectually as to secure me their hearty support. No wonder that
+all who enjoy the friendship of Jefferson Davis love him as Jonathan did
+David.</p>
+
+<p>Several weeks without notable incident were devoted to instruction,
+especially in marching, the only military quality for which Southern
+troops had no aptitude. Owing to the good traditions left by my
+predecessor, Walker, and the zeal of officers and men, the brigade made
+great progress.</p>
+
+<p>With the army at this time was a battalion of three companies from
+Louisiana, commanded by Major Wheat. These detached companies had been
+thrown together previous to the fight at Manassas, where Wheat was
+severely wounded. The strongest of the three, and giving character to
+all, was called the "Tigers." Recruited on the levee and in the alleys
+of New Orleans, the men might have come out of "Alsatia," where they
+would have been worthy subjects of that illustrious potentate, "Duke
+Hildebrod." The captain, who had succeeded to the immediate command of
+these worthies on the advancement of Wheat, enjoying the luxury of many
+aliases, called himself White, perhaps out of respect for the purity of
+the patriotic garb lately assumed. So villainous was the reputation of
+this battalion that every commander desired to be rid of it; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+General Johnston assigned it to me, despite my efforts to decline the
+honor of such society. He promised, however, to sustain me in any
+measures to enforce discipline, and but a few hours elapsed before the
+fulfillment of the promise was exacted. For some disorder after tattoo,
+several "Tigers" were arrested and placed in charge of the brigade
+guard. Their comrades attempted to force the guard and release them. The
+attempt failed, and two ringleaders were captured and put in irons for
+the night. On the ensuing morning an order for a general court-martial
+was obtained from army headquarters, and the court met at 10 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> The
+prisoners were found guilty, and sentenced to be shot at sunset. I
+ordered the "firing party" to be detailed from their own company; but
+Wheat and his officers begged to be spared this hard duty, fearing that
+the "Tigers" would refuse to fire on their comrades. I insisted for the
+sake of the example, and pointed out the serious consequences of
+disobedience by their men. The brigade, under arms, was marched out; and
+as the news had spread, many thousands from other commands flocked to
+witness the scene. The firing party, ten "Tigers," was drawn up fifteen
+paces from the prisoners, the brigade provost gave the command to fire,
+and the unhappy men fell dead without a struggle. This account is given
+because it was the first military execution in the Army of Northern
+Virginia; and punishment, so closely following offense, produced a
+marked effect. But Major "Bob" Wheat deserves an extended notice.</p>
+
+<p>In the early summer of 1846, after the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca
+de la Palma, the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor lay
+near the town of Matamoros. Visiting the hospital of a recently joined
+volunteer corps from the States, I remarked a bright-eyed youth of some
+nineteen years, wan with disease, but cheery withal. The interest he
+inspired led to his removal to army headquarters, where he soon
+recovered health and became a pet. This was Bob Wheat, son of an
+Episcopal clergyman, who had left school to come to the war. He next
+went to Cuba with Lopez, was wounded and captured, but escaped the
+garrote to follow Walker to Nicaragua. Ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>hausting the capacities of
+South American patriots to <i>pronounce</i>, he quitted their society in
+disgust, and joined Garibaldi in Italy, whence his keen scent of combat
+summoned him home in convenient time to receive a bullet at Manassas.
+The most complete Dugald Dalgetty possible, he had "all the defects of
+the good qualities" of that doughty warrior.</p>
+
+<p>Some months after the time of which I am writing, a body of Federal
+horse was captured in the valley of Virginia. The colonel commanding,
+who had been dismounted in the fray, approached me. A stalwart man, with
+huge mustaches, cavalry boots adorned with spurs worthy of a
+<i>caballero</i>, slouched hat, and plume, he strode along with the
+nonchalant air of one who had wooed Dame Fortune too long to be cast
+down by her frowns. Suddenly Major Wheat, near by, sprang from his horse
+with a cry of "Percy! old boy!" "Why, Bob!" was echoed back, and a warm
+embrace was exchanged. Colonel Percy Wyndham, an Englishman in the
+Federal service, had last parted from Wheat in Italy, or some other
+country where the pleasant business of killing was going on, and now
+fraternized with his friend in the manner described.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Wheat! A month later, and he slept his last sleep on the bloody
+field of Cold Harbor. He lies there in a soldier's grave. Gallant
+spirit! let us hope that his readiness to die for his cause has made
+"the scarlet of his sins like unto wool."</p>
+
+<p>As the autumn of the year 1861 passed away, the question of army
+organization pressed for solution, while divergent opinions were held by
+the Government at Richmond and General Johnston. The latter sent me to
+President Davis to explain his views and urge their adoption. My mission
+met with no success; but in discharging it, I was made aware of the
+estrangement growing up between these eminent persons, which
+subsequently became "the spring of woes unnumbered." An earnest effort
+made by me to remove the cloud, then "no greater than a man's hand,"
+failed; though the elevation of character of the two men, which made
+them listen patiently to my appeals, justified hope. Time but served to
+widen the breach. Without the knowledge and despite the wishes of
+General Johnston, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> descendants of the ancient dwellers in the cave
+of Adullam gathered themselves behind his shield, and shot their arrows
+at President Davis and his advisers, weakening the influence of the head
+of the cause for which all were struggling.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately after the birth of the Confederacy, a resolution was adopted
+by the "Provisional Congress" declaring that military and naval
+officers, resigning the service of the United States Government to enter
+that of the Confederate, would preserve their relative rank. Later on,
+the President was authorized to make five appointments to the grade of
+general. These appointments were announced after the battle of Manassas,
+and in the following order of seniority: Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney
+Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and G.T. Beauregard.</p>
+
+<p>Near the close of President Buchanan's administration, in 1860, died
+General Jesup, Quartermaster-General of the United States army; and
+Joseph E. Johnston, then lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, was appointed to
+the vacancy. Now the Quartermaster-General had the rank, pay, and
+emoluments of a brigadier-general; but the rank was staff, and by law
+this officer could not exercise command over troops unless by special
+assignment. When, in the spring of 1861, the officers in question
+entered the service of the Confederacy, Cooper had been Adjutant-General
+of the United States Army, with the rank of colonel; Albert Sidney
+Johnston, colonel and brigadier-general by brevet, and on duty as such;
+Lee, lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, senior to Joseph E. Johnston in the
+line before the latter's appointment above mentioned; Beauregard, major
+of engineers. In arranging the order of seniority of generals, President
+Davis held to the superiority of line to staff rank, while Joseph E.
+Johnston took the opposite view, and sincerely believed that injustice
+was done him.</p>
+
+<p>After the grave and wondrous scenes through which we have passed, all
+this seems like "a tempest in a tea-pot;" but it had much influence and
+deserves attention.</p>
+
+<p>General Beauregard, who about this time was transferred to the army in
+the West, commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> was also known to have
+grievances. Whatever their source, it could not have been <i>rank</i>; but it
+is due to this General&mdash;a gentleman of taste&mdash;to say that no utterances
+came from him. Indiscreet persons at Richmond, claiming the privilege
+and discharging the duty of friendship, gave tongue to loud and frequent
+plaints, and increased the confusion of the hour.</p>
+
+<p>As the year 1862 opened, and the time for active movements drew near,
+weighty cares attended the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
+The folly of accepting regiments for the short period of twelve months,
+to which allusion has been made, was now apparent. Having taken service
+in the spring of 1861, the time of many of the troops would expire just
+as the Federal host in their front might be expected to advance. A large
+majority of the men were willing to re&euml;nlist, provided that they could
+first go home to arrange private affairs; and fortunately, the fearful
+condition of the country permitted the granting of furloughs on a large
+scale. Except on a few pikes, movements were impossible, and an army
+could no more have marched across country than across Chesapeake bay.
+Closet warriors in cozy studies, with smooth macadamized roadways before
+their doors, sneer at the idea of military movements being arrested by
+mud. I apprehend that these gentlemen have never served in a bad country
+during the rainy season, and are ignorant of the fact that, in his
+Russian campaign, the elements proved too strong for the genius of
+Napoleon.</p>
+
+<p>General Johnston met the difficulties of his position with great
+coolness, tact, and judgment; but his burden was by no means lightened
+by the interference of certain politicians at Richmond. These were
+perhaps inflamed by the success that had attended the tactical efforts
+of their Washington peers. At all events, they now threw themselves upon
+military questions with much ardor. Their leader was Alexander H.
+Stephens of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confederacy, who is entitled
+to a place by himself.</p>
+
+<p>Like the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke, Mr. Stephens has an acute
+intellect attached to a frail and meagre body. As was said by the witty
+Canon of St. Paul's of Francis Jeffrey,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> his mind is in a state of
+indecent exposure. A trained and skillful politician, he was for many
+years before the war returned to the United States House of
+Representatives from the district in which he resides, and his "device"
+seems always to have been, "Fiat justitia, ruat c&oelig;lum." When, in
+December, 1849, the Congress assembled, there was a Whig administration,
+and the same party had a small majority in the lower House, of which Mr.
+Stephens, an ardent Whig, was a member; but he could not see his way to
+support his party's candidate for Speaker, and this inability to find a
+road, plain mayhap to weaker organs, secured the control of the House to
+his political adversaries. During the exciting period preceding
+"secession" Mr. Stephens held and avowed moderate opinions; but, swept
+along by the resistless torrent surrounding him, he discovered and
+proclaimed that "slavery was the corner-stone of the confederacy." In
+the strong vernacular of the West, this was "rather piling the agony" on
+the humanitarians, whose sympathies were not much quickened toward us
+thereby. As the struggle progressed, Mr. Stephens, with all the
+impartiality of an equity judge, marked many of the virtues of the
+Government north of the Potomac, and all the vices of that on his own
+side of the river. Regarding the military questions in hand he
+entertained and publicly expressed original opinions, which I will
+attempt to convey as accurately as possible. The war was for principles
+and rights, and it was in defense of these, as well as of their
+property, that the people had taken up arms. They could always be relied
+on when a battle was imminent; but, when no fighting was to be done,
+they had best be at home attending to their families and interests. As
+their intelligence was equal to their patriotism, they were as capable
+of judging of the necessity of their presence with the colors as the
+commanders of armies, who were but professional soldiers fighting for
+rank and pay, and most of them without property in the South. It may be
+observed that such opinions are more comfortably cherished by political
+gentlemen, two hundred miles away, than by commanders immediately in
+front of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>In July, 1865, two months after the close of the great war,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> I visited
+Washington in the hope of effecting some change in the condition of
+Jefferson Davis, then ill and a prisoner at Fortress Monroe; and this
+visit was protracted to November before its object was accomplished. In
+the latter part of October of the same year Mr. Stephens came to
+Washington, where he was the object of much attention on the part of
+people controlling the Congress and the country. Desiring his
+co&ouml;peration in behalf of Mr. Davis, I sought and found him sitting near
+a fire (for he is of a chilly nature), smoking his pipe. He heard me in
+severe politeness, and, without unnecessary expenditure of enthusiasm,
+promised his assistance. Since the war Mr. Stephens has again found a
+seat in the Congress, where, unlike the rebel brigadiers, his presence
+is not a rock of offense to the loyal mind.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The foregoing sketch of Mr. Stephens appeared substantially
+in the "North American Review," but the date of the interview in
+Washington was not stated. Thereupon Mr. Stephens, in print, seized on
+July, and declared that, as he was a prisoner in Fort Warren during that
+month, the interview was a "Munchausenism." He also disputes the
+correctness of the opinions concerning military matters ascribed to him,
+although scores of his associates at Richmond will attest it. Again, he
+assumes the non-existence of twelve-months' regiments because some took
+service for the war, etc.
+</p><p>
+Like other ills, feeble health has its compensations, especially for
+those who unite restless vanity and ambition to a feminine desire for
+sympathy. It has been much the habit of Mr. Stephens to date
+controversial epistles from "a sick chamber," as do ladies in a delicate
+situation. A diplomatist of the last century, the Chevalier D'Eon, by
+usurping the privileges of the opposite sex, inspired grave doubts
+concerning his own.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<p  class='center'>OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.</p>
+
+
+<p>Pursuing "the even tenor of his way," Johnston rapidly increased the
+efficiency of his army. Furloughed men returned in large numbers before
+their leaves had terminated, many bringing new recruits with them.
+Divisions were formed, and officers selected to command them. Some
+islands of dry land appeared amid the sea of mud, when the movement of
+the Federal forces in our front changed the theatre of war and opened
+the important campaign of 1862.</p>
+
+<p>When overtaken by unexpected calamity African tribes destroy the fetich
+previously worshiped, and with much noise seek some new idol in which
+they can incarnate their vanities and hopes. Stunned by the rout at
+Manassas, the North pulled down an old veteran, Scott, and his
+lieutenant, McDowell, and set up McClellan, who caught the public eye at
+the moment by reason of some minor successes in Western Virginia, where
+the Confederate General, Robert Garnett, was killed. It is but fair to
+admit that the South had not emulated the wisdom of Solomon nor the
+modesty of Godolphin. The capture of Fort Sumter, with its garrison of
+less than a hundred men, was hardly Gibraltar; yet it would put the
+grandiloquent hidalgoes of Spain on their mettle to make more clatter
+over the downfall of the cross of St. George from that historic rock.
+McClellan was the young Napoleon, the very god of war in his latest
+avatar. While this was absurd, and in the end injurious to McClellan, it
+was of service to his Government; for it strengthened his loins to the
+task before him&mdash;a task demanding the highest order of ability and the
+influence of a demigod. A great war was to be carried on, and a great
+army, the most complex of machines, was necessary.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The cardinal principles on which the art of war is based are few and
+unchangeable, resembling in this the code of morality; but their
+application varies as the theatre of the war, the genius and temper of
+the people engaged, and the kind of arms employed. The United States had
+never possessed a great army. The entire force engaged in the war
+against Mexico would scarcely have made a respectable <i>corps d'arm&eacute;e</i>,
+and to study the organization of great armies and campaigns a recurrence
+to the Napoleonic era was necessary. The Governments of Europe for a
+half century had been improving armaments, and changing the tactical
+unit of formation and man&oelig;uvre to correspond to such improvement. The
+Italian campaign of Louis Napoleon established some advance in field
+artillery, but the supreme importance of breech-loaders was not admitted
+until Sadowa, in 1866. All this must be considered in determining the
+value of McClellan's work. Taking the raw material intrusted to him, he
+converted it into a great military machine, complete in all its parts,
+fitted for its intended purpose. Moreover, he resisted the natural
+impatience of his Government and people, and the follies of politicians
+and newspapers, and for months refused to put his machine at work before
+all its delicate adjustments were perfected. Thus, much in its own
+despite, the North obtained armies and the foundation of success. The
+correctness of the system adopted by McClellan proved equal to all
+emergencies, and remained unchanged until the close of the war.
+Disappointed in his hands, and suffering painful defeats in those of his
+immediate successors, the "Army of the Potomac" always recovered, showed
+itself a vital organism, and finally triumphed. McClellan organized
+victory for his section, and those who deem the preservation of the
+"Union" the first of earthly duties should not cease to do him
+reverence.</p>
+
+<p>I have here written of McClellan, not as a leader, but an organizer of
+armies; and as such he deserves to rank with the Von Moltkes,
+Scharnhorsts, and Louvois of history.</p>
+
+<p>Constant struggle against the fatal interference of politicians with his
+military plans and duties separated McClellan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> from the civil department
+of his Government, and led him to adopt a policy of his own. The
+military road to Richmond, and the only one as events proved, was by the
+peninsula and the James river, and it was his duty so to advise. He
+insisted, and had his way; but not for long. A little of that
+selfishness which serves lower intelligences as an instinct of
+self-preservation would have shown him that his most dangerous enemies
+were not in his front. The Administration at Washington had to deal with
+a people blind with rage, an ignorant and meddlesome Congress, and a
+wolfish horde of place-hunters. A sudden dash of the Confederates on the
+capital might change the attitude of foreign powers. These political
+considerations weighed heavily at the seat of government, but were of
+small moment to the military commander. In a conflict between civil
+policy and military strategy, the latter must yield. The jealousy
+manifested by the Venetian and Dutch republics toward their commanders
+has often been criticised; but it should be remembered that they kept
+the military in strict subjection to the civil power; and when they were
+overthrown, it was by foreign invasion, not by military usurpation.
+Their annals afford no example of the declaration by their generals that
+the special purpose of republican armies is to preserve civil order and
+enforce civil law.</p>
+
+<p>After the battle of Chickamauga, in 1863, General Grant was promoted to
+the command of the armies of the United States, and called to
+Washington. In a conference between him, President Lincoln, and
+Secretary Stanton, the approaching campaign in Virginia was discussed.
+Grant said that the advance on Richmond should be made by the James
+river. It was replied that the Government required the interposition of
+an army between Lee and Washington, and could not consent at that late
+day to the adoption of a plan which would be taken by the public as a
+confession of previous error. Grant observed that he was indifferent as
+to routes; but if the Government preferred its own, so often tried, to
+the one he suggested, it must be prepared for the additional loss of a
+hundred thousand men. The men were promised, Grant accepted the
+governmental plan of campaign,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> and was supported to the end. The above
+came to me well authenticated, and I have no doubt of its
+correctness.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+
+
+<p>During his operations on the peninsula and near Richmond<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>, McClellan
+complained much of want of support; but the constancy with which
+President Lincoln adhered to him was, under the circumstances,
+surprising. He had drifted away from the dominant Washington sentiment,
+and alienated the sympathies of his Government. His fall was inevitable;
+the affection of the army but hastened it; even victory could not save
+him. He adopted the habit of saying, "My army," "My soldiers." Such
+phraseology may be employed by a Frederick or Napoleon, sovereigns as
+well as generals; but officers command the armies of their governments.
+General McClellan is an upright, patriotic man, incapable of
+wrong-doing, and has a high standard of morality, to which he lives more
+closely than most men do to a lower one; but it is to be remembered that
+the examples of the good are temptations and opportunities to the
+unscrupulous. The habit of thought underlying such language, or soon
+engendered by its use, has made Mexico and the South American republics
+the wonder and scorn of civilization.</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing account of McClellan's downfall is deemed pertinent
+because he was the central figure in the Northern field, and laid the
+foundation of Northern success. Above all, he and a gallant band of
+officers supporting him impressed a generous, chivalric spirit on the
+war, which soon faded away; and the future historian, in recounting some
+later operations, will doubt if he is dealing with campaigns of generals
+or expeditions of brigands.</p>
+
+<p>The intention of McClellan to transfer his base from Washington to some
+point farther south was known to Johnston, but there was doubt whether
+Fredericksburg or the Peninsula would be selected. To meet either
+contingency, Johnston in the spring of 1862 moved his army from Manassas
+to the vicinity of Orange Court House, where he was within easy reach of
+both Fredericksburg and Richmond. The movement was executed with the
+quiet precision characteristic of Johnston, unrivaled as a master of
+logistics.</p>
+
+<p>I was ordered to withdraw the infantry pickets from the lower Bull Run
+after nightfall, and move on a road through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> county of Prince
+William, east of the line of railway from Manassas to Orange. This road
+was tough and heavy, and crossed by frequent streams, affluents of the
+neighboring Potomac. These furnished occupation and instruction to a
+small body of pioneers, recently organized, while the difficulties of
+the road drew heavily on the marching capacity&mdash;or rather incapacity&mdash;of
+the men. Straggling was then, and continued throughout to be, the vice
+of Southern armies. The climate of the South was not favorable to
+pedestrian exercise, and, centaur-like, its inhabitants, from infancy to
+old age, passed their lives on horseback, seldom walking the most
+insignificant distance. When brought into the field, the men were as
+ignorant of the art of marching as babes, and required for their
+instruction the same patient, unwearied attention. On this and
+subsequent marches frequent halts were made, to enable stragglers to
+close up; and I set the example to mounted officers of riding to the
+rear of the column, to encourage the weary by relieving them of their
+arms, and occasionally giving a footsore fellow a cast on my horse. The
+men appreciated this care and attention, followed advice as to the
+fitting of their shoes, cold bathing of feet, and healing of abrasions,
+and soon held it a disgrace to fall out of ranks. Before a month had
+passed the brigade learned how to march, and, in the Valley with
+Jackson, covered long distances without leaving a straggler behind.
+Indeed, in several instances it emulated the achievement of Crauford's
+"Light Brigade," whose wonderful march to join Wellington at Talavera
+remains the stoutest feat of modern soldiership.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the Rappahannock, I found the railway bridge floored for the
+passage of troops and trains. The army, with the exception of Ewell's
+division, composed of Elzey's, Trimball's, and my brigades, had passed
+the Rapidan, and was lying around Orange Court House, where General
+Johnston had his headquarters. Some horse, under Stuart, remained north
+of the Rappahannock, toward Manassas.</p>
+
+<p>For the first time Ewell had his division together and under his
+immediate command; and as we remained for many days between the rivers,
+I had abundant opportunities for studying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> the original character of
+"Dick Ewell." We had known each other for many years, but now our
+friendship and intercourse became close and constant. Graduated from
+West Point in 1840, Ewell joined the 1st regiment of United States
+dragoons, and, saving the Mexican war, in which he served with such
+distinction as a young cavalryman could gain, his whole military life
+had been passed on the plains, where, as he often asserted, he had
+learned all about commanding fifty United States dragoons, and forgotten
+everything else. In this he did himself injustice, as his career proves;
+but he was of a singular modesty. Bright, prominent eyes, a bomb-shaped,
+bald head, and a nose like that of Francis of Valois, gave him a
+striking resemblance to a woodcock; and this was increased by a
+bird-like habit of putting his head on one side to utter his quaint
+speeches. He fancied that he had some mysterious internal malady, and
+would eat nothing but frumenty, a preparation of wheat; and his
+plaintive way of talking of his disease, as if he were some one else,
+was droll in the extreme. His nervousness prevented him from taking
+regular sleep, and he passed nights curled around a camp-stool, in
+positions to dislocate an ordinary person's joints and drive the
+"caoutchouc man" to despair. On such occasions, after long silence, he
+would suddenly direct his eyes and nose toward me with "General Taylor!
+What do you suppose President Davis made me a major-general
+for?"&mdash;beginning with a sharp accent and ending with a gentle lisp.
+Superbly mounted, he was the boldest of horsemen, invariably leaving the
+roads to take timber and water. No follower of the "Pytchley" or "Quorn"
+could have lived with him across country. With a fine tactical eye on
+the battle field, he was never content with his own plan until he had
+secured the approval of another's judgment, and chafed under the
+restraint of command, preparing to fight with the skirmish line. On two
+occasions in the Valley, during the temporary absence of Jackson from
+the front, Ewell summoned me to his side, and immediately rushed forward
+among the skirmishers, where some sharp work was going on. Having
+refreshed himself, he returned with the hope that "old Jackson would not
+catch him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> at it." He always spoke of Jackson, several years his junior,
+as "old," and told me in confidence that he admired his genius, but was
+certain of his lunacy, and that he never saw one of Jackson's couriers
+approach without expecting an order to assault the north pole.</p>
+
+<p>Later, after he had heard Jackson seriously declare that he never ate
+pepper because it produced a weakness in his left leg, he was confirmed
+in this opinion. With all his oddities, perhaps in some measure because
+of them, Ewell was adored by officers and men.</p>
+
+<p>Orders from headquarters directed all surplus provisions, in the country
+between the Rappahannock and Rapidan, to be sent south of the latter
+stream. Executing these orders strictly, as we daily expected to rejoin
+the army, the division began to be straitened for supplies. The
+commissary of my brigade, Major Davis, was the very pearl of
+commissaries. Indefatigable in discharge of duty, he had as fine a nose
+for bullocks and bacon as Major Monsoon for sherry. The commissaries of
+the other brigades were less efficient, and for some days drew rations
+from Davis; but it soon became my duty to take care of my own command,
+and General Ewell's attention was called to the subject. The General
+thought that it was impossible so rich a country could be exhausted, and
+sallied forth on a cattle hunt himself. Late in the day he returned with
+a bull, jaded as was he of Ballyraggan after he had been goaded to the
+summit of that classic pass, and venerable enough to have fertilized the
+milky mothers of the herds of our early Presidents, whose former estates
+lie in this vicinity. With a triumphant air Ewell showed me his plunder.
+I observed that the bull was a most respectable animal, but would hardly
+afford much subsistence to eight thousand men. "Ah! I was thinking of my
+fifty dragoons," replied the General. The joke spread, and doubtless
+furnished sauce for the happy few to whose lot the bull fell.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, the cavalry force in our front had been withdrawn, and the
+Federal pickets made their appearance on the north bank of the
+Rappahannock, occasionally exchanging a shot with ours across the
+stream. This served to enliven us for a day<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> or two, and kept Ewell
+busy, as he always feared lest some one would get under fire before him.
+At length a fire of artillery and small arms was opened from the north
+end of the bridge, near the south end of which my brigade was camped.
+Ordering the command to move out, I galloped down to the river, where I
+found Ewell assisting with his own hands to place some guns in position.
+The affair was over in a few minutes. The enemy had quietly run up two
+pieces of artillery, supported by dismounted horsemen, and opened fire
+on my camp; but the promptness with which the men had moved prevented
+loss, saving one or two brush huts, and a few mess pans.</p>
+
+<p>The bridge had previously been prepared for burning, Ewell's orders
+being to destroy all railway bridges behind him, to prevent the use of
+the rails by the Federals. During the little <i>alerte</i> mentioned, I saw
+smoke rising from the bridge, which was soon a mass of flame. Now, this
+was the only bridge for some miles up or down; and though the river was
+fordable at many points, the fords were deep and impassable after rains.
+Its premature destruction not only prevented us from scouting and
+foraging on the north bank, but gave notice to the enemy of our purpose
+to abandon the country. Annoyed, and doubtless expressing the feeling in
+my countenance, as I watched the flames, Ewell, after a long silence,
+said, "You don't like it." Whereupon I related the following from
+Bugeaud's "Maxims": At the close of the Napoleonic wars, Bugeaud, a
+young colonel, commanded a French regiment on the Swiss frontier. A
+stream spanned by a bridge, but fordable above and below, separated him
+from an Austrian force of four times his strength. He first determined
+to destroy the bridge, but reflected that if left it might tempt the
+enemy, whenever he moved, to neglect the fords. Accordingly, he masked
+his regiment as near his end of the bridge as the topography of the
+ground permitted, and waited. The Austrians moved by the bridge, and
+Bugeaud, seizing the moment, fell upon them in the act of crossing and
+destroyed the entire force. Moral: 'Tis easier to watch and defend one
+bridge than many miles of fordable water. "Why did you keep the story
+until the bridge was burnt?" exclaimed Ewell. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>Subsequently, alleging
+that he had small opportunity for study after leaving West Point, he
+drew from me whatever some reading and a good memory could supply; but
+his shrewd remarks changed many erroneous opinions I had formed, and our
+"talks" were of more value to me than to him.</p>
+
+<p>As our next move, hourly expected, would take us beyond the reach of
+railways, I here reduced the brigade to light marching order. My own
+kit, consisting of a change of underwear and a tent "fly," could be
+carried on my horse. A fly can be put up in a moment, and by stopping
+the weather end with boughs a comfortable hut is made. The men carried
+each his blanket, an extra shirt and drawers, two pairs of socks
+(woolen), and a pair of extra shoes. These, with his arm and ammunition,
+were a sufficient load for strong marching. Tents, especially in a
+wooded country, are not only a nuisance, involving much transportation,
+the bane of armies, but are detrimental to health. In cool weather they
+are certain to be tightly closed, and the number of men occupying them
+breeds a foul atmosphere. The rapidity with which men learn to shelter
+themselves, and their ingenuity in accomplishing it under unfavorable
+conditions, are surprising. My people grumbled no little at being
+"stripped", but soon admitted that they were better for it, and came to
+despise useless <i>impedimenta</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I early adopted two customs, and adhered to them throughout the war. The
+first was to examine at every halt the adjacent roads and paths, their
+direction and condition; distances of nearest towns and cross-roads; the
+country, its capacity to furnish supplies, as well as general
+topography, etc., all of which was embodied in a rude sketch, with notes
+to impress it on memory. The second was to imagine while on the march an
+enemy before me to be attacked, or to be received in my position, and
+make the necessary dispositions for either contingency. My imaginary
+man&oelig;uvres were sad blunders, but I corrected them by experience drawn
+from actual battles, and can safely affirm that such slight success as I
+had in command was due to these customs. Assuredly, a knowledge of
+details will not make a great general; but there can be no greatness in
+war without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> such knowledge, for genius is but a capacity to grasp and
+apply details.</p>
+
+<p>These observations are not for the "heaven-born," who from their closets
+scan with eagle glance fields of battle, whose mighty pens slay their
+thousands and their tens of thousands, and in whose "Serbonian"
+inkstands "armies whole" disappear; but it is hoped that they may prove
+useful to the young adopting the profession of arms, who may feel
+assured that the details of the art of war afford "scope and verge" for
+the employment of all their faculties. Conscientious study will not
+perhaps make them great, but it will make them respectable; and when the
+responsibility of command comes, they will not disgrace their flag,
+injure their cause, nor murder their men.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Some of the early pages of this work were published in the
+number of the "North American Review" for January, 1878, including the
+above account of a conference at Washington between President Lincoln,
+Secretary Stanton, and General Grant. In the "New York Herald" of May
+27, 1878, appears an interview with General Grant, in which the latter
+says, "The whole story is a fabrication, and whoever vouched for it to
+General Taylor vouched for a fiction." General Halleck, who was at the
+time in question Chief of Staff at the war office, related the story of
+this conference to me in New Orleans, where he was on a visit from
+Louisville, Ky., then his headquarters. Several years later General
+Joseph E. Johnston gave me the same account, which he had from another
+officer of the United States Army, also at the time in the war office. A
+letter from General Johnston, confirming the accuracy of my relation,
+has been published. Since, I have received a letter, dated New York,
+June 6, 1878, wherein the writer states that in Washington, in 1868 or
+1869, he had an account of this conference, as I give it, from General
+John A. Logan of Illinois. When calling for re&euml;nforcements, after his
+losses in the Wilderness, General Grant reminded Stanton of his
+opposition to the land route in their conference, but added that "he
+would now fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." The writer
+of this communication is quite unknown to me, but manifests his
+sincerity by suggesting that I should write to General Logan, who, he
+doubts not, will confirm his statement. I have not so written, because I
+have no acquaintance with General Logan, and no desire to press the
+matter further. From many sources comes evidence that <i>a conference</i> was
+held, which General Grant seems to deny. Moreover, I cannot forget that
+in one notable instance a question of fact was raised against General
+Grant, with much burden of evidence; and while declaiming any wish or
+intent of entering on another, one may hold in all charity that General
+Grant's memory may be as treacherous about <i>facts</i> as mine proved about
+a <i>date</i>, when, in a letter to the "Herald," I stupidly gave two years
+after General Halleck's death as the time of his conversation with me.
+These considerations have determined me to let the account of the
+conference stand as originally written.</p></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<p  class='center'>THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN.</p>
+
+
+<p>At length the expected order to march came, and we moved south to
+Gordonsville. In one of his letters to Madame du Deffand, Horace Walpole
+writes of the English spring as "coming in with its accustomed
+severity," and such was our experience of a Virginian spring; or rather,
+it may be said that winter returned with renewed energy, and we had for
+several days snow, sleet, rain, and all possible abominations in the way
+of weather. Arrived at Gordonsville, whence the army had departed for
+the Peninsula, we met orders to join Jackson in the Valley, and marched
+thither by Swift Run "Gap"&mdash;the local name for mountain passes. Swift
+Run, an affluent of the Rapidan, has its source in this gap. The orders
+mentioned were the last received from General Joseph E. Johnston, from
+whom subsequent events separated me until the close of the war; and
+occasion is thus furnished for the expression of opinion of his
+character and services.</p>
+
+<p>In the full vigor of mature manhood, erect, alert, quick, and decisive of
+speech, General Johnston was the beau ideal of a soldier. Without the least
+proneness to blandishments, he gained and held the affection and confidence
+of his men. Brave and impetuous in action, he had been often wounded, and
+no officer of the general staff of the old United States army had seen so
+much actual service with troops. During the Mexican war he was permitted to
+take command of a voltigeur regiment, and rendered brilliant service. In
+1854 he resigned from the engineers to accept the lieutenant-colonelcy of
+a cavalry regiment. When the civil war became  certain, a Virginian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> by
+birth, he left the position of Quartermaster-General of the United States,
+and offered his sword to the Confederacy. To the East, as his great
+namesake Albert Sidney to the West, he was "the rose and fair expectancy"
+of our cause; and his timely march from Patterson's front in the Valley to
+assist Beauregard at Manassas confirmed public opinion of his capacity. Yet
+he cannot be said to have proved a fortunate commander. Leaving out of view
+Bentonville and the closing scenes in North Carolina, which were rather the
+spasmodic efforts of despair than regular military movements, General
+Johnston's "offensive" must be limited to Seven Pines or Fair Oaks. Here
+his plan was well considered and singularly favored of fortune. Some two
+corps of McClellan's army were posted on the southwest or Richmond side
+of the Chickahominy, and a sudden rise of that stream swept away bridges
+and overflowed the adjacent lowlands, cutting off these corps from their
+supports. They ought to have been crushed, but Johnston fell, severely
+wounded; upon which confusion ensued, and no results of importance were
+attained. Official reports fail, most unwisely, to fix the
+responsibility of the failure, and I do not desire to add to the gossip
+prevailing then and since.</p>
+
+<p>From his own account of the war we can gather that Johnston regrets he
+did not fight on the Oostenaula, after Polk had joined him. It appears
+that in a council two of his three corps commanders, Polk, Hardee, and
+Hood, were opposed to fighting there; but to call a council at all was a
+weakness not to be expected of a general of Johnston's ability and
+self-reliant nature.</p>
+
+<p>I have written of him as a master of logistics, and his skill in
+handling troops was great. As a retreat, the precision and coolness of
+his movements during the Georgia campaign would have enhanced the
+reputation of Moreau; but it never seems to have occurred to him to
+assume the offensive during the many turning movements of his flanks,
+movements involving time and distance. Dispassionate reflection would
+have brought him to the conclusion that Lee was even more overweighted
+in Virginia than he in Georgia; that his Government had given him every
+available man, only leaving small garrisons at Wilming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>ton, Charleston,
+Savannah, and Mobile; that Forrest's command in Mississippi, operating
+on Sherman's communications, was virtually doing his work, while it was
+idle to expect assistance from the trans-Mississippi region. Certainly,
+no more egregious blunder was possible than that of relieving him from
+command in front of Atlanta. If he intended to fight there, he was
+entitled to execute his plan. Had he abandoned Atlanta without a
+struggle, his removal would have met the approval of the army and
+public, an approval which, under the circumstances of its action, the
+Richmond Government failed to receive.</p>
+
+<p>I am persuaded that General Johnston's mind was so jaundiced by the
+unfortunate disagreement with President Davis, to which allusion has
+been made in an earlier part of these reminiscences, as to seriously
+cloud his judgment and impair his usefulness. He sincerely believed
+himself the Esau of the Government, grudgingly fed on bitter herbs,
+while a favored Jacob enjoyed the flesh-pots. Having known him
+intimately for many years, having served under his command and studied
+his methods, I feel confident that his great abilities under happier
+conditions would have distinctly modified, if not changed, the current
+of events. Destiny willed that Davis and Johnston should be brought into
+collision, and the breach, once made, was never repaired. Each misjudged
+the other to the end.</p>
+
+<p>Ewell's division reached the western base of Swift Run Gap on a lovely
+spring evening, April 30, 1862, and in crossing the Blue Ridge seemed to
+have left winter and its rigors behind. Jackson, whom we moved to join,
+had suddenly that morning marched toward McDowell, some eighty miles
+west, where, after uniting with a force under General Edward Johnson, he
+defeated the Federal general Milroy. Some days later he as suddenly
+returned. Meanwhile we were ordered to remain in camp on the Shenandoah
+near Conrad's store, at which place a bridge spanned the stream.</p>
+
+<p>The great Valley of Virginia was before us in all its beauty. Fields of
+wheat spread far and wide, interspersed with woodlands, bright in their
+robes of tender green. Wherever appro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>priate sites existed, quaint old
+mills, with turning wheels, were busily grinding the previous year's
+harvest; and grove and eminence showed comfortable homesteads. The soft
+vernal influence shed a languid grace over the scene. The theatre of war
+in this region was from Staunton to the Potomac, one hundred and twenty
+miles, with an average width of some twenty-five miles; and the Blue
+Ridge and Alleghanies bounded it east and west. Drained by the
+Shenandoah with its numerous affluents, the surface was nowhere flat,
+but a succession of graceful swells, occasionally rising into abrupt
+hills. Resting on limestone, the soil was productive, especially of
+wheat, and the underlying rock furnished abundant metal for the
+construction of roads. Railway communication was limited to the Virginia
+Central, which entered the Valley by a tunnel east of Staunton and
+passed westward through that town; to the Manassas Gap, which traversed
+the Blue Ridge at the pass of that name and ended at Strasburg; and to
+the Winchester and Harper's Ferry, thirty miles long. The first extended
+to Richmond by Charlottesville and Gordonsville, crossing at the former
+place the line from Washington and Alexandria to Lynchburg; the second
+connected Strasburg and Front Royal, in the Valley, with the same line
+at Manassas Junction; and the last united with the Baltimore and Ohio at
+Harper's Ferry. Frequent passes or gaps in the mountains, through which
+wagon roads had been constructed, afforded easy access from east and
+west; and pikes were excellent, though unmetaled roads became heavy
+after rains.</p>
+
+<p>But the glory of the Valley is Massanutten. Rising abruptly from the
+plain near Harrisonburg, twenty-five miles north of Staunton, this
+lovely mountain extends fifty miles, and as suddenly ends near
+Strasburg. Parallel with the Blue Ridge, and of equal height, its sharp
+peaks have a bolder and more picturesque aspect, while the abruptness of
+its slopes gives the appearance of greater altitude. Midway of
+Massanutten, a gap with good road affords communication between
+Newmarket and Luray. The eastern or Luray valley, much narrower than the
+one west of Massanutten, is drained by the east branch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> of the
+Shenandoah, which is joined at Front Royal, near the northern end of the
+mountain, by its western affluent, whence the united waters flow north,
+at the base of the Blue Ridge, to meet the Potomac at Harper's Ferry.</p>
+
+<p>The inhabitants of this favored region were worthy of their inheritance.
+The north and south were peopled by scions of old colonial families, and
+the proud names of the "Old Dominion" abounded. In the central counties
+of Rockingham and Shenandoah were many descendants of German settlers.
+These were thrifty, substantial farmers, and, like their kinsmen of
+Pennsylvania, expressed their opulence in huge barns and fat cattle. The
+devotion of all to the Southern cause was wonderful. Jackson, a Valley
+man by reason of his residence at Lexington, south of Staunton, was
+their hero and idol. The women sent husbands, sons, lovers, to battle as
+cheerfully as to marriage feasts. No oppression, no destitution could
+abate their zeal. Upon a march I was accosted by two elderly sisters,
+who told me they had secreted a large quantity of bacon in a well on
+their estate, hard by. Federals had been in possession of the country,
+and, fearing the indiscretion of their slaves, they had done the work at
+night with their own hands, and now desired to <i>give</i> the meat to their
+people. Wives and daughters of millers, whose husbands and brothers were
+in arms, worked the mills night and day to furnish flour to their
+soldiers. To the last, women would go distances to carry the modicum of
+food between themselves and starvation to a suffering Confederate.
+Should the sons of Virginia ever commit dishonorable acts, grim indeed
+will be their reception on the further shores of Styx. They can expect
+no recognition from the mothers who bore them.</p>
+
+<p>Ere the war closed, the Valley was ravaged with a cruelty surpassing
+that inflicted on the Palatinate two hundred years ago. That foul deed
+smirched the fame of Louvois and Turenne, and public opinion, in what
+has been deemed a ruder age, forced an apology from the "Grand
+Monarque." Yet we have seen the official report of a Federal general
+wherein are recounted the many barns, mills, and other buildings
+destroyed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> concluding with the assertion that "a crow flying over the
+Valley must take rations with him." In the opinion of the admirers of
+the officer making this report, the achievement on which it is based
+ranks with Marengo. Moreover, this same officer, General Sheridan, many
+years after the close of the war, denounced several hundred thousands of
+his fellow citizens as "banditti," and solicited permission of his
+Government to deal with them as such. May we not well ask whether
+religion, education, science and art combined have lessened the
+brutality of man since the days of Wallenstein and Tilly?</p>
+
+<p>While in camp near Conrad's store, the 7th Louisiana, Colonel Hays, a
+crack regiment, on picket down stream, had a spirited affair, in which
+the enemy was driven with the loss of a score of prisoners. Shortly
+after, for convenience of supplies, I was directed to cross the river
+and camp some miles to the southwest. The command was in superb
+condition, and a four-gun battery from Bedford county, Virginia, Captain
+Bowyer, had recently been added to it. The four regiments, 6th, 7th,
+8th, and 9th Louisiana, would average above eight hundred bayonets. Of
+Wheat's battalion of "Tigers" and the 7th I have written. The 6th,
+Colonel Seymour, recruited in New Orleans, was composed of Irishmen,
+stout, hardy fellows, turbulent in camp and requiring a strong hand, but
+responding to kindness and justice, and ready to follow their officers
+to the death. The 9th, Colonel Stafford, was from North Louisiana.
+Planters or sons of planters, many of them men of fortune, soldiering
+was a hard task to which they only became reconciled by reflecting that
+it was "niddering" in gentlemen to assume voluntarily the discharge of
+duties and then shirk. The 8th, Colonel Kelly, was from the
+Attakapas&mdash;"Acadians," the race of which Longfellow sings in
+"Evangeline." A home-loving, simple people, few spoke English, fewer
+still had ever before moved ten miles from their natal <i>cabanas</i>; and
+the war to them was "a liberal education," as was the society of the
+lady of quality to honest Dick Steele. They had all the light gayety of
+the Gaul, and, after the manner of their ancestors, were born cooks. A
+capital regimental band accompanied them,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> and whenever weather and
+ground permitted, even after long marches, they would waltz and "polk"
+in couples with as much zest as if their arms encircled the supple
+waists of the C&eacute;lestines and M&eacute;lazies of their native Teche. The Valley
+soldiers were largely of the Presbyterian faith, and of a solemn, pious
+demeanor, and looked askant at the caperings of my Creoles, holding them
+to be "devices and snares."</p>
+
+<p>The brigade adjutant, Captain (afterward Colonel) Eustace Surget, who
+remained with me until the war closed, was from Mississippi, where he
+had large estates. Without the slightest military training, by study and
+zeal, he soon made himself an accomplished staff officer. Of singular
+coolness in battle, he never blundered, and, though much exposed, pulled
+through without a scratch. My aide, Lieutenant Hamilton, grandson of
+General Hamilton of South Carolina, was a cadet in his second year at
+West Point when war was declared, upon which he returned to his State&mdash;a
+gay, cheery lad, with all the pluck of his race.</p>
+
+<p>At nightfall of the second day in this camp, an order came from General
+Jackson to join him at Newmarket, twenty odd miles north; and it was
+stated that my division commander, Ewell, had been apprised of the
+order. Our position was near a pike leading south of west to
+Harrisonburg, whence, to gain Newmarket, the great Valley pike ran due
+north. All roads near our camp had been examined and sketched, and among
+them was a road running northwest over the southern foot-hills of
+Massanutten, and joining the Valley pike some distance to the north of
+Harrisonburg. It was called the Keazletown road, from a little German
+village on the flank of Massanutten; and as it was the hypothenuse of
+the triangle, and reported good except at two points, I decided to take
+it. That night a pioneer party was sent forward to light fires and
+repair the road for artillery and trains. Early dawn saw us in motion,
+with lovely weather, a fairish road, and men in high health and spirits.</p>
+
+<p>Later in the day a mounted officer was dispatched to report our approach
+and select a camp, which proved to be beyond Jackson's forces, then
+lying in the fields on both sides of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> pike. Over three thousand
+strong, neat in fresh clothing of gray with white gaiters, bands playing
+at the head of their regiments, not a straggler, but every man in his
+place, stepping jauntily as on parade, though it had marched twenty
+miles and more, in open column with arms at "right shoulder shift," and
+rays of the declining sun flaming on polished bayonets, the brigade
+moved down the broad, smooth pike, and wheeled on to its camping ground.
+Jackson's men, by thousands, had gathered on either side of the road to
+see us pass. Indeed, it was a martial sight, and no man with a spark of
+sacred fire in his heart but would have striven hard to prove worthy of
+such a command.</p>
+
+<p>After attending to necessary camp details, I sought Jackson, whom I had
+never met. And here it may be remarked that he then by no means held the
+place in public estimation which he subsequently attained. His Manassas
+reputation was much impaired by operations in the Valley, to which he
+had been sent after that action. The winter march on Romney had resulted
+in little except to freeze and discontent his troops; which discontent
+was shared and expressed by the authorities at Richmond, and Jackson
+resigned. The influence of Colonel Alek Boteler, seconded by that of the
+Governor of Virginia, induced him to withdraw the resignation. At
+Kernstown, three miles south of Winchester, he was roughly handled by
+the Federal General Shields, and only saved from serious disaster by the
+failure of that officer to push his advantage, though Shields was
+usually energetic.</p>
+
+<p>The mounted officer who had been sent on in advance pointed out a figure
+perched on the topmost rail of a fence overlooking the road and field,
+and said it was Jackson. Approaching, I saluted and declared my name and
+rank, then waited for a response. Before this came I had time to see a
+pair of cavalry boots covering feet of gigantic size, a mangy cap with
+visor drawn low, a heavy, dark beard, and weary eyes&mdash;eyes I afterward
+saw filled with intense but never brilliant light. A low, gentle voice
+inquired the road and distance marched that day. "Keazletown road, six
+and twenty miles." "You seem to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> no stragglers." "Never allow
+straggling." "You must teach my people; they straggle badly." A bow in
+reply. Just then my creoles started their band and a waltz. After a
+contemplative suck at a lemon, "Thoughtless fellows for serious work"
+came forth. I expressed a hope that the work would not be less well done
+because of the gayety. A return to the lemon gave me the opportunity to
+retire. Where Jackson got his lemons "no fellow could find out," but he
+was rarely without one. To have lived twelve miles from that fruit would
+have disturbed him as much as it did the witty Dean.</p>
+
+<p>Quite late that night General Jackson came to my camp fire, where he
+stayed some hours. He said we would move at dawn, asked a few questions
+about the marching of my men, which seemed to have impressed him, and
+then remained silent. If silence be golden, he was a "bonanza." He
+sucked lemons, ate hard-tack, and drank water, and praying and fighting
+appeared to be his idea of the "whole duty of man."</p>
+
+<p>In the gray of the morning, as I was forming my column on the pike,
+Jackson appeared and gave the route&mdash;north&mdash;which, from the situation of
+its camp, put my brigade in advance of the army. After moving a short
+distance in this direction, the head of the column was turned to the
+east and took the road over Massanutten gap to Luray. Scarce a word was
+spoken on the march, as Jackson rode with me. From time to time a
+courier would gallop up, report, and return toward Luray. An ungraceful
+horseman, mounted on a sorry chestnut with a shambling gait, his huge
+feet with outturned toes thrust into his stirrups, and such parts of his
+countenance as the low visor of his shocking cap failed to conceal
+wearing a wooden look, our new commander was not prepossessing. That
+night we crossed the east branch of the Shenandoah by a bridge, and
+camped on the stream, near Luray. Here, after three long marches, we
+were but a short distance below Conrad's store, a point we had left
+several days before. I began to think that Jackson was an unconscious
+poet, and, as an ardent lover of nature, desired to give strangers an
+opportunity to admire the beauties of his Valley. It seemed hard lines
+to be wandering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> like sentimental travelers about the country, instead
+of gaining "kudos" on the Peninsula.</p>
+
+<p>Off the next morning, my command still in advance, and Jackson riding
+with me. The road led north between the east bank of the river and the
+western base of the Blue Ridge. Rain had fallen and softened it, so as
+to delay the wagon trains in rear. Past midday we reached a wood
+extending from the mountain to the river, when a mounted officer from
+the rear called Jackson's attention, who rode back with him. A moment
+later, there rushed out of the wood to meet us a young, rather
+well-looking woman, afterward widely known as Belle Boyd. Breathless
+with speed and agitation, some time elapsed before she found her voice.
+Then, with much volubility, she said we were near Front Royal, beyond
+the wood; that the town was filled with Federals, whose camp was on the
+west side of the river, where they had guns in position to cover the
+wagon bridge, but none bearing on the railway bridge below the former;
+that they believed Jackson to be west of Massanutten, near Harrisonburg;
+that General Banks, the Federal commander, was at Winchester, twenty
+miles northwest of Front Royal, where he was slowly concentrating his
+widely scattered forces to meet Jackson's advance, which was expected
+some days later. All this she told with the precision of a staff officer
+making a report, and it was true to the letter. Jackson was possessed of
+these facts before he left Newmarket, and based his movements upon them;
+but, as he never told anything, it was news to me, and gave me an idea
+of the strategic value of Massanutten&mdash;pointed out, indeed, by
+Washington before the Revolution. There also dawned on me quite another
+view of our leader than the one from which I had been regarding him for
+two days past.</p>
+
+<p>Convinced of the correctness of the woman's statements, I hurried
+forward at "a double," hoping to surprise the enemy's idlers in the
+town, or swarm over the wagon bridge with them and secure it. Doubtless
+this was rash, but I felt immensely "cocky" about my brigade, and
+believed that it would prove equal to any demand. Before we had cleared
+the wood Jackson came galloping from the rear, followed by a company of
+horse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> He ordered me to deploy my leading regiment as skirmishers on
+both sides of the road and continue the advance, then passed on. We
+speedily came in sight of Front Royal, but the enemy had taken the
+alarm, and his men were scurrying over the bridge to their camp, where
+troops could be seen forming. The situation of the village is
+surpassingly beautiful. It lies near the east bank of the Shenandoah,
+which just below unites all its waters, and looks directly on the
+northern peaks of Massanutten. The Blue Ridge, with Manassas Gap,
+through which passes the railway, overhangs it on the east; distant
+Alleghany bounds the horizon to the west; and down the Shenandoah, the
+eye ranges over a fertile, well-farmed country. Two bridges spanned the
+river&mdash;a wagon bridge above, a railway bridge some yards lower. A good
+pike led to Winchester, twenty miles, and another followed the river
+north, whence many cross-roads united with the Valley pike near
+Winchester. The river, swollen by rain, was deep and turbulent, with a
+strong current. The Federals were posted on the west bank, here somewhat
+higher than the opposite, and a short distance above the junction of
+waters, with batteries bearing more especially on the upper bridge.</p>
+
+<p>Under instructions, my brigade was drawn up in line, a little retired
+from the river, but overlooking it&mdash;the Federals and their guns in full
+view. So far, not a shot had been fired. I rode down to the river's
+brink to get a better look at the enemy through a field-glass, when my
+horse, heated by the march, stepped into the water to drink. Instantly a
+brisk fire was opened on me, bullets striking all around and raising a
+little shower-bath. Like many a foolish fellow, I found it easier to get
+into than out of a difficulty. I had not yet led my command into action,
+and, remembering that one must "strut" one's little part to the best
+advantage, sat my horse with all the composure I could muster. A
+provident camel, on the eve of a desert journey, would not have laid in
+a greater supply of water than did my thoughtless beast. At last he
+raised his head, looked placidly around, turned, and walked up the bank.</p>
+
+<p>This little incident was not without value, for my men welcomed me with
+a cheer; upon which, as if in response, the ene<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>my's guns opened, and,
+having the range, inflicted some loss on my line. We had no guns up to
+reply, and, in advance as has been mentioned, had outmarched the troops
+behind us. Motionless as a statue, Jackson sat his horse some few yards
+away, and seemed lost in thought. Perhaps the circumstances mentioned
+some pages back had obscured his star; but if so, a few short hours
+swept away the cloud, and it blazed, Sirius-like, over the land. I
+approached him with the suggestion that the railway bridge might be
+passed by stepping on the cross-ties, as the enemy's guns bore less
+directly on it than on the upper bridge. He nodded approval. The 8th
+regiment was on the right of my line, near at hand; and dismounting,
+Colonel Kelly led it across under a sharp musketry fire. Several men
+fell to disappear in the dark water beneath; but the movement continued
+with great rapidity, considering the difficulty of walking on ties, and
+Kelly with his leading files gained the opposite shore. Thereupon the
+enemy fired combustibles previously placed near the center of the wagon
+bridge. The loss of this structure would have seriously delayed us, as
+the railway bridge was not floored, and I looked at Jackson, who, near
+by, was watching Kelly's progress. Again he nodded, and my command
+rushed at the bridge. Concealed by the cloud of smoke, the suddenness of
+the movement saved us from much loss; but it was rather a near thing. My
+horse and clothing were scorched, and many men burned their hands
+severely while throwing brands into the river. We were soon over, and
+the enemy in full flight to Winchester, with loss of camp, guns, and
+prisoners. Just as I emerged from flames and smoke, Jackson was by my
+side. How he got there was a mystery, as the bridge was thronged with my
+men going at full speed; but smoke and fire had decidedly freshened up
+his costume.</p>
+
+<p>In the angle formed by the two branches of the river was another camp
+held by a Federal regiment from Maryland. This was captured by a gallant
+little regiment of Marylanders, Colonel Bradley Johnson, on our side. I
+had no connection with this spirited affair, saving that these
+Marylanders had acted with my command during the day, though not
+attached to it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> We followed the enemy on the Winchester road, but to
+little purpose, as we had few horsemen over the river. Carried away by
+his ardor, my commissary, Major Davis, gathered a score of mounted
+orderlies and couriers, and pursued until a volley from the enemy's rear
+guard laid him low on the road, shot through the head. During my service
+west of the Mississippi River, I sent for the colonel of a mounted
+regiment from western Texas, a land of herdsmen, and asked him if he
+could furnish men to hunt and drive in cattle. "Why! bless you, sir, I
+have men who can find cattle where there <i>aint any</i>," was his reply.
+Whatever were poor Davis's abilities as to non-existent supplies, he
+could find all the country afforded, and had a wonderful way of cajoling
+old women out of potatoes, cabbages, onions, and other garden stuff,
+giving variety to camp rations, and of no small importance in preserving
+the health of troops. We buried him in a field near the place of his
+fall. He was much beloved by the command, and many gathered quietly
+around the grave. As there was no chaplain at hand, I repeated such
+portions of the service for the dead as a long neglect of pious things
+enabled me to recall.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the night Jackson came out of the darkness and seated himself by
+my camp fire. He mentioned that I would move with him in the morning,
+then relapsed into silence. I fancied he looked at me kindly, and
+interpreted it into an approval of the conduct of the brigade. The
+events of the day, anticipations of the morrow, the death of Davis,
+drove away sleep, and I watched Jackson. For hours he sat silent and
+motionless, with eyes fixed on the fire. I took up the idea that he was
+inwardly praying, and he remained throughout the night.</p>
+
+<p>Off in the morning, Jackson leading the way, my brigade, a small body of
+horse, and a section of the Rockbridge (Virginia) artillery forming the
+column. Major Wheat, with his battalion of "Tigers," was directed to
+keep close to the guns. Sturdy marchers, they trotted along with the
+horse and artillery at Jackson's heels, and after several hours were
+some distance in advance of the brigade, with which I remained.</p>
+
+<p>A volley in front, followed by wild cheers, stirred us up to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> a
+"double," and we speedily came upon a moving spectacle. Jackson had
+struck the Valley pike at Middletown, twelve miles south of Winchester,
+along which a large body of Federal horse, with many wagons, was
+hastening north. He had attacked at once with his handful of men,
+overwhelmed resistance, and captured prisoners and wagons. The gentle
+Tigers were looting right merrily, diving in and out of wagons with the
+activity of rabbits in a warren; but this occupation was abandoned on my
+approach, and in a moment they were in line, looking as solemn and
+virtuous as deacons at a funeral. Prisoners and spoil were promptly
+secured. The horse was from New England, a section in which horsemanship
+was an unknown art, and some of the riders were strapped to their
+steeds. Ordered to dismount, they explained their condition, and were
+given time to unbuckle. Many breastplates and other protective devices
+were seen here, and later at Winchester. We did not know whether the
+Federals had organized cuirassiers, or were recurring to the customs of
+Gustavus Adolphus. I saw a poor fellow lying dead on the pike, pierced
+through breastplate and body by a rifle ball. Iron-clad men are of small
+account before modern weapons.</p>
+
+<p>A part of the Federal column had passed north before Jackson reached the
+pike, and this, with his mounted men, he pursued. Something more than a
+mile to the south a road left the pike and led directly west, where the
+Federal General Fremont, of whom we shall hear more, commanded "the
+Mountain Department." Attacked in front, as described, a body of
+Federals, horse, artillery, and infantry, with some wagons, took this
+road, and, after moving a short distance, drew up on a crest, with
+unlimbered guns. Their number was unknown, and for a moment they looked
+threatening. The brigade was rapidly formed and marched straight upon
+them, when their guns opened. A shell knocked over several men of the
+7th regiment, and a second, as I rode forward to an eminence to get a
+view, struck the ground under my horse and exploded. The saddle cloth on
+both sides was torn away, and I and Adjutant Surget, who was just behind
+me, were nearly smothered with earth; but neither man nor horse received
+a scratch. The enemy soon limbered up and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> fled west. By some
+well-directed shots, as they crossed a hill, our guns sent wagons flying
+in the air, with which "P.P.C." we left them and marched north.</p>
+
+<p>At dusk we overtook Jackson, pushing the enemy with his little mounted
+force, himself in advance of all. I rode with him, and we kept on
+through the darkness. There was not resistance enough to deploy
+infantry. A flash, a report, and a whistling bullet from some covert met
+us, but there were few casualties. I quite remember thinking at the time
+that Jackson was invulnerable, and that persons near him shared that
+quality. An officer, riding hard, overtook us, who proved to be the
+chief quartermaster of the army. He reported the wagon trains far
+behind, impeded by a bad road in Luray Valley. "The ammunition wagons?"
+sternly. "All right, sir. They were in advance, and I doubled teams on
+them and brought them through." "Ah!" in a tone of relief.</p>
+
+<p>To give countenance to this quartermaster, if such can be given of a
+dark night, I remarked jocosely: "Never mind the wagons. There are
+quantities of stores in Winchester, and the General has invited me to
+breakfast there to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>Jackson, who had no more capacity for jests than a Scotchman, took this
+seriously, and reached out to touch me on the arm. In fact, he was of
+Scotch-Irish descent, and his unconsciousness of jokes was <i>de race</i>.
+Without physical wants himself, he forgot that others were differently
+constituted, and paid little heed to commissariat; but woe to the man
+who failed to bring up ammunition! In advance, his trains were left far
+behind. In retreat, he would fight for a wheelbarrow.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after midnight, by roads more direct from Front Royal, other
+troops came on the pike, and I halted my jaded people by the roadside,
+where they built fires and took a turn at their haversacks.</p>
+
+<p>Moving with the first light of morning, we came to Kernstown, three
+miles from Winchester, and the place of Jackson's fight with Shields.
+Here heavy and sustained firing, artillery and small arms, was heard. A
+staff officer approached at full speed to summon me to Jackson's
+presence and move up my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> command. A gallop of a mile or more brought me
+to him. Winchester was in sight, a mile to the north. To the east Ewell
+with a large part of the army was fighting briskly and driving the enemy
+on to the town. On the west a high ridge, overlooking the country to the
+south and southeast, was occupied by a heavy mass of Federals with guns
+in position. Jackson was on the pike, and near him were several
+regiments lying down for shelter, as the fire from the ridge was heavy
+and searching. A Virginian battery, Rockbridge artillery, was fighting
+at a great disadvantage, and already much cut up. Poetic authority
+asserts that "Old Virginny never tires," and the conduct of this battery
+justified the assertion of the muses. With scarce a leg or wheel for man
+and horse, gun or caisson, to stand on, it continued to hammer away at
+the crushing fire above.</p>
+
+<p>Jackson, impassive as ever, pointed to the ridge and said, "You must
+carry it." I replied that my command would be up by the time I could
+inspect the ground, and rode to the left for that purpose. A small
+stream, Abraham's creek, flowed from the west through the little vale at
+the southern base of the ridge, the ascent of which was steep, though
+nowhere abrupt. At one point a broad, shallow, trough-like depression
+broke the surface, which was further interrupted by some low copse,
+outcropping stone, and two fences. On the summit the Federal lines were
+posted behind a stone wall, along a road coming west from the pike. Worn
+somewhat into the soil, this road served as a countersink and
+strengthened the position. Further west, there was a break in the ridge,
+which was occupied by a body of horse, the extreme right of the enemy's
+line.</p>
+
+<p>There was scarce time to mark these features before the head of my
+column appeared, when it was filed to the left, close to the base of the
+ridge, for protection from the plunging fire. Meanwhile, the Rockbridge
+battery held on manfully and engaged the enemy's attention. Riding on
+the flank of my column, between it and the hostile line, I saw Jackson
+beside me. This was not the place for the commander of the army, and I
+ventured to tell him so; but he paid no attention to the remark.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> We
+reached the shallow depression spoken of, where the enemy could depress
+his guns, and his fire became close and fatal. Many men fell, and the
+whistling of shot and shell occasioned much ducking of heads in the
+column. This annoyed me no little, as it was but child's play to the
+work immediately in hand. Always an admirer of delightful "Uncle Toby,"
+I had contracted the most villainous habit of his beloved army in
+Flanders, and, forgetting Jackson's presence, ripped out, "What the
+h&mdash;are you dodging for? If there is any more of it, you will be halted
+under this fire for an hour." The sharp tones of a familiar voice
+produced the desired effect, and the men looked as if they had swallowed
+ramrods; but I shall never forget the reproachful surprise expressed in
+Jackson's face. He placed his hand on my shoulder, said in a gentle
+voice, "I am afraid you are a wicked fellow," turned, and rode back to
+the pike.</p>
+
+<p>The proper ground gained, the column faced to the front and began the
+ascent. At the moment the sun rose over the Blue Ridge, without cloud or
+mist to obscure his rays. It was a lovely Sabbath morning, the 25th of
+May, 1862. The clear, pure atmosphere brought the Blue Ridge and
+Alleghany and Massanutten almost overhead. Even the cloud of murderous
+smoke from the guns above made beautiful spirals in the air, and the
+broad fields of luxuriant wheat glistened with dew. It is remarkable
+how, in the midst of the most absorbing cares, one's attention may be
+fixed by some insignificant object, as mine was by the flight past the
+line of a bluebird, one of the brightest-plumaged of our feathered
+tribes, bearing a worm in his beak, breakfast for his callow brood.
+Birdie had been on the war path, and was carrying home spoil.</p>
+
+<p>As we mounted we came in full view of both armies, whose efforts in
+other quarters had been slackened to await the result of our movement. I
+felt an anxiety amounting to pain for the brigade to acquit itself
+handsomely; and this feeling was shared by every man in it. About half
+way up, the enemy's horse from his right charged; and to meet it, I
+directed Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholls, whose regiment, the 8th, was on
+the left, to withhold slightly his two flank companies. By one volley,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
+which emptied some saddles, Nicholls drove off the horse, but was soon
+after severely wounded. Progress was not stayed by this incident.
+Closing the many gaps made by the fierce fire, steadied the rather by
+it, and preserving an alignment that would have been creditable on
+parade, the brigade, with cadenced step and eyes on the foe, swept
+grandly over copse and ledge and fence, to crown the heights from which
+the enemy had melted away. Loud cheers went up from our army, prolonged
+to the east, where warm-hearted Ewell cheered himself hoarse, and led
+forward his men with renewed energy. In truth, it was a gallant feat of
+arms, worthy of the pen of him who immortalized the charge of the
+"Buffs" at Albuera.</p>
+
+<p>Breaking into column, we pursued closely. Jackson came up and grasped my
+hand, worth a thousand words from another, and we were soon in the
+streets of Winchester, a quaint old town of some five thousand
+inhabitants. There was a little fighting in the streets, but the people
+were all abroad&mdash;certainly all the women and babies. They were frantic
+with delight, only regretting that so many "Yankees" had escaped, and
+seriously impeded our movements. A buxom, comely dame of some five and
+thirty summers, with bright eyes and tight ankles, and conscious of
+these advantages, was especially demonstrative, exclaiming, "Oh! you are
+too late&mdash;too late!" Whereupon, a tall Creole from the Teche sprang from
+the ranks of the 8th regiment, just passing, clasped her in his arms,
+and imprinted a sounding kiss on her ripe lips, with "Madame! je
+n'arrive jamais trop tard." A loud laugh followed, and the dame, with a
+rosy face but merry twinkle in her eye, escaped.</p>
+
+<p>Past the town, we could see the Federals flying north on the Harper's
+Ferry and Martinsburg roads. Cavalry, of which there was a considerable
+force with the army, might have reaped a rich harvest, but none came
+forward. Raised in the adjoining region, our troopers were gossiping
+with their friends, or worse. Perhaps they thought that the war was
+over. Jackson joined me, and, in response to my question, "Where is the
+cavalry?" glowered and was silent. After several miles, finding that we
+were doing no good&mdash;as indeed infantry, preserving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> its organization,
+cannot hope to overtake a flying enemy&mdash;I turned into the fields and
+camped.</p>
+
+<p>Here I will "say my say" about Confederate cavalry; and though there
+were exceptions to the following remarks, they were too few to qualify
+their general correctness. The difficulty of converting raw men into
+soldiers is enhanced manifold when they are mounted. Both man and horse
+require training, and facilities for rambling, with temptation so to do,
+are increased. There was but little time, and it may be said less
+disposition, to establish camps of instruction. Living on horseback,
+fearless and dashing, the men of the South afforded the best possible
+material for cavalry. They had every quality but discipline, and
+resembled Prince Charming, whose manifold gifts, bestowed by her
+sisters, were rendered useless by the malignant fairy. Scores of them
+wandered about the country like locusts, and were only less destructive
+to their own people than the enemy. The universal devotion of Southern
+women to their cause led them to give indiscriminately to all wearing
+the gray. Cavalry officers naturally desired to have as large commands
+as possible, and were too much indulged in this desire. Brigades and
+regiments were permitted to do work appropriate to squadrons and
+companies, and the cattle were unnecessarily broken down. Assuredly, our
+cavalry rendered much excellent service, especially when dismounted and
+fighting as infantry. Such able officers as Stuart, Hampton, and the
+younger Lees in the east, Forrest, Green, and Wheeler in the west,
+developed much talent for war; but their achievements, however
+distinguished, fell far below the standard that would have been reached
+had not the want of discipline impaired their efforts and those of their
+men.</p>
+
+<p>After the camp was established, I rode back to Winchester to look after
+my wounded and see my sister, the same who had nursed me the previous
+autumn. By a second marriage she was Mrs. Dandridge, and resided in the
+town. Her husband, Mr. Dandridge, was on duty at Richmond. Depot of all
+Federal forces in the Valley, Winchester was filled with stores.
+Prisoners, guns, and wagons, in large numbers, had fallen into our
+hands. Of especial value were ordnance and medical stores.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The following day my command was moved ten miles north on the pike
+leading by Charlestown to Harper's Ferry, and after a day some miles
+east toward the Shenandoah. This was in consequence of the operations of
+the Federal General Shields, who, in command of a considerable force to
+the east of the Blue Ridge, passed Manassas Gap and drove from Front
+Royal a regiment of Georgians, left there by Jackson. Meanwhile, a part
+of the army was pushed forward to Martinsburg and beyond, while another
+part threatened and shelled Harper's Ferry. Jackson himself was engaged
+in forwarding captured stores to Staunton.</p>
+
+<p>On Saturday, May 31, I received orders to move through Winchester, clear
+the town of stragglers, and continue to Strasburg. Few or no stragglers
+were found in Winchester, whence the sick and wounded, except extreme
+cases, had been taken. I stopped for a moment, at a house near the field
+of the 25th, to see Colonel Nicholls. He had suffered amputation of the
+arm that morning, and the surgeons forbade his removal; so that, much to
+my regret and more to his own, he was left. We reached camp at Strasburg
+after dark, a march of thirty odd miles, weather very warm. Winder, with
+his brigade, came in later, after a longer march from the direction of
+Harper's Ferry. Jackson sat some time at my camp fire that night, and
+was more communicative than I remember him before or after. He said
+Fremont, with a large force, was three miles west of our present camp,
+and must be defeated in the morning. Shields was moving up Luray Valley,
+and might cross Massanutten to Newmarket, or continue south until he
+turned the mountain to fall on our trains near Harrisonburg. The
+importance of preserving the immense trains, filled with captured
+stores, was great, and would engage much of his personal attention;
+while he relied on the army, under Ewell's direction, to deal promptly
+with Fremont. This he told in a low, gentle voice, and with many
+interruptions to afford time, as I thought and believe, for inward
+prayer. The men said that his anxiety about the wagons was because of
+the lemons among the stores.</p>
+
+<p>Dawn of the following day (Sunday) was ushered in by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> sound of
+Fremont's guns. Our lines had been early drawn out to meet him, and
+skirmishers pushed up to the front to attack. Much cannonading, with
+some rattle of small arms, ensued. The country was densely wooded, and
+little save the smoke from the enemy's guns could be seen. My brigade
+was in reserve a short distance to the rear and out of the line of fire;
+and here a ludicrous incident occurred. Many slaves from Louisiana had
+accompanied their masters to the war, and were a great nuisance on a
+march, foraging far and wide for "prog" for their owners' messes. To
+abate this, they had been put under discipline and made to march in rear
+of the regiments to which they pertained. They were now, some scores,
+assembled under a large tree, laughing, chattering, and cooking
+breakfast. On a sudden, a shell burst in the tree-top, rattling down
+leaves and branches in fine style, and the rapid decampment of the
+servitors was most amusing. But I must pause to give an account of my
+own servant, Tom Strother, who deserves honorable and affectionate
+mention at my hands, and serves to illustrate a phase of Southern life
+now passed away.</p>
+
+<p>As under feudal institutions the arms of heiresses were quartered with
+those of the families into which they married, in the South their slaves
+adopted the surname of the mistress; and one curious in genealogy could
+trace the descent and alliances of an old family by finding out the
+names used by different slaves on the estate. Those of the same name
+were a little clannish, preserving traditions of the family from which
+their fathers had come, and magnifying its importance. In childhood I
+often listened with credulous ears to wondrous tales of the magnificence
+of my forefathers in Virginia and Maryland, who, these imaginative
+Africans insisted, dwelt in palaces, surrounded by brave, handsome sons,
+lovely, virtuous daughters, and countless devoted servants. The
+characters of many Southern children were doubtless influenced by such
+tales, impressive from the good faith of the narrators. My paternal
+grandmother was Miss Sarah Strother of Virginia, and from her estate
+came these Strother negroes. Tom, three years my senior, was my foster
+brother and early playmate. His uncle, Charles Porter Strother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> (to give
+him his full name), had been body servant to my grandfather, Colonel
+Richard Taylor, whom he attended in his last illness. He then filled the
+same office to my father, following him through his Indian and Mexican
+campaigns, and dying at Washington a year before his master. Tom served
+in Florida and Mexico as "aide-de-camp" to his uncle, after which he
+married and became father of a large family. On this account I hesitated
+to bring him to Virginia, but he would come, and was a model servant.
+Tall, powerful, black as ebony, he was a mirror of truth and honesty.
+Always cheerful, I never heard him laugh or knew of his speaking unless
+spoken to. He could light a fire in a minute under the most unfavorable
+conditions and with the most unpromising material, made the best coffee
+to be tasted outside of a creole kitchen, was a "dab" at camp stews and
+roasts, groomed my horses (one of which he rode near me), washed my
+linen, and was never behind time. Occasionally, when camped near a
+house, he would obtain starch and flat-irons, and get up my extra shirt
+in a way to excite the envy of a professional clear-starcher; but such
+red-letter days were few.</p>
+
+<p>I used to fancy that there was a mute sympathy between General Jackson
+and Tom, as they sat silent by a camp fire, the latter respectfully
+withdrawn; and an incident here at Strasburg cemented this friendship.
+When my command was called into action, I left Tom on a hill where all
+was quiet. Thereafter, from a change in the enemy's dispositions, the
+place became rather hot, and Jackson, passing by, advised Tom to move;
+but he replied, if the General pleased, his master told him to stay
+there and would know where to find him, and he did not believe shells
+would trouble him. Two or three nights later, Jackson was at my fire
+when Tom came to give me some coffee; where upon Jackson rose and
+gravely shook him by the hand, and then told me the above.</p>
+
+<p>After the war was closed, Tom returned with me to New Orleans, found his
+wife and children all right, and is now prosperous. My readers have had
+so much fighting lately, and are about to have so much more, as to
+render unnecessary an apology for introducing Tom's history.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To return. Cannonading continued without much effect, and Ewell summoned
+me to his presence, directing the brigade to remain in position till
+further orders. Jackson, busy with his trains, was not at the moment on
+the field, which he visited several times during the day, though I did
+not happen to see him. To reach Ewell, it was necessary to pass under
+some heavy shelling, and I found myself open to the reproach visited
+previously on my men. Whether from fatigue, loss of sleep, or what,
+there I was, nervous as a lady, ducking like a mandarin. It was
+disgusting, and, hoping that no one saw me, I resolved to take it out of
+myself the first opportunity. There is a story of Turenne, the greatest
+soldier of the Bourbons, which, if not true, is <i>ben trovato</i>. Of a
+nervous temperament, his legs on the eve of an action trembled to such
+an extent as to make it difficult to mount his horse. Looking at them
+contemptuously, he said: "If you could foresee the danger into which I
+am going to take you, you would tremble more." It was with a similar
+feeling, not only for my legs, but for my entire carcass, that I reached
+Ewell, and told him I was no more good than a frightened deer. He
+laughed, and replied: "Nonsense! 'tis Tom's strong coffee. Better give
+it up. Remain here in charge while I go out to the skirmishers. I can't
+make out what these people are about, for my skirmish line has stopped
+them. They won't advance, but stay out there in the wood, making a great
+fuss with their guns; and I do not wish to commit myself to much advance
+while Jackson is absent." With this, he put spurs to his horse and was
+off, and soon a brisk fusillade was heard, which seemed gradually to
+recede. During Ewell's absence, surrounded by his staff, I contrived to
+sit my horse quietly. Returning, he said: "I am completely puzzled. I
+have just driven everything back to the main body, which is large. Dense
+wood everywhere. Jackson told me not to commit myself too far. At this
+rate my attentions are not likely to become serious enough to commit any
+one. I wish Jackson was here himself." I suggested that my brigade might
+be moved to the extreme right, near the Capon road, by which Fremont had
+marched, and attempt to strike that road, as this would ena<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>ble us to
+find out something. He replied: "Do so; that may stir them up, and I am
+sick of this fiddling about." Had Ewell been in command, he would have
+"pitched in" long before; but he was controlled by instructions not to
+be drawn too far from the pike.</p>
+
+<p>We found the right of our line held by a Mississippi regiment, the
+colonel of which told me that he had advanced just before and driven the
+enemy. Several of his men were wounded, and he was bleeding profusely
+from a hit in his leg, which he was engaged in binding with a
+handkerchief, remarking that "it did not pester him much." Learning our
+purpose, he was eager to go in with us, and was not at all pleased to
+hear that I declined to change General Ewell's dispositions. A plucky
+fellow, this colonel, whose name, if ever known, I cannot recall. The
+brigade moved forward until the enemy was reached, when, wheeling to the
+left, it walked down his line. The expression is used advisedly, for it
+was nothing but a "walk-over." Sheep would have made as much resistance
+as we met. Men decamped without firing, or threw down their arms and
+surrendered, and it was so easy that I began to think of traps. At
+length we got under fire from our own skirmishers, and suffered some
+casualties, the only ones received in the movement.</p>
+
+<p>Our whole skirmish line was advancing briskly as the Federals retired. I
+sought Ewell, and reported. We had a fine game before us, and the
+temptation to play it was great; but Jackson's orders were imperative
+and wise. He had his stores to save, Shields to guard against, Lee's
+grand strategy to promote; and all this he accomplished, alarming
+Washington, fastening McDowell's strong corps at Fredericksburg and
+preventing its junction with McClellan, on whose right flank he
+subsequently threw himself at Cold Harbor. He could not waste time
+chasing Fremont, but we, who looked from a lower standpoint, grumbled
+and shared the men's opinion about the <i>lemon wagons</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The prisoners taken in our promenade were Germans, speaking no English;
+and we had a similar experience a few days later. In the Federal Army
+was a German corps, the 11th,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> commanded by General O.O. Howard, and
+called by both sides "the Flying Dutchmen." Since the time of Arminius
+the Germans have been a brave people; to-day, in military renown, they
+lead the van of the nations; but they require a cause and leaders. In
+our Revolutionary struggle the Hessians were unfortunate at Bennington,
+Saratoga, and Trenton. We have millions of German citizens, and
+excellent citizens they are. Let us hope that the foregoing facts may be
+commended to them, so their ways may be ways of peace in their adopted
+land.</p>
+
+<p>Although the movement along the enemy's line was successful, as
+described, it was rash and foolish. Fremont had troops which, had they
+been in the place of these Germans, would have made us pass one of
+Rabelais's unpleasant quarters of an hour. Alarm and disgust at my own
+nervousness occasioned it, proving weak nerves to be the source of rash
+acts.</p>
+
+<p>Fremont made no further sign, and as the day declined the army was
+recalled to the pike and marched south. Jackson, in person, gave me
+instructions to draw up my brigade facing west, on some hills above the
+pike, and distant from it several hundred yards, where I was to remain.
+He said that the road was crowded, and he wanted time to clear it, that
+Fremont was safe for the night, and our cavalry toward Winchester
+reported Banks returned to that place from the Potomac, but not likely
+to move south before the following day; then rode off, and so rapidly as
+to give me no time to inquire how long I was to remain, or if the
+cavalry would advise me in the event that Banks changed his purpose.
+This was near sunset, and by the time the command was in position
+darkness fell upon us. No fires were allowed, and, stacking arms, the
+men rested, munching cold rations from their haversacks. It was their
+first opportunity for a bite since early morning.</p>
+
+<p>I threw myself on the ground, and tried in vain to sleep. No sound could
+be heard save the clattering of hoofs on the pike, which as the night
+wore on became constant. Hour after hour passed, when, thinking I heard
+firing to the north, I mounted and looked for the pike. The darkness was
+so intense that it could not have been found but for the white
+limestone.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> Some mounted men were passing, whom I halted to question.
+They said their command had gone on to rejoin the army, and, they
+supposed, had missed me in the dark; but there was a squadron behind,
+near the enemy's advance, which, a large cavalry force, had moved from
+Winchester at an early period of the day and driven our people south.
+This was pleasant; for Winder's brigade had marched several hours since,
+and a wide interval existed between us.</p>
+
+<p>More firing, near and distinct, was heard, and the command was ordered
+down to the pike, which it reached after much stumbling and swearing,
+and some confusion. Fortunately, the battery, Captain Bowyer, had been
+sent forward at dusk to get forage, and an orderly was dispatched to put
+it on the march. The 6th (Irish) regiment was in rear, and I took two
+companies for a rear guard. The column had scarce got into motion before
+a party of horse rushed through the guard, knocking down several men,
+one of whom was severely bruised. There was a little pistol-shooting and
+sabre-hacking, and for some minutes things were rather mixed. The
+enemy's cavalry had charged ours, and driven it on the infantry. One
+Federal was captured and his horse given to the bruised man, who
+congratulated the rider on his promotion to a respectable service. I
+dismounted, gave my horse to Tom to lead, and marched with the guard.
+From time to time the enemy would charge, but we could hear him coming
+and be ready. The guard would halt, about face, front rank with fixed
+bayonets kneel, rear rank fire, when, by the light of the flash, we
+could see emptied saddles. Our pursuers' fire was wild, passing over
+head; so we had few casualties, and these slight; but they were bold and
+enterprising, and well led, often charging close up to the bayonets. I
+remarked this, whereupon the Irishmen answered, "Devil thank 'em for
+that same." There was no danger on the flanks. The white of the pike
+alone guided us. Owls could not have found their way across the fields.
+The face of the country has been described as a succession of rolling
+swells, and later the enemy got up guns, but always fired from the
+summits, so that his shells passed far above us, exploding in the
+fields. Had the guns been trained low, with canister, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> might have
+proved uncomfortable, for the pike ran straight to the south. "It was a
+fine night intirely for divarsion," said the Irishmen, with which
+sentiment I did not agree; but they were as steady as clocks and chirpy
+as crickets, indulging in many a jest whenever the attentions of our
+friends in the rear were slackened. They had heard of Shields's
+proximity, and knew him to be an Irishman by birth, and that he had
+Irish regiments with him. During an interlude I was asked if it was not
+probable that we would encounter Shields, and answering affirmatively,
+heard: "Them Germans is poor creatures, but Shields's boys will be after
+fighting." Expressing a belief that my "boys" could match Shields's any
+day, I received loud assurance from half a hundred Tipperary throats:
+"You may bet your life on that, sor." Thus we beguiled the weary hours.
+During the night I desired to relieve the guard, but was diverted from
+my purpose by scornful howls of "We are the boys to see it out." As
+Argyle's to the tartan, my heart has warmed to an Irishman since that
+night.</p>
+
+<p>Daylight came, and I tried to brace myself for hotter work, when a body
+of troops was reported in position to the south of my column. This
+proved to be Charles Winder with his (formerly Jackson's own) brigade.
+An accomplished soldier and true brother-in-arms, he had heard the
+enemy's guns during the night, and, knowing me to be in rear, halted and
+formed line to await me. His men were fed and rested, and he insisted on
+taking my place in the rear. Passing through Winder's line, we moved
+slowly, with frequent halts, so as to remain near, the enemy pressing
+hard during the morning. The day was uncommonly hot, the sun like fire,
+and water scarce along the road; and our men suffered greatly.</p>
+
+<p>Just after midday my brisk young aide, Hamilton, whom I had left with
+Winder to bring early intelligence, came to report that officer in
+trouble and want of assistance. My men were so jaded as to make me
+unwilling to retrace ground if it could be avoided; so they were ordered
+to form line on the crest of the slope at hand, and I went to Winder, a
+mile to the rear. His brigade, renowned as the "Stonewall," was deployed
+on both<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> sides of the pike, on which he had four guns. Large masses of
+cavalry, with guns and some sharp-shooters, were pressing him closely,
+while far to the north clouds of dust marked the approach of troops. His
+line was on one of the many swells crossing the pike at right angles,
+and a gentle slope led to the next crest south, beyond which my brigade
+was forming. The problem was to retire without giving the enemy, eager
+and persistent, an opportunity to charge. The situation looked so blue
+that I offered to move back my command; but Winder thought he could pull
+through, and splendidly did he accomplish it. Regiment by regiment, gun
+by gun, the brigade was withdrawn, always checking the enemy, though
+boldly led. Winder, cool as a professor playing the new German game,
+directed every movement in person, and the men were worthy of him and of
+their first commander, Jackson. It was very close work in the vale
+before he reached the next crest, and heavy volleys were necessary to
+stay our plucky foes; but, once there, my command showed so strong as to
+impress the enemy, who halted to reconnoiter, and the two brigades were
+united without further trouble.</p>
+
+<p>The position was good, my battery was at hand, and our men were so
+fatigued that we debated whether it was not more comfortable to fight
+than retreat. We could hold the ground for hours against cavalry, and
+night would probably come before infantry got up, while retreat was
+certain to bring the cavalry on us. At this juncture up came General
+Turner Ashby, followed by a considerable force of horse, with guns. This
+officer had been engaged in destroying bridges in Luray Valley, to
+prevent Shields from crossing that branch of the Shenandoah, and now
+came, much to our satisfaction, to take charge of the rear. He proceeded
+to pay his respects to our friends, and soon took them off our hands. We
+remained an hour to rest the men and give Ashby time to make his
+dispositions, then moved on.</p>
+
+<p>Before sunset heavy clouds gathered, and the intense heat was broken by
+a regular downpour, in the midst of which we crossed the bridge over the
+west branch of the Shenandoah&mdash;a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> large stream&mdash;at Mount Jackson, and
+camped. There was not a dry thread about my person, and my boots would
+have furnished a respectable bath. Notwithstanding the flood, Tom soon
+had a fire, and was off to hunt forage for man and beast. Here we were
+less than ten miles from Newmarket, between which and this point the
+army was camped. Jackson was easy about Massanutten Gap. Shields must
+march south of the mountain to reach him, while the river, just crossed,
+was now impassable except by bridge.</p>
+
+<p>We remained thirty-six hours in this camp, from the evening of the 2d
+until the morning of the 4th of June&mdash;a welcome rest to all. Two days of
+light marching carried us thence to Harrisonburg, thirty miles. Here
+Jackson quitted the pike leading to Staunton, and took the road to Port
+Republic. This village, twelve miles southeast of Harrisonburg, lies at
+the base of the Blue Ridge, on the east bank of the Shenandoah. Several
+streams unite here to form the east (locally called south) branch of
+that river; and here too was the only bridge from Front Royal south, all
+others having been destroyed by Ashby to prevent Shields from crossing.
+This commander was pushing a part of his force south, from Front Royal
+and Luray, on the east bank.</p>
+
+<p>The army passed the night of June 5 in camp three miles from
+Harrisonburg toward Port Republic. Ewell's division, which I had
+rejoined for the first time since we met Jackson, was in rear; and the
+rear brigade was General George Stewart's, composed of one Maryland and
+two Virginia regiments. My command was immediately in advance of
+Stewart's. Ashby had burnt the bridge at Mount Jackson to delay Fremont,
+and was camped with his horse in advance of Harrisonburg. The road to
+Port Republic was heavy from recent rains, causing much delay to trains,
+so that we did not move on the morning of the 6th. Early in the day
+Fremont, re&euml;nforced from Banks, got up; and his cavalry, vigorously led,
+pushed Ashby through Harrisonburg, where a sharp action occurred,
+resulting in the capture of many Federals&mdash;among others, Colonel Percy
+Wyndham, commanding brigade, whose meeting with Major Wheat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> has been
+described. Later, while Ewell was conversing with me, a message from
+Ashby took him to the rear. Federal cavalry, supported by infantry, was
+advancing on Ashby. Stewart's brigade was lying in a wood, under cover
+of which Ewell placed it in position. A severe struggle ensued; the
+enemy was driven, and many prisoners were taken. I had ridden back with
+Ewell, and so witnessed the affair, uncommonly spirited, and creditable
+to both sides. Colonel Kane of Philadelphia was among the prisoners and
+painfully wounded. Having known his father, Judge Kane, as well as his
+brother, the Arctic explorer, I solicited and obtained from Jackson his
+parole.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Nicholls, left wounded near Winchester, had married a short time
+previous to the war, and his young wife now appeared, seeking to join
+her husband. Jackson referred her request to Ewell, who passed it to me.
+Of this I was informed by Captain Nicholls, 8th regiment, brother to the
+colonel, killed a few days after at Cold Harbor. Much cavalry
+skirmishing was still going on around Harrisonburg, dangerous for a lady
+to pass through; and besides, she had come from Port Republic, seen our
+situation, and might be indiscreet. These considerations were stated to
+Captain Nicholls, but his sister-in-law insisted on seeing me. A small,
+fairy-like creature, plucky as a "Dandie Dinmont" terrier, and with a
+heart as big as Massanutten, she was seated in a nondescript trap, drawn
+by two mules, driven by a negro. One look from the great, tearful eyes
+made of me an abject coward, and I basely shuffled the refusal to let
+her pass on to Jackson. The Parthian glance of contempt that reached me
+through her tears showed that the lady understood and despised my
+paltering. Nicholls was speedily exchanged, became a general officer,
+lost a foot at Chancellorsville, and, after leading his people up out of
+captivity, is now the conservative Governor of Louisiana.</p>
+
+<p>The skirmishing spoken of in the above connection developed into severe
+work, in which General Ashby was killed. Alluding to his death in an
+official report, Jackson says, "As a partisan officer I never knew his
+superior." Like Claverhouse, "with a face that painters loved to limn
+and ladies look upon,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> he was the most daring and accomplished rider in
+a region of horsemen. His courage was so brilliant as to elicit applause
+from friend and foe, but he was without capacity or disposition to
+enforce discipline on his men. I witnessed his deep chagrin at the
+conduct of our troopers after the enemy had been driven from Winchester
+in May. With proper organization and discipline, his bold riders under
+his lead might have accomplished all that the lamented Nolan claimed as
+possible for light cavalry. Popular imagination, especially the female,
+is much in error as to these matters. Graceful young cavaliers, with
+flowing locks, leaping cannon to saber countless foes, make a
+captivating picture. In the language of Bosquet, "'Tis beautiful, but
+'tis not war"; and grave mishaps have been occasioned by this
+misconception. Valor is as necessary now as ever in war, but
+disciplined, subordinated valor, admitting the courage and energies of
+all to be welded and directed to a common end. It is much to be desired
+that the ladies would consent to correct their opinions; for, after all,
+their approval stimulates our best fighting.</p>
+
+<p>On the 7th of June we marched to a place within four miles of Port
+Republic, called Cross Keys, where several roads met. Near at hand was
+the meeting-house of a sect of German Quakers, Tunkers or Dunkards, as
+they are indifferently named. Here Jackson determined to await and fight
+Fremont, who followed him hard; but as a part of Shields's force was now
+unpleasantly near, he pushed on to Port Republic with Winder's and other
+infantry, and a battery, which camped on the hither bank of the river.
+Jackson himself, with his staff and a mounted escort, crossed the bridge
+and passed the night in the village.</p>
+
+<p>Ewell, in immediate charge at Cross Keys, was ready early in the morning
+of the 8th, when Fremont attacked. The ground was undulating, with much
+wood, and no extended view could be had. In my front the attack, if such
+it could be called, was feeble in the extreme&mdash;an affair of skirmishers,
+in which the enemy yielded to the slightest pressure. A staff officer of
+Jackson's, in hot haste, came with orders from his chief to march my
+brigade double-quick to Port Republic. Elzey's bri<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>gade, in second line
+to the rear, was asked to take my place and relieve my skirmishers;
+then, advising the staff officer to notify Ewell, whom he had not seen,
+we started on the run, for such a message from Jackson meant business.
+Two of the intervening miles were quickly passed, when another officer
+appeared with orders to halt. In half an hour, during which the sound of
+battle at Cross Keys thickened, Jackson came. As before stated, he had
+passed the night in the village, with his staff and escort. Up as usual
+at dawn, he started alone to recross the bridge, leaving his people to
+follow. The bridge was a few yards below the last house in the village,
+and some mist overhung the river. Under cover of this a small body of
+horse, with one gun, from Shields's forces, had reached the east end of
+the bridge and trained the gun on it. Jackson was within an ace of
+capture. As he spurred across, the gun was fired on him, but without
+effect, and the sound brought up staff and escort, when the horse
+retired north. This incident occasioned the order to me. After relating
+it (all save his own danger), Jackson passed on to Ewell. Thither I
+followed, to remain in reserve until the general forward movement in the
+afternoon, by which Fremont was driven back with loss of prisoners. We
+did not persist far, as Shields's force was near upon us. From Ewell I
+learned that there had been some pretty fighting in the morning, though
+less than might have been expected from Fremont's numbers. I know not if
+the presence of this commander had a benumbing influence on his troops,
+but certainly his advanced cavalry and infantry had proved bold and
+enterprising.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening we moved to the river and camped. Winder's and other
+brigades crossed the bridge, and during the night Ewell, with most of
+the army, drew near, leaving Trimble's brigade and the horse at Cross
+Keys. No one apprehended another advance by Fremont. The following
+morning, Sunday, June 9, my command passed the bridge, moved several
+hundred yards down the road, and halted. Our trains had gone east over
+the Blue Ridge. The sun appeared above the mountain while the men were
+quietly breakfasting. Suddenly, from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> below, was heard the din of
+battle, loud and sustained, artillery and small arms. The men sprang
+into ranks, formed column, and marched, and I galloped forward a short
+mile to see the following scene:</p>
+
+<p>From the mountain, clothed to its base with undergrowth and timber, a
+level&mdash;clear, open, and smooth&mdash;extended to the river. This plain was
+some thousand yards in width. Half a mile north, a gorge, through which
+flowed a small stream, cut the mountain at a right angle. The northern
+shoulder of this gorge projected farther into the plain than the
+southern, and on an elevated plateau of the shoulder were placed six
+guns, sweeping every inch of the plain to the south. Federal lines,
+their right touching the river, were advancing steadily, with banners
+flying and arms gleaming in the sun. A gallant show, they came on.
+Winder's and another brigade, with a battery, opposed them. This small
+force was suffering cruelly, and its skirmishers were driven in on their
+thin supporting line. As my Irishmen predicted, "Shields's boys were
+after fighting." Below, Ewell was hurrying his men over the bridge, but
+it looked as if we should be doubled up on him ere he could cross and
+develop much strength. Jackson was on the road, a little in advance of
+his line, where the fire was hottest, with reins on his horse's neck,
+seemingly in prayer. Attracted by my approach, he said, in his usual
+voice, "Delightful excitement." I replied that it was pleasant to learn
+he was enjoying himself, but thought he might have an indigestion of
+such fun if the six-gun battery was not silenced. He summoned a young
+officer from his staff, and pointed up the mountain. The head of my
+approaching column was turned short up the slope, and speedily came to a
+path running parallel with the river. We took this path, the guide
+leading the way. From him I learned that the plateau occupied by the
+battery had been used for a charcoal kiln, and the path we were
+following, made by the burners in hauling wood, came upon the gorge
+opposite the battery. Moving briskly, we reached the hither side a few
+yards from the guns. Infantry was posted near, and riflemen were in the
+undergrowth on the slope above. Our approach, masked by timber, was
+un<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>expected. The battery was firing rapidly, enabled from elevation to
+fire over the advancing lines. The head of my column began to deploy
+under cover for attack, when the sounds of battle to our rear appeared
+to recede, and a loud Federal cheer was heard, proving Jackson to be
+hard pressed. It was rather an anxious moment, demanding instant action.
+Leaving a staff officer to direct my rear regiment&mdash;the 7th, Colonel
+Hays&mdash;to form in the wood as a reserve, I ordered the attack, though the
+deployment was not completed, and our rapid march by a narrow path had
+occasioned some disorder. With a rush and shout the gorge was passed and
+we were in the battery. Surprise had aided us, but the enemy's infantry
+rallied in a moment and drove us out. We returned, to be driven a second
+time. The riflemen on the slope worried us no little, and two companies
+of the 9th regiment were sent up the gorge to gain ground above and
+dislodge them, which was accomplished. The fighting in and around the
+battery was hand to hand, and many fell from bayonet wounds. Even the
+artillerymen used their rammers in a way not laid down in the Manual,
+and died at their guns. As Conan said to the devil, "'Twas claw for
+claw." I called for Hays, but he, the promptest of men, and his splendid
+regiment, could not be found. Something unexpected had occurred, but
+there was no time for speculation. With a desperate rally, in which I
+believe the drummer-boys shared, we carried the battery for the third
+time, and held it. Infantry and riflemen had been driven off, and we
+began to feel a little comfortable, when the enemy, arrested in his
+advance by our attack, appeared. He had countermarched, and, with left
+near the river, came into full view of our situation. Wheeling to the
+right, with colors advanced, like a solid wall he marched straight upon
+us. There seemed nothing left but to set our backs to the mountain and
+die hard. At the instant, crashing through the underwood, came Ewell,
+outriding staff and escort. He produced the effect of a re&euml;nforcement,
+and was welcomed with cheers. The line before us halted and threw
+forward skirmishers. A moment later, a shell came shrieking along it,
+loud Confederate cheers reached our delighted ears, and Jackson,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> freed
+from his toils, rushed up like a whirlwind, the enemy in rapid retreat.
+We turned the captured guns on them as they passed, Ewell serving as a
+gunner. Though rapid, the retreat never became a rout. Fortune had
+refused her smiles, but Shields's brave "boys" preserved their
+organization and were formidable to the last; and had Shields himself,
+with his whole command, been on the field, we should have had tough work
+indeed.</p>
+
+<p>Jackson came up, with intense light in his eyes, grasped my hand, and
+said the brigade should have the captured battery. I thought the men
+would go mad with cheering, especially the Irishmen. A huge fellow, with
+one eye closed and half his whiskers burned by powder, was riding
+cock-horse on a gun, and, catching my attention, yelled out, "We told
+you to bet on your boys." Their success against brother Patlanders
+seemed doubly welcome. Strange people, these Irish! Fighting every one's
+battles, and cheerfully taking the hot end of the poker, they are only
+found wanting when engaged in what they believe to be their national
+cause. Excepting the defense of Limerick under brilliant Sarsfield, I
+recall no domestic struggle in which they have shown their worth.</p>
+
+<p>While Jackson pursued the enemy without much effect, as his cavalry,
+left in front of Fremont, could not get over till late, we attended to
+the wounded and performed the last offices to the dead, our own and the
+Federal. I have never seen so many dead and wounded in the same limited
+space. A large farmhouse on the plain, opposite the mouth of the gorge,
+was converted into a hospital. Ere long my lost 7th regiment, sadly cut
+up, rejoined. This regiment was in rear of the column when we left
+Jackson to gain the path in the woods, and before it filed out of the
+road his thin line was so pressed that Jackson ordered Hays to stop the
+enemy's rush. This was done, for the 7th would have stopped a herd of
+elephants, but at a fearful cost. Colonel Hays was severely wounded,
+among many others, and the number of killed was large. Upon my promotion
+to Major-General, Hays succeeded to the command of the brigade, served
+through the war, returned to the practice of the law, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> died in New
+Orleans. He was brother to Colonel Jack Hays, formerly of Texas, now of
+California, and shared much of the fighting ability of that renowned
+partisan.</p>
+
+<p>The young officer who guided us through the wood deserves mention, as he
+was one of the first to reach the battery, where he was killed.
+Lieutenant English, near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, proved to be his name
+and place of birth.</p>
+
+<p>Many hours passed in discharge of sad duties to the wounded and dead,
+during which Fremont appeared on the opposite bank of the river and
+opened his guns; but, observing doubtless our occupation, he ceased his
+fire, and after a short time withdrew. It may be added here that Jackson
+had caused such alarm at Washington as to start Milroy, Banks, Fremont,
+and Shields toward that capital, and the great valley was cleared of the
+enemy.</p>
+
+<p>We passed the night high up the mountain, where we moved to reach our
+supply wagons. A cold rain was falling, and before we found them every
+one was tired and famished. I rather took it out of the train-master for
+pushing so far up, although I had lunched comfortably from the haversack
+of a dead Federal. It is not pleasant to think of now, but war <i>is</i> a
+little hardening.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th of June the army moved down to the river, above Port
+Republic, where the valley was wide, with many trees, and no enemy to
+worry or make us afraid. Here closed Jackson's wonderful Valley campaign
+of 1862.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+
+
+<p>The Louisiana brigade marched from its camp near Conrad's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> store, to
+join Jackson at Newmarket, on the 21st of May. In twenty days it marched
+over two hundred miles, fought in five actions, of which three were
+severe, and several skirmishes, and, though it had suffered heavy loss
+in officers and men, was yet strong, hard as nails, and full of
+confidence. I have felt it a duty to set forth the achievements of the
+brigade, than which no man ever led braver into action, in their proper
+light, because such reputation as I gained in this campaign is to be
+ascribed to its excellence.</p>
+
+<p>For the first time since several weeks, friend Ewell and I had a chance
+to renew our talks; but events soon parted us again. Subsequently he was
+wounded in the knee at the second battle of Manassas, and suffered
+amputation of the leg in consequence. His absence of mind nearly proved
+fatal. Forgetting his condition, he suddenly started to walk, came down
+on the stump, imperfectly healed, and produced violent h&aelig;morrhage.</p>
+
+<p>About the close of the war he married Mrs. Brown, a widow, and daughter
+of Judge Campbell, a distinguished citizen of Tennessee, who had
+represented the United States at the court of St. Petersburg, where this
+lady was born. She was a kinswoman of Ewell, and said to have been his
+early love. He brought her to New Orleans in 1866, where I hastened to
+see him. He took me by the hand and presented me to "my wife, Mrs.
+Brown." How well I remember our chat! How he talked of his plans and
+hopes and happiness, and of his great lot of books, which he was afraid
+he would never be able to read through. The while "my wife, Mrs. Brown,"
+sat by, handsome as a picture, smiling on her General, as well she
+might, so noble a gentleman. A few short years, and both he and his wife
+passed away within an hour of each other; but his last years were made
+happy by her companionship, and comfortable by the wealth she had
+brought him. Dear Dick Ewell! Virginia never bred a truer gentleman, a
+braver soldier, nor an odder, more lovable fellow.</p>
+
+<p>On the second day in this camp General Winder came to me and said that
+he had asked leave to go to Richmond, been re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>fused, and resigned. He
+commanded Jackson's old brigade, and was aggrieved by some unjust
+interference. Holding Winder in high esteem, I hoped to save him to the
+army, and went to Jackson, to whose magnanimity I appealed, and to
+arouse this dwelt on the rich harvest of glory he had reaped in his
+brilliant campaign. Observing him closely, I caught a glimpse of the
+man's inner nature. It was but a glimpse. The curtain closed, and he was
+absorbed in prayer. Yet in that moment I saw an ambition boundless as
+Cromwell's, and as merciless. This latter quality was exhibited in his
+treatment of General Richard Garnett, cousin to Robert Garnett, before
+mentioned, and his codisciple at West Point. I have never met officer or
+soldier, present at Kernstown, who failed to condemn the harsh treatment
+of Garnett after that action. Richard Garnett was subsequently restored
+to command at my instance near Jackson, and fell on the field of
+Gettysburg.</p>
+
+<p>No reply was made to my effort for Winder, and I rose to take my leave,
+when Jackson said he would ride with me. We passed silently along the
+way to my camp, where he left me. That night a few lines came from
+Winder, to inform me that Jackson had called on him, and his resignation
+was withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p>Charles Winder was born in Maryland, graduated at West Point in 1850,
+embarked soon thereafter for California in charge of a detachment of
+recruits, was wrecked on the coast, and saved his men by his coolness
+and energy. He left the United States army to join the Confederacy, and
+was killed at Cedar Run some weeks after this period. Had he lived, he
+would have reached and adorned high position.</p>
+
+<p>And now a great weariness and depression fell upon me. I was threatened
+with a return of the illness experienced the previous autumn. For many
+weeks I had received no intelligence from my family. New Orleans had
+fallen, and my wife and children resided there or on an estate near the
+city. I hoped to learn of them at Richmond; change might benefit health,
+and matters were quiet in the Valley. Accordingly, a short leave was
+asked for and granted; and although I returned within three days to join
+my command on the march to Cold Harbor,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> we were absorbed in the larger
+army operating against McClellan, and I saw but little of Jackson.</p>
+
+<p>I have written that he was ambitious; and his ambition was vast,
+all-absorbing. Like the unhappy wretch from whose shoulders sprang the
+foul serpent, he loathed it, perhaps feared it; but he could not escape
+it&mdash;it was himself&mdash;nor rend it&mdash;it was his own flesh. He fought it with
+prayer, constant and earnest&mdash;Apollyon and Christian in ceaseless
+combat. What limit to set to his ability I know not, for he was ever
+superior to occasion. Under ordinary circumstances it was difficult to
+estimate him because of his peculiarities&mdash;peculiarities that would have
+made a lesser man absurd, but that served to enhance his martial fame,
+as those of Samuel Johnson did his literary eminence. He once observed,
+in reply to an allusion to his severe marching, that it was better to
+lose one man in marching than five in fighting; and, acting on this, he
+invariably surprised the enemy&mdash;Milroy at McDowell, Banks and Fremont in
+the Valley, McClellan's right at Cold Harbor, Pope at second Manassas.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunate in his death, he fell at the summit of glory, before the sun
+of the Confederacy had set, ere defeat, and suffering, and selfishness
+could turn their fangs upon him. As one man, the South wept for him;
+foreign nations shared the grief; even Federals praised him. With Wolfe
+and Nelson and Havelock, he took his place in the hearts of
+English-speaking peoples.</p>
+
+<p>In the first years of this century, a great battle was fought on the
+plains of the Danube. A determined charge on the Austrian center gained
+the victory for France. The courage and example of a private soldier,
+who there fell, contributed much to the success of the charge. Ever
+after, at the parades of his battalion, the name of Latour d'Auvergne
+was first called, when the oldest sergeant stepped to the front and
+answered, "Died on the field of honor." In Valhalla, beyond the grave,
+where spirits of warriors assemble, when on the roll of heroes the name
+of Jackson is reached, it will be for the majestic shade of Lee to
+pronounce the highest eulogy known to our race&mdash;"Died on the field of
+duty."</p>
+
+<p>I reached Richmond, by Charlottesville and Lynchburg, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> day after
+leaving camp, and went to the war office, where I found letters from my
+family. My wife and children had left New Orleans on a steamer just as
+Farragut's fleet arrived, and were on the Atchafalaya River with
+friends, all well. While reading my letters, an acquaintance in high
+position in the office greeted me, but went on to say, if I knew what
+was afoot, my stay in Richmond would be short. Taking the hint, and
+feeling improved in health in consequence of relief from anxiety about
+my family, I returned to the station at once, and took rail to
+Charlottesville. Arrived there, I met the Valley army in march to the
+southeast, and joined my command.</p>
+
+<p>That night we camped between Charlottesville and Gordonsville, in Orange
+County, the birthplace of my father. A distant kinsman, whom I had never
+met, came to invite me to his house in the neighborhood. Learning that I
+always slept in camp, he seemed so much distressed as to get my consent
+to breakfast with him, if he would engage to have breakfast at the
+barbarous hour of sunrise. His house was a little distant from the road;
+so, the following morning, he sent a mounted groom to show the way. My
+aide, young Hamilton, accompanied me, and Tom of course followed. It was
+a fine old mansion, surrounded by well-kept grounds. This immediate
+region had not yet been touched by war. Flowering plants and rose trees,
+in full bloom, attested the glorious wealth of June. On the broad
+portico, to welcome us, stood the host, with his fresh, charming wife,
+and, a little retired, a white-headed butler. Greetings over with host
+and lady, this delightful creature, with ebon face beaming hospitality,
+advanced, holding a salver, on which rested a huge silver goblet filled
+with Virginia's nectar, mint julep. Quantities of cracked ice rattled
+refreshingly in the goblet; sprigs of fragrant mint peered above its
+broad rim; a mass of white sugar, too sweetly indolent to melt, rested
+on the mint; and, like rose buds on a snow bank, luscious strawberries
+crowned the sugar. Ah! that julep! Mars ne'er received such tipple from
+the hands of Ganymede. Breakfast was announced, and what a breakfast! A
+beautiful service, snowy table cloth, damask napkins, long unknown;
+above all, a lovely woman in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> crisp gown, with more and handsomer roses
+on her cheek than in her garden. 'Twas an idyl in the midst of the stern
+realities of war! The table groaned beneath its viands. Sable servitors
+brought in, hot and hot from the kitchen, cakes of wondrous forms,
+inventions of the tropical imagination of Africa, inflamed by Virginian
+hospitality. I was rather a moderate trencherman, but the performance of
+Hamilton was Gargantuan, alarming. Duty dragged us from this Eden; yet
+in hurried adieus I did not forget to claim of the fair hostess the
+privilege of a cousin. I watched Hamilton narrowly for a time. The youth
+wore a sodden, apoplectic look, quite out of his usual brisk form. A
+gallop of some miles put him right, but for many days he dilated on the
+breakfast with the gusto of one of Hannibal's veterans on the delights
+of Capua.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> A part of the foregoing text was published in the number of
+the "North American Review" for March, 1878, under the title of
+"Stonewall Jackson and the Valley Campaign." In a kind and friendly
+letter, dated New York, March 21, General Shields corrects some
+misapprehensions into which I had fallen, more especially concerning his
+<i>personal</i> connection with the events described. I had been unable to
+procure a copy of General Shields's report, which, he informs me in the
+same letter, was suppressed by Secretary Stanton.</p></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<p  class='center'>"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND."</p>
+
+
+<p>Leaving Gordonsville, we proceeded in a southeasterly direction, passing
+Louisa Court House and Frederickshall, and camped at Ashland on the
+Fredericksburg Railway, twelve miles north of Richmond, on the evening
+of the 25th of June. To deceive the enemy, General Lee had sent to the
+Valley a considerable force under Generals Whiting, Hood, and Lawton.
+The movement was openly made and speedily known at Washington, where it
+produced the desired impression, that Jackson would invade Maryland from
+the Valley. These troops reached Staunton by rail on the 17th, and,
+without leaving the train, turned back to Gordonsville, where they
+united with Jackson. The line from Gordonsville to Frederickshall, south
+of which point it had been interrupted, was used to facilitate our
+movement, but this was slow and uncertain. The advance frequently halted
+or changed direction. We were pushing between McDowell and McClellan's
+right, over ground recently occupied by the enemy. Bridges had been
+destroyed, and, to conceal the movement, no guides were trusted&mdash;an
+over-caution occasioning delay.</p>
+
+<p>During the day and night of the 25th I suffered from severe pains in the
+head and loins, and on the morning of the 26th found it impossible to
+mount my horse; so the brigade marched under the senior colonel,
+Seymour, 6th regiment. A small ambulance was left with me, and my staff
+was directed to accompany Seymour and send back word if an engagement
+was imminent. Several messages came during the day, the last after
+nightfall, reporting the command to be camped near Pole Green<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> Church,
+beyond the Chickahominy; so far, no fighting. Lying on the floor of a
+vacant house at Ashland, I had scarce consciousness to comprehend these
+messages. Pains in head and back continued, with loss of power to move
+my limbs.</p>
+
+<p>Toward daylight of the 27th sleep came from exhaustion, and lasted some
+hours. From this I was aroused by sounds of artillery, loud and
+constant, brought by the easterly wind. Tom raised me into a sitting
+posture, and administered a cup of strong coffee. The sound of battle
+continued until it became unendurable, and I was put into the ambulance
+by Tom and the driver, the former following with the horses. We took the
+route by which the troops had marched, the din of conflict increasing
+with every mile, the rattle of small arms mingling with the thud of
+guns. After weary hours of rough road, every jolt on which threatened to
+destroy my remaining vitality, we approached Cold Harbor and met numbers
+of wounded. Among these was General Elzey, with a dreadful wound in the
+head and face. His aide was taking him to the rear in an ambulance, and,
+recognizing Tom, stopped a moment to tell of the fight. Ewell's
+division, to which Elzey and I belonged, had just been engaged with
+heavy loss. This was too much for any illness, and I managed somehow to
+struggle on to my horse and get into the action.</p>
+
+<p>It was a wild scene. Battle was raging furiously. Shot, shell, and ball
+exploded and whistled. Hundreds of wounded were being carried off, while
+the ground was strewn with dead. Dense thickets of small pines covered
+much of the field, further obscured by clouds of smoke. The first troops
+encountered were D.H. Hill's, and, making way through these, I came upon
+Winder's, moving across the front from right to left. Then succeeded
+Elzey's of Ewell's division, and, across the road leading to Gaines's
+Mill, my own. Mangled and bleeding, as were all of Ewell's, it was
+holding the ground it had won close to the enemy's line, but unable to
+advance. The sun was setting as I joined, and at the moment cheers came
+up from our left, raised by Winder's command, which had turned and was
+sweeping the Federal right, while Lawton's Georgians, fresh and eager,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>
+attacked in our front. The enemy gave way, and, under cover of the
+night, retired over the Chickahominy. Firing continued for two hours,
+though darkness concealed everything.</p>
+
+<p>The loss in my command was distressing. Wheat, of whom I have written,
+was gone, and Seymour, and many others. I had a wretched feeling of
+guilt, especially about Seymour, who led the brigade and died in my
+place. Colonel Seymour was born in Georgia, but had long resided in New
+Orleans, where he edited the leading commercial paper&mdash;a man of culture,
+respected of all. In early life he had served in Indian and Mexican
+wars, and his high spirit brought him to this, though past middle age.
+Brave old Seymour! I can see him now, mounting the hill at Winchester,
+on foot, with sword and cap in hand, his thin gray locks streaming,
+turning to his sturdy Irishmen with "Steady, men! dress to the right!"
+Georgia has been fertile of worthies, but will produce none more
+deserving than Colonel Seymour.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning, while looking to the burial of the dead and care
+of the wounded, I had an opportunity of examining the field of battle.
+The campaign around Richmond is too well known to justify me in entering
+into details, and I shall confine myself to events within my own
+experience, only enlarging on such general features as are necessary to
+explain criticism.</p>
+
+<p>The Chickahominy, a sluggish stream and subject to floods, flows through
+a low, marshy bottom, draining the country between the Pamunky or York
+and James Rivers, into which last it discharges many miles below
+Richmond. The upper portion of its course from the crossing of the
+Central Railroad, six miles north of Richmond, to Long Bridge, some
+three times that distance to the southeast, is parallel with both the
+above-mentioned rivers. The bridges with which we were concerned at and
+after Cold Harbor were the Federal military bridges, Grapevine, York
+River Railroad, Bottom's, and Long, the lowermost; after which the
+stream, affected by tide, spread over a marshy country. The upper or
+Grapevine Bridge was on the road leading due south from Cold Harbor,
+and, passing Savage's Station on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> York River Railroad, united with the
+Williamsburg road, which ran east from Richmond to Bottom's Bridge. A
+branch from this Williamsburg road continued on the south bank of the
+Chickahominy to Long Bridge, where it joined the Charles City,
+Darbytown, and Newmarket roads coming south-southeast from Richmond.
+Many other roads, with no names or confusing ones, crossed this region,
+which was densely wooded and intersected by sluggish streams, draining
+the marshes into both the Chickahominy and James. We came upon two of
+these country roads leading in quite different directions, but bearing
+the same name, Grapevine; and it will astound advocates of phonics to
+learn that the name of <i>Darby</i> (whence Darbytown) was thus pronounced,
+while it was spelt and written <i>Enroughty</i>. A German philologist might
+have discovered, unaided, the connection between the sound and the
+letters; but it would hardly have occurred to mortals of less erudition.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of operations in this Richmond campaign, Lee had
+seventy-five thousand men, McClellan one hundred thousand. Round numbers
+are here given, but they are taken from official sources. A high opinion
+has been expressed of the strategy of Lee, by which Jackson's forces
+from the Valley were suddenly thrust between McDowell and McClellan's
+right, and it deserves all praise; but the tactics on the field were
+vastly inferior to the strategy. Indeed, it may be confidently asserted
+that from Cold Harbor to Malvern Hill, inclusive, there was nothing but
+a series of blunders, one after another, and all huge. The Confederate
+commanders knew no more about the topography of the country than they
+did about Central Africa. Here was a limited district, the whole of it
+within a day's march of the city of Richmond, capital of Virginia and
+the Confederacy, almost the first spot on the continent occupied by the
+British race, the Chickahominy itself classic by legends of Captain John
+Smith and Pocahontas; and yet we were profoundly ignorant of the
+country, were without maps, sketches, or proper guides, and nearly as
+helpless as if we had been suddenly transferred to the banks of the
+Lualaba. The day before the battle of Malvern Hill, President Davis
+could not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> find a guide with intelligence enough to show him the way
+from one of our columns to another; and this fact I have from him.
+People find a small cable in the middle of the ocean, a thousand fathoms
+below the surface. For two days we lost McClellan's great army in a few
+miles of woodland, and never had any definite knowledge of its
+movements. Let it be remembered, too, that McClellan had opened the
+peninsular campaign weeks before, indicating this very region to be the
+necessary theatre of conflict; that the Confederate commander (up to the
+time of his wound at Fair Oaks), General Johnston, had been a
+topographical engineer in the United States army; while his successor,
+General Lee&mdash;another engineer&mdash;had been on duty at the war office in
+Richmond and in constant intercourse with President Davis, who was
+educated at West Point and served seven years; and then think of our
+ignorance in a military sense of the ground over which we were called to
+fight. Every one must agree that it was amazing. Even now, I can
+scarcely realize it. McClellan was as superior to us in knowledge of our
+own land as were the Germans to the French in their late war, and owed
+the success of his retreat to it, although credit must be given to his
+ability. We had much praying at various headquarters, and large reliance
+on special providences; but none were vouchsafed, by pillar of cloud or
+fire, to supplement our ignorance; so we blundered on like people trying
+to read without knowledge of their letters.</p>
+
+<p>To return to the field of Cold Harbor, the morning (Saturday) after the
+battle. McClellan had chosen an excellent position, covering his
+military bridges over the Chickahominy. His left, resting on the river,
+and his center were covered by a small stream, one of its affluents,
+boggy and of difficult passage. His right was on high ground, near Cold
+Harbor, in a dense thicket of pine-scrub, with artillery massed. This
+position, three miles in extent, and enfiladed in front by heavy guns on
+the south bank of the Chickahominy, was held by three lines of infantry,
+one above the other on the rising ground, which was crowned with
+numerous batteries, concealed by timber. McClellan reported thirty-six
+thousand men present, including Sykes's and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> Porter's regulars; but
+re&euml;nforcements brought over during the action probably increased this
+number to fifty thousand. Lee had forty thousand on the field.</p>
+
+<p>Longstreet attacked on our right, near the river, A.P. Hill on his left.
+Jackson approached Cold Harbor from the north, his divisions in column
+on one road as follows: Ewell's, Whiting's, Lawton's (Georgians), and
+Winder's. At Cold Harbor Jackson united with the division of D.H. Hill,
+in advance of him, and directed it to <i>find</i> and attack the enemy's
+right. His own divisions, in the order above named, were to come up on
+D.H. Hill's right and connect it with A.P. Hill's left. Artillery was
+only employed by the Confederates late in the day, and on their extreme
+left.</p>
+
+<p>D.H. Hill and Ewell were speedily engaged, and suffered heavily, as did
+A.P. Hill and Longstreet, all attacking in front. Ignorance of the
+ground, densely wooded, and want of guides occasioned confusion and
+delay in the divisions to Ewell's rear. Lawton came to Ewell's support,
+Whiting to A.P. Hill's; while of the three brigades of the last
+division, the second went to Longstreet's right, the third to A.P.
+Hill's center, and the first was taken by Winder, with a fine soldierly
+instinct, from right to left, across the battle, to re&euml;nforce D.H. Hill
+and turn the Federal position. This movement was decisive, and if
+executed earlier would have saved loss of men and time. So much for
+fighting on unknown ground.</p>
+
+<p>During the day of Saturday, McClellan remained on the south bank of the
+Chickahominy with guns in position guarding his bridges; and the only
+movement made by Lee was to send Stuart's cavalry east to the river
+terminus of the York Railway, and Ewell's division to the bridge of that
+line over the Chickahominy and to Bottom's, a short distance below. Late
+in the evening General Lee informed me that I would remain the following
+day to guard Bottom's and the railway bridges, while Stuart's cavalry
+watched the river below to Long Bridge and beyond. From all indications,
+he thought that McClellan would withdraw during the night, and expected
+to cross the river in the morning to unite with Magruder and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> Huger in
+pursuit. Holmes's division was to be brought from the south side of the
+James to bar the enemy's road; and he expressed some confidence that his
+dispositions would inflict serious loss on McClellan's army, if he could
+receive prompt and accurate information of that General's movements.
+Meantime, I would remain until the following (Sunday) evening, unless
+sooner convinced of the enemy's designs, when I would cross Grapevine
+Bridge and follow Jackson. It is to be presumed that General Lee
+disclosed so much of his plans to his subordinates as he deemed
+necessary to insure their intelligent execution.</p>
+
+<p>The morning light showed that the Federals had destroyed a part of the
+railway bridge near the center of the stream. We were opposite to
+Savage's Station (on the line toward Richmond), from which distinct
+sounds reached us, but dense forest limited vision to the margin of the
+river. Smoke rising above the trees, and explosions, indicated the
+destruction of stores. In the afternoon, a great noise of battle
+came&mdash;artillery, small arms, shouts. This, as we afterward learned, was
+Magruder's engagement at Savage's Station, but this din of combat was
+silenced to our ears by the following incident: A train was heard
+approaching from Savage's. Gathering speed, it came rushing on, and
+quickly emerged from the forest, two engines drawing a long string of
+carriages. Reaching the bridge, the engines exploded with terrific
+noise, followed in succession by explosions of the carriages, laden with
+ammunition. Shells burst in all directions, the river was lashed into
+foam, trees were torn for acres around, and several of my men were
+wounded. The enemy had taken this means of destroying surplus
+ammunition.</p>
+
+<p>After this queer action had ceased, as sunset was approaching, and all
+quiet at Bottom's Bridge, we moved up stream and crossed Grapevine
+Bridge, repaired by Jackson earlier in the day. Darkness fell as we
+bivouacked on the low ground south of the river. A heavy rain came down,
+converting the ground into a lake, in the midst of which a half-drowned
+courier, with a dispatch, was brought to me. With difficulty, underneath
+an ambulance, a light was struck to read the dispatch, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> proved to
+be from Magruder, asking for re&euml;nforcements in front of Savage's
+Station, where he was then engaged. Several hours had elapsed since the
+courier left Magruder, and he could tell nothing beyond the fact of the
+engagement, the noise of which we had heard. It must be borne in mind
+that, during the operations north of the Chickahominy, the divisions of
+Magruder and Huger had remained in position between McClellan's left and
+Richmond.</p>
+
+<p>In the night the enemy disappeared from Savage's, near which we passed
+the following (Monday) morning, in march to rejoin Jackson. We
+encountered troops of Magruder's, Huger's, and other divisions, seeking
+to find their proper routes. Countless questions about roads were asked
+in vain. At length, we discovered that Jackson had followed the one
+nearest the Chickahominy, and about noon overtook the rear of his
+column, halted in the road. Artillery could be heard in front, and a
+staff officer was sent to find out the meaning of it.</p>
+
+<p>Enfeebled by pain, I used an ambulance to husband my little strength for
+emergencies; and I think it was here that General Wade Hampton,
+accompanied by Senator Wigfall, came up to me. Hampton had been promoted
+to brigadier for gallantry at Manassas, where he was wounded, but not
+yet assigned to a command. Wigfall had left the army to take a seat in
+the Confederate Congress as Senator from Texas, and from him I learned
+that he was in hopes some brigadier would be killed to make a place for
+Hampton, to whom, as volunteer aide, he proposed to attach himself and
+see the fun. Finding me extended in an ambulance, he doubtless thought
+he had met his opportunity, and felt aggrieved that I was not <i>in
+extremis</i>. Hampton took command of a brigade in Jackson's old division
+the next day, and perhaps his friend Wigfall enjoyed himself at Malvern
+Hill.</p>
+
+<p>The staff officer returned from the front and reported the situation.
+D.H. Hill's division was at White Oak Swamp Creek, a slough, and one of
+"despond" to us, draining to the Chickahominy. The enemy held the high
+ground beyond, and artillery fire was continuous, but no infantry was
+engaged. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> was no change until nightfall, when we bivouacked where
+we were. Our loss, <i>one</i> artilleryman mortally wounded, proved that no
+serious effort to pass the slough was made; yet a prize was in reach
+worth the loss of thousands. While we were idly shelling the wood,
+behind which lay Franklin's corps&mdash;the right of McClellan's army&mdash;scarce
+a rifle shot to the southwest, but concealed by intervening forest,
+Longstreet and A.P. Hill were fighting the bloody engagement of
+Frazier's Farm with Heintzelman and McCall, the Federal center and left.
+Again, fractions against masses; for of the two divisions expected to
+support them, Magruder's and Huger's, the latter did not get up, and the
+former was taken off by a misleading message from Holmes, who, from the
+south bank of the James, had reached the Newmarket road a day later than
+was intended. Longstreet and Hill fought into the night, held a large
+part of the field, and captured many prisoners (including General
+McCall) and guns, but their own loss was severe. After the action,
+Franklin quietly passed within a few yards of them, joined Heintzelman,
+and with him gained Malvern Hill, which McClellan had fortified during
+the day, employing for the purpose the commands of Keyes and Porter.</p>
+
+<p>On the succeeding morning (July 1), Jackson followed the enemy's track
+from White Oak Swamp Creek toward Malvern Hill, passing the field of
+Frazier's Farm, and Magruder's division, which had arrived in the night
+and relieved the exhausted commands of Longstreet and Hill.</p>
+
+<p>Malvern Hill was a desperate position to attack in front, though, like
+Cold Harbor, it could be turned on the right. Here McClellan was posted
+with his whole force. His right was covered by Turkey Creek, an affluent
+of the James; his left was near that river and protected by gunboats,
+which, though hidden by timber, threw shells across his entire front.
+Distance and uncertainty of aim saved us from much loss by these
+projectiles, but their shriek and elongated form astonished our landward
+men, who called them lamp posts. By its height, Malvern Hill dominated
+the ground to the north, the James River, and the Newmarket road on
+which we approached, and was crowned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> with a numerous and heavy
+artillery. On our side, from inferior elevation, artillery labored under
+a great disadvantage, and was brought into action in detail to be
+overpowered.</p>
+
+<p>The left attack was assigned to Jackson, the right to Magruder,
+supported by Huger and Holmes&mdash;Longstreet and A.P. Hill in reserve.
+Jackson's dispositions were as follows: On the extreme left, the
+division of Whiting, then artillery supported by a brigade under Wade
+Hampton, my brigade, and on my right the division of D.H. Hill. In
+reserve were the remainder of Ewell's division and the brigades of
+Winder, Lawton, and Cunningham. It was perhaps 3 o'clock of the
+afternoon before these dispositions were completed.</p>
+
+<p>As it was General Lee's intention to open from his right, Magruder was
+waited for, who, following Jackson on the road, was necessarily later in
+getting into position. Orders were for Hill to attack with the bayonet
+as soon as he heard the cheers of Magruder's charge. To be ready, Hill
+advanced over open ground to some timber within four hundred yards of
+the enemy's line, but suffered in doing so. Artillery sent to his
+support was crippled and driven off. It was 5 o'clock or after when a
+loud shout and some firing were heard on the right, and, supposing this
+to be Magruder's attack, Hill led his men to the charge. He carried the
+first line of the enemy, who, unoccupied elsewhere, re&euml;nforced at once,
+and Hill was beaten off with severe loss. The brigades of Trimble,
+Lawton, Winder, and Cunningham were sent to his assistance, but could
+accomplish nothing beyond holding the ground. About sunset, after Hill's
+attack had failed, Magruder got into position and led on his men with
+similar fortune. Like Hill, he and his troops displayed superb courage
+and suffered enormously; but it was not to be; such partial attacks were
+without the first element of success. My brigade was not moved from its
+position, but experienced some loss by artillery.</p>
+
+<p>After the action, Stuart arrived from the north side of the
+Chickahominy, where he had been since Cold Harbor. Had he been brought
+over the Long Bridge two days earlier, McClellan's huge trains on the
+Charles City road would have fallen an easy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> prey to his cavalry, and he
+could have blocked the roads through the forest.</p>
+
+<p>McClellan's guns continued firing long after nightfall, but the ensuing
+morning found him and his army at Harrison's Landing, in an impregnable
+position. Here ended the campaign around Richmond.</p>
+
+<p>The strategy displayed on the Confederate side was magnificent, and gave
+opportunity for resplendent success; but this opportunity was lost by
+tactical mistakes, occasioned by want of knowledge of the theatre of
+action, and it is to be feared that Time, when he renders his verdict,
+will declare the gallant dead who fell at Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor,
+Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill, to have been sacrificed on the altar
+of the bloodiest of all Molochs&mdash;Ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>The crisis of my illness now came in a paralysis of the lower limbs, and
+I was taken to Richmond, where I learned of my promotion to
+major-general, on the recommendation of Jackson, for services in the
+Valley, and assignment to a distant field.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Having expressed an opinion of McClellan as an organizer of armies, I
+will now treat of his conduct as a commander in this and his subsequent
+campaign. His first operations on the peninsula were marked by a
+slowness and hesitancy to be expected of an engineer, with small
+experience in handling troops. His opponent, General Magruder, was a man
+of singular versatility. Of a boiling, headlong courage, he was too
+excitable for high command. Widely known for social attractions, he had
+a histrionic vein, and indeed was fond of private theatricals. Few
+managers could have surpassed him in imposing on an audience a score of
+supernumeraries for a grand army. Accordingly, with scarce a tenth the
+force, he made McClellan reconnoiter and deploy with all the caution of
+old Melas, till Johnston came up. It is true that McClellan steadily
+improved, and gained confidence in himself and his army; yet he seemed
+to regard the latter as a parent does a child, and, like the first
+Frederick William's gigantic grenadiers, too precious for gunpowder.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>His position in front of Richmond, necessitated by the establishment of
+his base on York River, was vicious, because his army was separated by
+the Chickahominy, a stream subject to heavy floods, which swept away
+bridges and made the adjacent lowlands impassable. Attacked at Fair Oaks
+while the river was in flood, he displayed energy, but owed the escape
+of his two exposed corps to Johnston's wound and the subsequent blunders
+of the Confederates. To operate against Richmond on the north bank of
+the James, his proper plan was to clear that river and rest his left
+upon it, or to make the Potomac and Rappahannock his base, as the line
+of rail from Aquia and Fredericksburg was but little longer than the
+York River line. This, keeping him more directly between the Confederate
+army and Washington, would have given him McDowell's corps, the
+withdrawal of which from his direction he earnestly objected to. The
+true line of attack was on the south of the James, where Grant was
+subsequently forced by the ability of Lee; but it should be observed
+that after he took the field, McClellan had not the liberty of action
+accorded to Grant. That Lee caught his right "in the air" at Hanover and
+Cold Harbor, McClellan ascribes to his Government's interference with
+and withdrawal of McDowell's corps. Reserving this, he fought well at
+Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor, and Frazier's Farm. Always protecting his
+selected line of retreat, bringing off his movable stores, and
+preserving the organization of his army, he restored its spirit and
+<i>morale</i> by turning at Malvern Hill to inflict a bloody repulse on his
+enemy. In his official report he speaks of his movement from the
+Chickahominy to Harrison's Landing on the James as a change of base,
+previously determined. This his detractors sneer at as an afterthought,
+thereby unwittingly enhancing his merit. Regarded as a change of base,
+carefully considered and provided for, it was most creditable; but if
+suddenly and unexpectedly forced upon him, he exhibited a courage,
+vigor, and presence of mind worthy of the greatest commanders.</p>
+
+<p>Safe at Harrison's Landing, in communication with the fleet, the army
+was transferred from McClellan to the command of General Pope; and the
+influence of McClellan on his troops<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> can not be correctly estimated
+without some allusion to this officer, under whose command the Federal
+Army of the Potomac suffered such mortifying defeat. Of an effrontery
+while danger was remote equaled by helplessness when it was present, and
+mendacity after it had passed, the annals of despotism scarce afford an
+example of the elevation of such a favorite. It has been said that his
+talent for the relation of obscene stories engaged the attention and
+confidence of President Lincoln. However this may be, great was the
+consternation at Washington produced by his incapacity. The bitterness
+of official rancor was sweetened, and in honeyed phrase McClellan was
+implored to save the capital. He displayed an unselfish patriotism by
+accepting the task without conditions for himself, but it may be doubted
+if he was right in leaving devoted friends under the scalping-knife,
+speedily applied, as might have been foreseen.</p>
+
+<p>With vigor he restored order and spirit to the army, and led it, through
+the passes of South Mountain, to face Lee, who was stretched from
+Chambersburg to Harper's Ferry. Having unaccountably permitted his
+cavalry to separate from him, and deprived himself of adequate means of
+information, Lee was to some extent taken unawares. His thin lines at
+Antietam, slowly fed with men jaded by heavy marching, were sorely
+pressed. There was a moment, as Hooker's advance was stayed by the wound
+of its leader, when McClellan, with <i>storg&eacute;</i> of battle, might have led
+on his reserves and swept the field. Hard would it have been for the
+Confederates, with the river in rear; but this seemed beyond McClellan
+or outside of his nature. Antietam was a drawn battle, and Lee recrossed
+into Virginia at his leisure.</p>
+
+<p>While it may be confidently believed that McClellan would have continued
+to improve by experience in the field, it is doubtful if he possessed
+that divine spark which impels a commander, at the accepted moment, to
+throw every man on the enemy and grasp complete victory. But his
+Government gave him no further opportunity. He disappeared from the war,
+to be succeeded by mediocrity, too well recognized to disturb the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
+susceptibility of a War Secretary who, like Louvois, was able, but
+jealous of merit and lustful of power.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Although in the last months of the war, after he had assumed command of
+the armies of the Confederacy, I had some correspondence with General
+Lee, I never met him again, and indeed was widely separated from him,
+and it now behooves me to set forth an opinion of his place in Southern
+history. Of all the men I have seen, he was best entitled to the epithet
+of distinguished; and so marked was his appearance in this particular,
+that he would not have passed unnoticed through the streets of any
+capital. Reserved almost to coldness, his calm dignity repelled
+familiarity: not that he seemed without sympathies, but that he had so
+conquered his own weaknesses as to prevent the confession of others
+before him. At the outbreak of the war his reputation was exclusively
+that of an engineer, in which branch of the military service of the
+United States he had, with a short exception, passed his career. He was
+early sent to Western Virginia on a forlorn hope against Rosecrans,
+where he had no success; for success was impossible. Yet his lofty
+character was respected of all and compelled public confidence. Indeed,
+his character seemed perfect, his bath in Stygian waters complete; not a
+vulnerable spot remained: <i>totus teres atque rotundus</i>. His soldiers
+reverenced him and had unbounded confidence in him, for he shared all
+their privations, and they saw him ever unshaken of fortune. Tender and
+protecting love he did not inspire: such love is given to weakness, not
+to strength. Not only was he destitute of a vulgar greed for fame, he
+would not extend a hand to welcome it when it came unbidden. He was
+without ambition, and, like Washington, into whose family connection he
+had married, kept duty as his guide.</p>
+
+<p>The strategy by which he openly, to attract attention, re&euml;nforced
+Jackson in the Valley, to thrust him between McDowell and McClellan at
+Cold Harbor, deserves to rank with Marlborough's cross march in Germany
+and Napoleon's rapid concentration around Ulm; though his tactical
+man&oelig;uvres on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> field were inferior to the strategy. His wonderful
+defensive campaign in 1864 stands with that of Napoleon in 1813; and the
+comparison only fails by an absence of sharp returns to the offensive.
+The historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states (and, as far as
+I have seen, uncontradicted) that Grant's army, at second Cold Harbor,
+refused to obey the order to attack, so distressed was it by constant
+butchery. In such a condition of <i>morale</i> an advance upon it might have
+changed history. In truth, the genius of Lee for offensive war had
+suffered by a too long service as an engineer. Like Erskine in the House
+of Commons, it was not his forte. In both the Antietam and Gettysburg
+campaigns he allowed his cavalry to separate from him, and was left
+without intelligence of the enemy's movements until he was upon him. In
+both, too, his army was widely scattered, and had to be brought into
+action by piecemeal. There was an abundance of supplies in the country
+immediately around Harper's Ferry, and had he remained concentrated
+there, the surrender of Miles would have been advanced, and McClellan
+met under favorable conditions. His own report of Gettysburg confesses
+his mistakes; for he was of too lofty a nature to seek scapegoats, and
+all the rambling accounts of that action I have seen published add but
+little to his report. These criticisms are written with unaffected
+diffidence; but it is only by studying the campaigns of great commanders
+that the art of war can be illustrated.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, from the moment Lee succeeded to the command of the army
+in Virginia, he was <i>facile princeps</i> in the war, towering above all on
+both sides, as the pyramid of Ghizeh above the desert. Steadfast to the
+end, he upheld the waning fortunes of the Confederacy as did Hector
+those of Troy. Last scene of all, at his surrender, his greatness and
+dignity made of his adversary but a humble accessory; and if departed
+intelligences be permitted to take ken of the affairs of this world, the
+soul of Light Horse Harry rejoices that his own eulogy of Washington,
+"First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen,"
+is now, by the united voice of the South, applied to his noble son.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Foregoing criticisms have indicated the tendency of engineer service to
+unfit men for command. It was once said of a certain colonel that he was
+an admirable officer when absent from soldiers. No amount of theoretical
+training can supply the knowledge gained by direct and immediate
+association with troops. The ablest and most promising graduates from
+West Point are annually assigned to the engineer and ordnance corps.
+After some years they become scientists, perhaps pedants, but not
+soldiers. Whatever may be the ultimate destination of such young men,
+they should be placed on duty for at least one year with each arm of the
+service, and all officers of the general staff below the highest grades
+should be returned to the line for limited periods. In no other way can
+a healthy connection between line and staff be preserved. The United
+States will doubtless continue to maintain an army, however small, as a
+model, if for no other purpose, for volunteers, the reliance of the
+country in the event of a serious war. It ought to have the best
+possible article for the money, and, to secure this, should establish a
+camp of instruction, composed of all arms, where officers could study
+the actual movements of troops.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.</p>
+
+
+<p>A month of rest at Richmond restored my health, which subsequently
+remained good; but in leaving Virginia I was separated from my brigade,
+endeared by so many memories. It remained with Lee's army, and gained
+distinction in many battles. As the last preserved of Benjamin on the
+rock of Rimmon, scarce a handful survived the war; but its story would
+comprise much of that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and I hope some
+survivor, who endured till the end, will relate it. A braver command
+never formed line of battle.</p>
+
+<p>And now I turned my steps toward the West, where, beyond the "father of
+waters," two years of hard work and much fighting awaited me. The most
+direct route to the Southwest was by Chattanooga, where General Bragg
+was concentrating the Army of Tennessee. This officer had requested the
+War Department to assign me to duty with his army as chief of staff, and
+it was suggested to me to call on him <i>en route</i>. He had reached
+Chattanooga in advance of his troops, then moving from Tupelo in
+northern Mississippi. In the two days passed at Chattanooga, General
+Bragg communicated to me his plan of campaign into Kentucky, which was
+excellent, giving promise of large results if vigorously executed; and I
+think its failure may be ascribed to the infirmities of the commander.</p>
+
+<p>Born in North Carolina, graduated from West Point in 1837, Bragg served
+long and creditably in the United States artillery. In the war with
+Mexico he gained much celebrity, especially at Buena Vista, to the
+success of which action, under the immediate eye of General Zachary
+Taylor, he largely contributed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> Resigning the service, he married a
+lady of Louisiana and purchased an estate on the Bayou Lafourche, where
+he resided at the outbreak of civil war. Promoted to the rank of general
+after the death of Albert Sidney Johnston, he succeeded Beauregard,
+retired by ill health, in command of the Army of Tennessee. Possessing
+experience in and talent for war, he was the most laborious of
+commanders, devoting every moment to the discharge of his duties. As a
+disciplinarian he far surpassed any of the senior Confederate generals;
+but his method and manner were harsh, and he could have won the
+affections of his troops only by leading them to victory. He furnished a
+striking illustration of the necessity of a healthy body for a sound
+intellect. Many years of dyspepsia had made his temper sour and
+petulant; and he was intolerant to a degree of neglect of duty, or what
+he esteemed to be such, by his officers. A striking instance of this
+occurred during my visit. At dinner, surrounded by his numerous staff, I
+inquired for one of his division commanders, a man widely known and
+respected, and received this answer: "General &mdash;&mdash; is an old woman,
+utterly worthless." Such a declaration, privately made, would have been
+serious; but publicly, and certain to be repeated, it was astonishing.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as we had withdrawn to his private room, I asked by whom he
+intended to relieve General &mdash;&mdash;. "Oh! by no one. I have but one or two
+fitted for high command, and have in vain asked the War Department for
+capable people." To my suggestion that he could hardly expect hearty
+co&ouml;peration from officers of whom he permitted himself to speak
+contemptuously, he replied: "I speak the truth. The Government is to
+blame for placing such men in high position." From that hour I had
+misgivings as to General Bragg's success, and felt no regret at the
+refusal of the authorities to assign me to duty with him. It may be said
+of his subordinate commanders that they supported him wonderfully, in
+despite of his temper, though that ultimately produced dissatisfaction
+and wrangling. Feeble health, too, unfitted him to sustain
+long-continued pressure of responsibility, and he failed in the
+execution of his own plan.</p>
+
+<p>The movement into Kentucky was made by two lines. Gen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>eral Kirby Smith
+led a subordinate force from Knoxville, East Tennessee, through
+Cumberland Gap, and, defeating the Federals in a spirited action at
+Richmond, Kentucky, reached Lexington, in the center of the State, and
+threatened Cincinnati. Bragg moved on a line west of the Cumberland
+range toward Louisville, on the Ohio River; and this movement forced the
+Federal commander, Buell, to march north to the same point by a parallel
+road, farther west. Buell left garrisons at Nashville and other
+important places, and sought to preserve his communications with
+Louisville, his base. Weakened by detachments, as well as by the
+necessity of a retrograde movement, Bragg should have brought him to
+action before he reached Louisville. Defeated, the Federals would have
+been driven north of the Ohio to reorganize, and Bragg could have
+wintered his army in the fertile and powerful State of Kentucky,
+isolating the garrisons in his rear; or, if this was impossible, which
+does not appear, he should have concentrated against Buell when the
+latter, heavily re&euml;nforced, marched south from Louisville to regain
+Nashville. But he fought a severe action at Perryville with a fraction
+of his army, and retired to Central Tennessee. The ensuing winter, at
+Murfreesboro, he contested the field with Rosecrans, Buell's successor,
+for three days; and though he won a victory, it was not complete, and
+the summer of 1863 found him again at Chattanooga. In the mean time, a
+Federal force under General Burnside passed through Cumberland Gap, and
+occupied Knoxville and much of East Tennessee, severing the direct line
+of rail communication from Richmond to the Southwest.</p>
+
+<p>This condensed account of the Kentucky campaign, extending over many
+months, is given because of my personal intimacy with the commander, who
+apprised me of his plans. General Bragg died recently in Texas. I have
+rarely known a more conscientious, laborious man. Exacting of others, he
+never spared himself, but, conquering disease, showed a constant
+devotion to duty; and distinguished as were his services in the cause he
+espoused, they would have been far greater had he enjoyed the blessing
+of health.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Chattanooga, I proceeded to my destination, west<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>ern Louisiana,
+and crossed the Mississippi at the entrance of Red River. Some miles
+below, in the Atchafalaya, I found a steamer, and learned that the
+Governor of the State was at Opelousas, which could be reached by
+descending the last river to the junction of the Bayou Courtableau,
+navigable at high water to the village of Washington, six miles north of
+Opelousas. Embarking on the steamer, I reached the junction at sunset,
+but the water in Courtableau was too low for steam navigation. As my
+family had sought refuge with friends in the vicinity of Washington, I
+was anxious to get on, and hired a boat, with four negro oarsmen, to
+take me up the bayou, twenty miles. The narrow stream was overarched by
+trees shrouded with Spanish moss, the universal parasite of Southern
+forests. Heavy rain fell, accompanied by vivid lightning, the flashes of
+which enabled us to find our way; and before dawn I had the happiness to
+embrace wife and children after a separation of fourteen months. Some
+hours later I reached Opelousas, and met the Governor, Thomas O. Moore,
+with whom I had served in our State Assembly. This worthy gentleman, a
+successful and opulent planter, had been elected Governor in 1860. He
+was a man of moderate temper and opinions, but zealously aided the
+Confederate cause after his State had joined it. Forced to leave New
+Orleans by the approach of Farragut's fleet, he brought my family with
+him, and was unwearied in kind attentions.</p>
+
+<p>Melancholy indeed was the condition of the "District of Louisiana," to
+the command of which I was assigned.</p>
+
+<p>Confederate authority had virtually ceased with the fall of New Orleans
+in the previous April. Fortifications at Barataria, Berwick's Bay, and
+other Gulf-coast points had been abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn,
+works dismantled, and guns thrown into the water. The Confederate
+Government had no soldiers, no arms or munitions, and no money, within
+the limits of the district. Governor Moore was willing to aid me to the
+extent of his ability, but, deprived by the loss of New Orleans and the
+lower river parishes of half the population and three fourths of the
+resources of his State, he could do little.</p>
+
+<p>General Magruder had recently been assigned to command<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> in Texas, and
+General Holmes, the senior officer west of the Mississippi, was far to
+the north in Arkansas. To him I at once reported my arrival and
+necessities. Many days elapsed before his reply was received, to the
+effect that he could give me no assistance, as he meditated a movement
+against Helena on the Mississippi River. Without hope of aid from
+abroad, I addressed myself to the heavy task of arousing public
+sentiment, apathetic if not hostile from disaster and neglect, and the
+creation of some means of defense. Such was the military destitution
+that a regiment of cavalry could have ridden over the State, while
+innumerable rivers and bayous, navigable a large part of the year, would
+admit Federal gunboats to the heart of every parish.</p>
+
+<p>To understand subsequent operations in this region, one must have some
+idea of its topography and river systems.</p>
+
+<p>Washed on the east, from the Arkansas line to the Gulf of Mexico, by the
+Mississippi, western Louisiana is divided into two not very unequal
+parts by the Red River, which, entering the State at its northwestern
+angle, near the boundaries of Texas and Arkansas, flows southeast to the
+Mississippi through a broad, fertile valley, then occupied by a
+population of large slave-owners engaged in the culture of cotton. From
+the southern slopes of the Ozark Mountains in Central Arkansas comes the
+Washita River to unite with the Red, a few miles above the junction of
+the latter with the Mississippi. Preserving a southerly course, along
+the eastern foot of the hills, the Washita enters the State nearly a
+hundred miles west of the Mississippi, but the westerly trend of the
+great river reduces this distance until the waters meet. The alluvion
+between these rivers, protected from inundation by levees along the
+streams, is divided by many bayous, of which the Tensas, with its branch
+the Macon, is the most important. These bayous drain the vast swamps
+into the Washita, and, like this river, are in the season of floods open
+to steam navigation. Here was one of the great cotton-producing regions
+of the South. Estates of 5,000 acres and more abounded, and, with the
+numerous slaves necessary to their cultivation, were largely under the
+charge of overseers, while the proprietors resided in distant and more
+healthy localities. Abundant facili<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>ties for navigation afforded by
+countless streams superseded the necessity for railways, and but one
+line of some eighty miles existed. This extended from Monroe on the
+Washita to a point opposite Vicksburg on the Mississippi; but the great
+flood of 1862 had broken the eastern half of the line. Finally, the
+lower Washita, at Trinity, where it receives the Tensas from the east
+and Little River from the west, takes the name of Black River. And it
+may be well to add that in Louisiana counties are called parishes, dikes
+levees, and streams bayous.</p>
+
+<p>South of the Red River, population and industries change. The first is
+largely composed of descendants of French colonists, termed creoles,
+with some Spanish intermixed, and the sugar cane is the staple crop,
+changing as the Gulf is approached to rice. At the point where the
+united Red and Washita Rivers join the Mississippi, which here changes
+direction to the east, the Atchafalaya leaves it, and, flowing due south
+through Grand Lake and Berwick's Bay, reaches the Gulf at Atchafalaya
+Bay, two degrees west of its parent stream, and by a more direct course.
+Continuing the line of the Red and Washita, it not only discharges much
+of their waters, but draws largely from the Mississippi when this last
+is in flood. Midway between the Atchafalaya and the city of New Orleans,
+some eighty miles from either point, another outlet of the great river,
+the Bayou Lafourche, discharges into the Gulf after passing through a
+densely populated district, devoted to the culture of sugar cane and
+rice. A large lake, Des Allemands, collects the waters from the higher
+lands on the river and bayou, and by an outlet of the same name carries
+them to Barataria Bay. Lying many feet below the flood level of the
+streams, protected by heavy dikes, with numerous steam-engines for
+crushing canes and pumping water, and canals and ditches in every
+direction, this region resembles a tropical Holland. At the lower end of
+Lake Des Allemands passed the only line of railway in southern
+Louisiana, from a point on the west bank of the river opposite New
+Orleans to Berwick's Bay, eighty miles. Berwick's Bay, which is but the
+Atchafalaya after it issues from Grand Lake, is eight hundred yards
+wide, with great depth of water, and soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> meets the Gulf in Atchafalaya
+Bay. A few miles above the railway terminus at Berwick's there enters
+from the west the Teche, loveliest of Southern streams. Navigable for
+more than a hundred miles, preserving at all seasons an equal breadth
+and depth, so gentle is its flow that it might be taken for a canal, did
+not the charming and graceful curves, by which it separates the
+undulating prairies of Attakapas from the alluvion of the Atchafalaya,
+mark it as the handiwork of Nature. Before the war, the Teche for fifty
+miles, from Berwick's Bay to New Iberia, passed through one field of
+sugar canes, the fertile and well-cultivated estates succeeding each
+other. The mansions of the opulent planters, as well as the villages of
+their slaves, were situated on the west bank of the bayou overlooking
+the broad, verdant prairie, where countless herds roamed. On the east
+bank, the dense forest had given way to fields of luxuriant canes; and
+to connect the two parts of estates, floating bridges were constructed,
+with openings in the center for the passage of steamers. Stately live
+oaks, the growth of centuries, orange groves, and flowers of every hue
+and fragrance surrounded the abodes of the <i>seigneurs</i>; while within,
+one found the grace of the <i>salon</i> combined with the healthy cheeriness
+of country life. Abundance and variety of game encouraged field sports,
+and the waters, fresh and salt, swarmed with fish. With the sky and
+temperature of Sicily, the breezes from prairie and Gulf were as
+health-giving as those that ripple the heather on Scotch moors. In all
+my wanderings, and they have been many and wide, I can not recall so
+fair, so bountiful, and so happy a land.</p>
+
+<p>The upper or northern Teche waters the parishes of St. Landry,
+Lafayette, and St. Martin's&mdash;the Attakapas, home of the "Acadians." What
+the gentle, contented creole was to the restless, pushing American, that
+and more was the Acadian to the creole. In the middle of the past
+century, when the victories of Wolfe and Amherst deprived France of her
+Northern possessions, the inhabitants of Nouvelle Acadie, the present
+Nova Scotia, migrated to the genial clime of the Attakapas, where
+beneath the flag of the lilies they could preserve their allegiance,
+their traditions, and their faith. Isolated up to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> time of the war,
+they spoke no language but their own <i>patois</i>; and, reading and writing
+not having come to them by nature, they were dependent for news on their
+cur&eacute;s and occasional peddlers, who tempted the women with <i>chiffons</i> and
+trinkets. The few slaves owned were humble members of the household,
+assisting in the cultivation of small patches of maize, sweet potatoes,
+and cotton, from which last the women manufactured the wonderful
+Attakapas <i>cotonnade</i>, the ordinary clothing of both sexes. Their little
+<i>cabanes</i> dotted the broad prairie in all directions, and it was
+pleasant to see the smoke curling from their chimneys, while herds of
+cattle and ponies grazed at will. Here, unchanged, was the French
+peasant of F&eacute;nelon and Bossuet, of Louis le Grand and his successor le
+Bien-Aim&eacute;. Tender and true were his traditions of la belle France, but
+of France before Voltaire and the encyclop&aelig;dists, the Convention and the
+Jacobins&mdash;ere she had lost faith in all things, divine and human, save
+the <i>bourgeoisie</i> and <i>avocats</i>. Mounted on his pony, with lariat in
+hand, he herded his cattle, or shot and fished; but so gentle was his
+nature, that lariat and rifle seemed transformed into pipe and crook of
+shepherd. Light wines from the M&eacute;doc, native oranges, and home-made
+sweet cakes filled his largest conceptions of feasts; and violin and
+clarionet made high carnival in his heart.</p>
+
+<p>On an occasion, passing the little hamlet of Grand Coteau, I stopped to
+get some food for man and horse. A pretty maiden of fifteen springs,
+whose parents were absent, welcomed me. Her lustrous eyes and long
+lashes might have excited the envy of "the dark-eyed girl of Cadiz."
+Finding her alone, I was about to retire and try my fortune in another
+house; but she insisted that she could prepare "monsieur un d&icirc;ner dans
+un tour de main," and she did. Seated by the window, looking modestly on
+the road, while I was enjoying her repast, she sprang to her feet,
+clapped her hands joyously, and exclaimed: "V'l&agrave; le gros Jean Baptiste
+qui passe sur son mulet avec <i>deux</i> bocals. Ah! nous aurons grand bal ce
+soir." It appeared that <i>one</i> jug of claret meant a dance, but <i>two</i>
+very high jinks indeed. As my hostess declined any remuneration for her
+trouble, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> begged her to accept a pair of plain gold sleeve buttons, my
+only ornaments. Wonder, delight, and gratitude chased each other across
+the pleasant face, and the confiding little creature put up her rose-bud
+mouth. In an instant the homely room became as the bower of Titania, and
+I accepted the chaste salute with all the reverence of a subject for his
+Queen, then rode away with uncovered head so long as she remained in
+sight. Hospitable little maiden of Grand Coteau, may you never have
+graver fault to confess than the innocent caress you bestowed on the
+stranger!</p>
+
+<p>It was to this earthly paradise, and upon this simple race, that the war
+came, like the tree of the knowledge of evil to our early parents.</p>
+
+<p>Some weeks before I reached my new field, General Van Dorn, who
+commanded the Confederate forces east of the Mississippi, had
+successfully resisted a bombardment of Vicksburg by Federal gunboats,
+during which the Confederate ram Arkansas, descending the Yazoo River,
+passed through the enemy's fleet, inflicting some damage and causing
+much alarm, and anchored under the guns of Vicksburg. To follow up this
+success, Van Dorn sent General Breckenridge with a division against
+Baton Rouge, the highest point on the river above New Orleans then held
+by the Federals, and the Arkansas was to descend to co&ouml;perate in the
+attack. Breckenridge reached Baton Rouge at the appointed time,
+assaulted, and was repulsed after a severe action; but the Arkansas,
+disabled by an accident to her machinery, was delayed, and, learning of
+Breckenridge's failure, her commander ran her ashore on the west bank of
+the river a few miles above Baton Rouge, and destroyed her.
+Strengthening their garrison in this town, the Federals employed many
+steamers on the river between it and New Orleans, a hundred and twenty
+miles, armed vessels of Farragut's fleet guarding the stream. From time
+to time parties of infantry were landed to plunder and worry the
+peaceful inhabitants, though after the fall of New Orleans no
+Confederate forces had been on that part of the river, and no resistance
+was made by the people.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Two days were passed at Opelousas in consultation with Governor Moore,
+who transferred to me several small bodies of State troops which he had
+organized. Alexandria on the Red River, some seventy-five miles north of
+Opelousas, was the geographical center of the State and of steam
+navigation, and the proper place for the headquarters of the district.
+To escape the intense heat, I rode the distance in a night, and remained
+some days at Alexandria, engaged in the organization of necessary staff
+departments and in providing means of communication with different parts
+of the State. Great distances and the want of railway and telegraph
+lines made this last a heavy burden. Without trained officers, my
+presence was required at every threatened point, and I was seldom
+enabled to pass twenty-four consecutive hours at headquarters; but
+Adjutant Surget, of whom mention has been made, conducted the business
+of the district with vigor and discretion during my absence.
+Subsequently, by using an ambulance in which one could sleep, and with
+relays of mules, long distances were rapidly accomplished; and, like the
+Irishman's bird, I almost succeeded in being in two places at the same
+time.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Alexandria, I went south to visit the Lafourche and intervening
+regions. At Vermilionville, in the parish of Lafayette, thirty miles
+south of Opelousas, resided ex-Governor Mouton, a man of much influence
+over the creole and Acadian populations, and an old acquaintance.
+Desiring his aid to arouse public sentiment, depressed since the fall of
+New Orleans, I stopped to see him. Past middle age, he had sent his sons
+and kindred to the war, and was eager to assist the cause in all
+possible ways. His eldest son and many of his kinsmen fell in battle,
+his estate was diminished by voluntary contributions and wasted by
+plunder, and he was taken to New Orleans and confined for many weeks;
+yet he never faltered in his devotion, and preserved his dignity and
+fortitude.</p>
+
+<p>In camp near New Iberia, seven and twenty miles south of Vermilionville,
+was Colonel Fournet, with a battalion of five companies raised in the
+parish, St. Martin's. The men were without instruction, and inadequately
+armed and equipped. Im<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>pressing on Fournet and his officers the
+importance of discipline and instruction, and promising to supply them
+with arms, I proceeded to the residence of Leclerc Fusilier, in the
+parish of St. Mary's, twenty miles below New Iberia. Possessor of great
+estates, and of a hospitable, generous nature, this gentleman had much
+weight in his country. His sons were in the army, and sixty years had
+not diminished his energy nor his enthusiasm. He desired to serve on my
+staff as volunteer aide, promising to join me whenever fighting was to
+be done; and he kept his promise. In subsequent actions on the Teche and
+Red River, the first gun seemed the signal for the appearance of Captain
+Fusilier, who, on his white pony, could be seen where the fight was the
+thickest, leading on or encouraging his neighbors. His corn bins, his
+flocks and herds, were given to the public service without stint; and no
+hungry, destitute Confederate was permitted to pass his door. Fusilier
+was twice captured, and on the first occasion was sent to Fortress
+Monroe, where he, with fifty other prisoners from my command, was
+embarked on the transport Maple Leaf for Fort Delaware. Reaching the
+capes of Chesapeake at nightfall, the prisoners suddenly attacked and
+overpowered the guard, ran the transport near to the beach in Princess
+Anne County, Virginia, landed, and made their way to Richmond, whence
+they rejoined me in Louisiana. Again taken, Fusilier escaped, while
+descending the Teche on a steamer, by springing from the deck to seize
+the overhanging branch of a live oak. The guard fired on him, but
+darkness and the rapid movement of the steamer were in his favor, and he
+got off unhurt.</p>
+
+<p>I have dwelt somewhat on the characters of Mouton and Fusilier, not only
+because of their great devotion to the Confederacy, but because there
+exists a wide-spread belief that the creole race has become effete and
+nerveless. In the annals of time no breed has produced nobler specimens
+of manhood than these two; and while descendants of the French colonists
+remain on the soil of Louisiana, their names and characters should be
+reverenced as are those of Hampden and Sidney in England.</p>
+
+<p>To Berwick's Bay, a hundred and seventy-five miles from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> Alexandria.
+Here, on the eastern shore, was the terminus of the New Orleans and
+Opelousas railroad. A deep, navigable arm of the bay, called Bayou
+B&oelig;uf, flows east of the station, which is on the island fronting the
+bay proper. Some engines and plant had been saved from the general wreck
+at New Orleans, and the line was operated from the bay to Lafourche
+crossing, thirty miles. The intervening territory constitutes the parish
+of Terrebonne, with fertile, cultivated lands along the many bayous, and
+low swamps between. From Lafourche crossing to Algiers, opposite New
+Orleans, is fifty miles; and, after leaving the higher ground adjacent
+to the Lafourche, the line plunges into swamps and marshes, impassable
+except on the embankment of the line itself. Midway of the above points,
+the Bayou des Allemands, outlet of the large lake of the same name, is
+crossed; and here was a Federal post of some two hundred men with two
+field guns. On the west bank of the Lafourche, a mile or two above the
+railway crossing, and thirty-two miles below Donaldsonville, where the
+bayou leaves the Mississippi, lies the town of Thibodeaux, the most
+considerable place of this region. Navigable for steamers, whenever the
+waters of its parent river are high, restrained from inundation by
+levees on both banks, the Lafourche flows through the fertile and
+populous parishes of Assumption and Lafourche, and, after a sinuous
+course of some ninety miles, reaches the Gulf to the west of Barataria
+Bay. Above Thibodeaux there were no bridges, and communication between
+the opposite banks was kept up by ferries.</p>
+
+<p>One or two companies of mounted men, armed with fowling pieces, had been
+organized under authority from Governor Moore, and Colonel Waller's
+battalion of mounted riflemen had recently arrived from Texas. These
+constituted the Confederate army in this quarter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI.</p>
+
+
+<p>Mention has been made of the plundering expeditions of the Federals, and
+the post at Bayou des Allemands was reported as the especial center from
+which raids on the helpless inhabitants were undertaken. I determined to
+attempt the surprise and capture of this post, which could be reached
+from the river at a point fifty miles below Donaldsonville. My estate
+was in the immediate vicinity of this point, and the roads and paths
+through plantations and swamps were well known to me. Colonel Waller was
+assigned to the duty, with minute instructions concerning roads and
+movements, and competent guides were furnished him. Moving rapidly by
+night, and, to escape observation, avoiding the road near the river,
+Waller with his Texans gained the enemy's rear, advanced on his camp,
+and, after a slight resistance, captured two companies of infantry and
+the guns. The captured arms and accouterments served to equip Waller's
+men, whose rifles were altered flintlocks and worthless, and the
+prisoners were sent to the Teche to be guarded by Fournet's Acadians.
+This trifling success, the first in the State since the loss of New
+Orleans, attracted attention, and the people rejoiced at the capture of
+the Des Allemands garrison as might those of Greece at the unearthing of
+the accomplished and classic thief Cacus. Indeed, the den of that worthy
+never contained such multifarious "loot" as did this Federal camp.
+Books, pictures, household furniture, finger rings, ear rings,
+breastpins and other articles of feminine adornment and wear, attested
+the catholic taste and temper of these patriots.</p>
+
+<p>Persuaded that the Federal commander at New Orleans,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> General Benjamin
+F. Butler, was ignorant of the practices of his outlying detachments, I
+requested ex-Governor Wickliffe of Louisiana, a non-combatant, to visit
+that officer under a flag of truce and call his attention to the
+subject. Duty to the suffering population would force me to deal with
+perpetrators of such misdeeds as robbers rather than as soldiers.
+General Butler received Governor Wickliffe politely, invited him to
+dine, and listened attentively to his statements, then dismissed him
+without committing himself to a definite reply. However, the conduct
+complained of was speedily stopped, and, as I was informed, by orders
+from General Butler. This was the only intercourse I had with this
+officer during the war. Some months later he was relieved from command
+at New Orleans by General Banks, whose blunders served to endear him to
+President Lincoln, as did those of Villeroy to his master, the
+fourteenth Louis. When the good Scotch parson finished praying for all
+created beings and things, he requested his congregation to unite in
+asking a blessing for the "puir deil," who had no friends; and General
+Butler has been so universally abused as to make it pleasant to say a
+word in his favor. Not that he needs assistance to defend himself; for
+in the war of epithets he has proved his ability to hold his ground
+against all comers as successfully as did Count Robert of Paris with
+sword and lance.</p>
+
+<p>Preservation of the abundant supplies of the Lafourche country, and
+protection of the dense population from which recruits could be drawn,
+were objects of such importance as to justify the attempt to secure them
+with inadequate means.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after the Des Allemands affair, I was called to the north,
+and will for convenience anticipate events in this quarter during my
+absence. Minute instructions for his guidance were given to Colonel
+Waller. The danger to be guarded against while operating on the river
+was pointed out, viz.: that the enemy might, from transports, throw
+forces ashore above and below him, at points where the swamps in the
+rear were impassable; and this trap Waller fell into. Most of his men
+escaped by abandoning arms, horses, etc. Immunity from attack for some
+days had made them careless. Nothing compensates<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> for absence of
+discipline; and the constant watchfulness, even when danger seems
+remote, that is necessary in war, can only be secured by discipline
+which makes of duty a habit.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, two skeleton regiments, the 18th Louisiana and Crescent, and
+a small battalion (Clack's) of infantry, with Semmes's and Ralston's
+batteries, reached me from east of the Mississippi, and were directed to
+the Lafourche. There also reported to me Brigadier Alfred Mouton, son of
+Governor Mouton, and a West Pointer. This officer had been wounded at
+Shiloh, and was now ordered to command on the Lafourche. His
+instructions were to make Thibodeaux his centre of concentration, to
+picket Bayou Des Allemands and Donaldsonville, thirty miles distant
+each, to secure early information of the enemy's movements, and to
+provide a movable floating bridge by which troops could cross the bayou,
+as the water was too low to admit steamers from the river. These same
+instructions had been given to the senior officer present before
+Mouton's arrival, but had been imperfectly executed. A feint on Des
+Allemands had induced the movement of nearly half the little force in
+that direction, and Mouton had scant time after he reached Thibodeaux to
+correct errors before the enemy was upon him.</p>
+
+<p>In the last days of October the Federal General, Weitzel, brought up a
+force of some 4,000 from New Orleans, landed at Donaldsonville, and
+advanced down the Lafourche, on the west bank. There were Confederates
+on both sides of the bayou, but, having neglected their floating bridge,
+they could not unite. With his own, the 18th, the Crescent, Colonel
+McPheeters, and the four-gun battery of Captain Ralston&mdash;in all 500
+men&mdash;Colonel Armand resisted Weitzel's advance at Labadieville, eight
+miles above Thibodeaux. The fighting was severe, and Armand only retired
+after his ammunition was exhausted; but he lost many killed and wounded,
+and some few prisoners. Colonel McPheeters was among the former, and
+Captains Ralston and Story among the latter. The loss of the Federals
+prevented Weitzel from attempting a pursuit; and Mouton, who deemed it
+necessary to retire across Berwick's Bay, was not interrupted in his
+movement. With his forces well in hand, Mouton would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> have defeated
+Weitzel and retained possession of the Lafourche country. The causes of
+his failure to concentrate have been pointed out. Information of these
+untoward events reached me on the road from the north, and I arrived at
+Berwick's Bay as Mouton was crossing.</p>
+
+<p>To return to the time of departure from the Lafourche. Several days were
+passed at New Iberia in attention to a matter of much interest. Some
+eight miles to the southwest of the village there rises from the low
+prairie and salt marsh, at the head of Vermilion Bay, an island of high
+land, near a thousand acres in extent. Connected with the mainland by a
+causeway of some length, the island was the property and residence of
+Judge Avery. A small bayou, Petit Anse, navigable for light craft,
+approached the western side and wound through the marsh to Vermilion
+Bay. Salt wells had long been known to exist on the island, and some
+salt had been boiled there. The want of salt was severely felt in the
+Confederacy, our only considerable source of supply being in
+southwestern Virginia, whence there were limited facilities for
+distribution. Judge Avery began to boil salt for neighbors, and,
+desiring to increase the flow of brine by deepening his wells, came
+unexpectedly upon a bed of pure rock salt, which proved to be of immense
+extent. Intelligence of this reached me at New Iberia, and induced me to
+visit the island. The salt was from fifteen to twenty feet below the
+surface, and the overlying soil was soft and friable. Devoted to our
+cause, Judge Avery placed his mine at my disposition for the use of the
+Government. Many negroes were assembled to get out salt, and a packing
+establishment was organized at New Iberia to cure beef. During
+succeeding months large quantities of salt, salt beef, sugar, and
+molasses were transported by steamers to Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and
+other points east of the Mississippi. Two companies of infantry and a
+section of artillery were posted on the island to preserve order among
+the workmen, and secure it against a sudden raid of the enemy, who later
+sent a gunboat up the Petit Anse to shell the mine, but the gunboat
+became entangled in the marsh and was impotent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At Alexandria, where every effort was made to collect material, but
+without funds and among a depressed people, progress was slow. It was
+necessary to visit Monroe, the chief place of the important Washita
+country; and I was further impelled thereto by dispatches from Richmond
+advising me that Lieutenant-General Pemberton had been assigned to
+command of the country east of the Mississippi, and that it was
+important for me to meet him, in order to secure co&ouml;peration on the
+river. I rode the distance, <i>via</i> Monroe, to a point opposite Vicksburg,
+over two hundred miles, excepting forty miles east of Monroe, where the
+railway was in operation. The eastern half of the line, from Bayou Macon
+to the Mississippi, had been broken up by the great flood of the
+previous spring.</p>
+
+<p>Near Bayou Macon was encamped Colonel Henry Grey with his recently
+organized regiment, the 28th infantry. Without much instruction and
+badly equipped, its material was excellent, and there were several
+officers of some experience, notably Adjutant Blackman, who had
+accompanied my old regiment, the 9th, to Virginia, where he had seen
+service. The men were suffering from camp diseases incident to new
+troops, and Colonel Grey was directed to move by easy marches to the
+Teche. In the low country between the Macon and the Mississippi were
+some mounted men under Captain Harrison. Residents of this region, they
+understood the intricate system of swamps and bayous by which it is
+characterized, and furnished me guides to Vicksburg.</p>
+
+<p>Vicksburg lies on the hills where the river forms a deep reentering
+angle. The peninsula on the opposite or western bank is several miles in
+length, narrow, and, when the waters are up, impassable except along the
+river's bank. It was through this peninsula that the Federals attempted,
+by digging a canal, to pass their gunboats and turn the Vicksburg
+batteries. The position of the town with reference to approach from the
+west was marked by me at the time, and should be borne in mind.</p>
+
+<p>General Pemberton, who was at Jackson, came to Vicksburg to meet me, and
+we discussed methods of co&ouml;peration. It was of vital importance to
+control the section of the Mississippi re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>ceiving the Red and Washita
+Rivers. By so doing connection would be preserved between the two parts
+of the Confederacy, and troops and supplies crossed at will. Port
+Hudson, some forty miles below the entrance of Red River, was as
+favorably situated as Vicksburg above: for there again the hills touched
+the river and commanded it. My operations on the Lafourche had induced
+the enemy to withdraw from Baton Rouge, fifteen miles below, and one or
+two heavy guns were already mounted at Port Hudson. Pemberton engaged to
+strengthen the position at once. As there were many steamers in the Red
+and Washita, I undertook to supply Vicksburg and Port Hudson with corn,
+forage, sugar, molasses, cattle, and salt; and this was done beyond the
+ability of the garrisons to store or remove them. Quantities of these
+supplies were lying on the river's bank when the surrenders of the two
+places occurred.</p>
+
+<p>A Pennsylvanian by birth, Pemberton graduated from West Point in 1837,
+and was assigned to an artillery regiment. His first station was in
+South Carolina, and he there formed his early friendships. The storm of
+"nullification" had not yet subsided, and Pemberton imbibed the tenets
+of the Calhoun school. In 1843 or 1844 I met him for the first time on
+the Niagara frontier, and quite remember my surprise at his State-rights
+utterances, unusual among military men at that period. During the war
+with Mexico he was twice brevetted for gallantry in action. Later, he
+married a lady of Virginia, which may have tended to confirm his
+political opinions. At the beginning of civil strife he was in
+Minnesota, commanding a battalion of artillery, and was ordered to
+Washington. Arrived there with his command, he resigned his commission
+in the United States army, went to Richmond, and offered his sword to
+the Confederacy without asking for rank. Certainly he must have been
+actuated by principle alone; for he had everything to gain by remaining
+on the Northern side.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1862 General Van Dorn, commanding east of the
+Mississippi, proclaimed martial law, which he explained to the people to
+be the will of the commander. Though a Mississippian by birth, such a
+storm was excited against Van<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> Dorn in that State that President Davis
+found it necessary to supersede him, and Pemberton was created a
+lieutenant-general for the purpose. Davis could have known nothing of
+Pemberton except that his military record was good, and it is difficult
+to foresee that a distinguished subordinate will prove incompetent in
+command. Errors can only be avoided by confining the selection of
+generals to tradespeople, politicians, and newspaper men without
+military training or experience. These are all great commanders
+<i>d'&eacute;tat</i>, and universally succeed. The incapacity of Pemberton for
+independent command, manifested in the ensuing campaign, was a great
+misfortune to the Confederacy, but did not justify aspersions on his
+character and motives. The public howled, gnashed its teeth, and lashed
+itself into a beautiful rage. He had joined the South for the express
+purpose of betraying it, and this was clearly proven by the fact that he
+surrendered on the 4th of July, a day sacred to the Yankees. Had he
+chosen any other day, his guilt would not have been so well established;
+but this particular day lacerated the tenderest sensibilities of
+Southern hearts. President Davis should have known all about it; and yet
+he made a pet of Pemberton. "Vox populi, vox diaboli."</p>
+
+<p>Returned to Alexandria, I met my chief of artillery and ordnance, Major
+J.L. Brent, just arrived from the east with some arms and munitions,
+which he had remained to bring with him. This officer had served on the
+staff of General Magruder in the Peninsular and Richmond campaigns,
+after which, learning that I was ordered to Louisiana, where he had
+family connections, he applied to serve with me. Before leaving Richmond
+I had several interviews with him, and was favorably impressed.</p>
+
+<p>A lawyer by profession, Major Brent knew nothing of military affairs at
+the outbreak of the war, but speedily acquainted himself with the
+technicalities of his new duties. Devoted to work, his energy and
+administrative ability were felt in every direction. Batteries were
+equipped, disciplined, and drilled. Leather was tanned, harness made,
+wagons built, and a little Workshop, established at New Iberia by
+Governor Moore, became important as an arsenal of construction. The lack
+of paper for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> cartridges was embarrassing, and most of the country
+newspapers were stopped for want of material. Brent discovered a
+quantity of wall paper in the shops at Franklin, New Iberia, etc., and
+used it for cartridges; and a journal published at Franklin was printed
+on this paper. A copy of it would be "a sight" to Mr. Walter and the
+staff of the "Thunderer." The <i>esprit de corps</i> of Brent's artillery was
+admirable, and its conduct and efficiency in action unsurpassed. Serving
+with wild horsemen, unsteady and unreliable for want of discipline,
+officers and men learned to fight their guns without supports. True,
+Brent had under his command many brilliant young officers, whose names
+will appear in this narrative; but his impress was upon all, and he owes
+it to his command to publish an account of the services of the artillery
+in western Louisiana.</p>
+
+<p><i>En route</i> to Lafourche, I learned of the action at Labadieville, and
+hurried on to Berwick's Bay, which Mouton had just crossed, and in good
+time; for Federal gunboats entered from the Gulf immediately after.
+Their presence some hours earlier would have been uncomfortable for
+Mouton. It is curious to recall the ideas prevailing in the first years
+of the war about gunboats. To the wide-spread terror inspired by them
+may be ascribed the loss of Fort Donelson and New Orleans. <i>Omne ignotum
+pro magnifico</i>; and it was popularly believed that the destructive
+powers of these monsters were not to be resisted. Time proved that the
+lighter class of boats, called "tin-clads," were helpless against field
+guns, while heavy iron-clads could be driven off by riflemen protected
+by the timber and levees along streams. To fire ten-inch guns at
+skirmishers, widely disposed and under cover, was very like
+snipe-shooting with twelve-pounders; and in narrow waters gunboats
+required troops on shore for their protection.</p>
+
+<p>Penetrated in all directions by watercourses navigable when the
+Mississippi was at flood, my "district" was especially exposed, and
+every little bayou capable of floating a cock-boat called loudly for
+forts and heavy guns. Ten guns, thirty-two and twenty-four-pounders, of
+those thrown into the water at Barataria and Berwick's Bays after the
+surrender of New Or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>leans, had been recovered, and were mounted for
+defense. To protect Red River against anything that might chance to run
+the batteries of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, two thirty-twos were placed
+in position on the south bank, thirty odd miles below Alexandria, where
+the high ground of Avoyelles Prairie touches the river; and for the same
+purpose two guns were mounted at Harrisonburg on the west bank of the
+Washita. An abrupt hill approached the river at this point, and
+commanded it.</p>
+
+<p>The presence of gunboats in Berwick's Bay made it necessary to protect
+the Atchafalaya also; for access to the Red and Washita could be had by
+it. As yet, the waters were too low to navigate Grand Lake; but it was
+now November, and the winter flood must be expected. Some twelve miles
+from St. Martinsville on the Teche was a large mound on the west bank of
+the Atchafalaya, called "Butte &agrave; la Rose." A short distance above the
+point, where the river expands into Grand Lake, this "Butte" was the
+only place for many miles not submerged when the waters were up. The
+country between it and the Teche was almost impassable even in the dry
+season&mdash;a region of lakes, bayous, jungle, and bog. I succeeded in
+making my way through to inspect the position, the only favorable one on
+the river, and with much labor two twenty-fours were taken there and
+mounted. Forts Beauregard on the Washita, De Russy on the Red, and
+Burton on the Atchafalaya, were mere water batteries to prevent the
+passage of gunboats, and served that purpose. It was not supposed that
+they could be held against serious land attacks, and but fifty to a
+hundred riflemen were posted at each to protect the gunners from boats'
+crews.</p>
+
+<p>During the floods of the previous spring many steamers had been brought
+away from New Orleans, and with others a powerful tow-boat, the Webb,
+now lying at Alexandria, and the Cotton. This last, a large river
+steamer, was in the lower Teche in charge of Captain Fuller, a western
+steamboat man, and one of the bravest of a bold, daring class. He
+desired to convert the Cotton into a gunboat, and was assisted to the
+extent of his means by Major Brent, who furnished two twenty-fours and a
+field piece for armament. An attempt was made to protect the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> boilers
+and machinery with cotton bales and railway iron, of which we had a
+small quantity, and a volunteer crew was put on board, Fuller in
+command.</p>
+
+<p>Midway between Berwick's Bay and Franklin, or some thirteen miles from
+each, near the Bisland estate, the high ground from Grand Lake on the
+east to Vermilion Bay on the west is reduced to a narrow strip of some
+two thousand yards, divided by the Teche. Here was the best position in
+this quarter for a small force; and Mouton, who had now ten guns and
+about thirteen hundred men, was directed to hold it, with scouts and
+pickets toward Berwick's. A floating bridge, of the kind described, was
+just above the position, and two others farther up stream afforded ready
+communication across the bayou. A light earthwork was thrown up from
+Grand Lake Marsh to the Teche, and continued west to the embankment of
+the uncompleted Opelousas Railway, which skirted the edge of Vermilion
+Marsh. The objection to this position was the facility of turning it by
+a force embarking at Berwick's, entering Grand Lake immediately above,
+and landing at Hutchin's, not far from Franklin, through which last
+passed the only line of retreat from Bisland. This danger was obvious,
+but the people were so depressed by our retreat from Lafourche that it
+was necessary to fight even with this risk.</p>
+
+<p>Weitzel had followed slowly after Mouton, and now, in connection with
+gunboats, made little attacks on our pickets below Bisland; but I knew
+his force to be too small to attempt anything serious. In these affairs
+Fuller was always forward with the Cotton, though her boilers were
+inadequately protected, and she was too large and unwieldy to be handled
+in the narrow Teche. Meanwhile, I was much occupied in placing guns on
+the rivers at the points mentioned, getting out recruits for the two
+skeleton infantry regiments, consolidating independent companies, and
+other work of administration.</p>
+
+<p>In the first days of January, 1863, Weitzel's force was increased to
+forty-five hundred men (see "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol.
+ii., p. 307); and on the 11th of the month, accompanied by gunboats, he
+advanced up the Teche and drove in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> Mouton's pickets. Left unprotected
+by the retreat of the pickets, the Cotton was assailed on all sides.
+Fuller fought manfully, responding to the fire of the enemy's boats with
+his twenty-fours, and repulsing the riflemen on either bank with his
+field piece. His pilots were killed and he had an arm broken, but he
+worked the wheel with his feet, backing up the bayou, as from her great
+length the boat could not be turned in the narrow channel. Night stopped
+the enemy's advance, and Mouton, deeming his force too weak to cope with
+Weitzel, turned the Cotton across the bayou, and scuttled and burned her
+to arrest the further progress of the Federal boats. Weitzel returned to
+Berwick's, having accomplished his object, the destruction of the
+Cotton, supposed by the Federals to be a formidable iron-clad.</p>
+
+<p>Much disturbed by the intelligence of these events, as they tended still
+further to depress public sentiment and increase the dread of gunboats,
+I went to Bisland and tried to convince officers and men that these
+tin-clads could not resist the rapid fire of field guns, when within
+range. At distances the thirty-pound Parrotts of the boats had every
+advantage, but this would be lost by bringing them to close quarters.
+During my stay several movements from Berwick's were reported, and
+Mouton and I went down with a battery to meet them, hoping to illustrate
+my theory of the proper method of fighting gunboats; but the enemy, who
+intended nothing beyond annoyance, always retired before we could reach
+him. Yet this gave confidence to our men.</p>
+
+<p>The two twenty-fours removed from the wreck of the Cotton were mounted
+in a work on the west bank of the Teche, to command the bayou and road,
+and the line of breastworks was strengthened. Some recruits joined, and
+Mouton felt able to hold the lines at Bisland against the force in his
+front.</p>
+
+<p>In the last days of January, 1863, General Grant, with a large army,
+landed on the west bank of the Mississippi and began operations against
+Vicksburg, a fleet of gunboats under Admiral Porter co&ouml;perating with
+him. The river was now in flood, and the Federals sought, by digging a
+canal through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> narrow peninsula opposite Vicksburg, to pass their
+fleet below the place without exposing it to fire from the batteries.
+Many weeks were devoted to this work, which in the end was abandoned. In
+February the Federal gunboat Queen of the West, armed with a
+thirty-pound Parrott and five field guns, ran the batteries at Vicksburg
+and caused much alarm on the river below. The tow-boat Webb, before
+mentioned, had powerful machinery and was very fast, and I determined to
+use her as a ram and attempt the destruction of the Queen. A
+thirty-two-pounder, rifled and banded, was mounted forward, some cotton
+bales stuffed around her boilers, and a volunteer crew organized.
+Pending these preparations I took steamer at Alexandria and went down to
+Fort De Russy, and thence to Butte &agrave; la Rose, which at this season could
+only be reached by river. The little garrison of sixty men, with their
+two twenty-fours, had just before driven off some gunboats, attempting
+to ascend the Atchafalaya from Berwick's Bay. Complimenting them on
+their success and warning them of the presence of the Queen in our
+waters, I turned back, hoping to reach De Russy; but at Simmsport, on
+the west bank of the Atchafalaya, a mile or two below the point at which
+it leaves the Red, I learned that the Federal boat had passed up the
+latter river, followed by one of our small steamers captured on the
+Mississippi. Accompanied by Major Levy, an officer of capacity and
+experience, I took horse and rode across country to De Russy, thirty
+miles.</p>
+
+<p>It was the 14th of February, a cold, rainy day; and as we emerged from
+the swamps of Deglaize on to the prairie of Avoyelles, the rain changed
+to sleet and hail, with a fierce north wind. Occasional gusts were so
+sharp that our cattle refused to face them and compelled us to halt.
+Suddenly, reports of heavy guns came from the direction of De Russy,
+five miles away. Spurring our unwilling horses through the storm, we
+reached the river as night fell, and saw the Queen of the West lying
+against the opposite shore, enveloped in steam. A boat was manned and
+sent over to take possession. A wounded officer, with a surgeon in
+charge, and four men, were found on board. The remainder of the crew had
+passed through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> forest to the captured steamer below, embarked, and
+made off down river. A shot from De Russy had cut a steam pipe and the
+tiller rope, but in other respects the Queen was not materially injured.
+She was an ordinary river steamer, with her bow strengthened for
+ramming. A heavy bulwark for protection against sharp-shooters, and with
+embrasures for field guns, surrounded her upper deck.</p>
+
+<p>Pushing on to Alexandria, I found the wildest alarm and confusion. The
+arrival of the Federal gunboat was momentarily expected, and the
+intelligence of her capture was hardly credited. The Webb was dispatched
+to overtake the escaped crew of the Queen, and the latter towed up to
+Alexandria for repairs. Entering the Mississippi, the Webb went up
+river, sighted the escaped steamer, and was rapidly overhauling her,
+when there appeared, coming down, a heavy iron-clad that had passed the
+Vicksburg batteries. This proved to be the Indianola, armed with two
+eleven-inch guns forward and two nine-inch aft, all in iron casemates.
+The Webb returned to De Russy with this information, which was forwarded
+to Alexandria. We had barely time to congratulate ourselves on the
+capture of the Queen before the appearance of the Indianola deprived us
+again of the navigation of the great river, so vital to our cause. To
+attempt the destruction of such a vessel as the Indianola with our
+limited means seemed madness; yet volunteers for the work promptly
+offered themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Major Brent took command of the expedition, with Captain McCloskey,
+staff quartermaster, on the Queen, and Charles Pierce, a brave
+steamboatman, on the Webb. On the 19th of February Brent went down to De
+Russy with the Queen, mechanics still working on repairs, and there
+called for volunteer crews from the garrison. These were furnished at
+once, sixty for the Webb under Lieutenant Handy, seventy for the Queen,
+on which boat Brent remained. There were five and twenty more than
+desired; but, in their eagerness to go, many Texans and Louisianians
+smuggled themselves aboard. The fighting part of the expedition was soon
+ready, but there was difficulty about stokers. Some planters from the
+upper Red River had brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> down their slaves to De Russy to labor on
+earthworks, but they positively refused to furnish stokers for the
+boats. It was a curious feature of the war that the Southern people
+would cheerfully send their sons to battle, but kept their slaves out of
+danger. Having exhausted his powers of persuasion to no purpose, Major
+Brent threw some men ashore, surrounded a gang of negroes at work,
+captured the number necessary, and departed. A famous din was made by
+the planters, and continued until their negroes were safely returned.</p>
+
+<p>In the night of the 22d of February the expedition, followed by a
+tender, entered the Mississippi, and met a steamer from Port Hudson,
+with two hundred men, sent up by General Gardiner to destroy the Queen
+of the West, the capture of which was unknown. This, a frail river boat
+without protection for her boilers, could be of no service; but she
+followed Brent up the river, keeping company with his tender. On the 23d
+Natchez was reached, and here the formidable character of the Indianola
+was ascertained. While steaming up river in search of the enemy, the
+crews were exercised at the guns, the discharge of which set fire to the
+cotton protecting the boilers of the Queen. This was extinguished with
+difficulty, and showed an additional danger, to be guarded against by
+wetting the cotton thoroughly. Arrived in the afternoon of the 24th at a
+point sixty miles below Vicksburg, Brent learned that the Indianola was
+but a short distance ahead, with a coal barge lashed on each side. He
+determined to attack in the night, to diminish the chances of the
+enemy's fire. It was certain that a shell from one of the eleven-or
+nine-inch guns would destroy either of his boats.</p>
+
+<p>At 10 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> the Indianola was seen near the western shore, some thousand
+yards distant, and the Queen, followed by the Webb, was driven with full
+head of steam directly upon her, both boats having their lights
+obscured. The momentum of the Queen was so great as to cut through the
+coal barge and indent the iron plates of the Indianola, disabling by the
+shock the engine that worked her paddles. As the Queen backed out the
+Webb dashed in at full speed, and tore away the remaining coal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> barge.
+Both the forward guns fired at the Webb, but missed her. Returning to
+the charge, the Queen struck the Indianola abaft the paddle box,
+crushing her frame and loosening some plates of armor, but received the
+fire of the guns from the rear casemates. One shot carried away a dozen
+bales of cotton on the right side; the other, a shell, entered the
+forward port-hole on the left and exploded, killing six men and
+disabling two field pieces. Again the Webb followed the Queen, struck
+near the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and crushing timbers.
+Voices from the Indianola announced the surrender, and that she was
+sinking. As she was near the western shore, not far below Grant's army,
+Major Brent towed her to the opposite side, then in our possession,
+where, some distance from the bank, she sank on a bar, her gun deck
+above water.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we regained control of our section of the Mississippi, and by an
+action that for daring will bear comparison with any recorded of Nelson
+or Dundonald. Succeeding events at Vicksburg and Gettysburg so obscured
+this one, that in justice to the officers and men engaged it has seemed
+to me a duty to recount it.</p>
+
+<p>Brent returned to Red River, with his boats much shattered by the fray;
+and before we could repair them, Admiral Farragut with several ships of
+war passed Port Hudson, and the navigation of the great river was
+permanently lost to us. Of the brave and distinguished Admiral Farragut,
+as of General Grant, it can be said that he always respected
+non-combatants and property, and made war only against armed men.</p>
+
+<p>In the second week of March a brigade of mounted Texans, with a four-gun
+battery, reached Opelousas, and was directed to Bisland on the lower
+Teche. This force numbered thirteen hundred, badly armed; and to equip
+it exhausted the resources of the little arsenal at New Iberia. Under
+Brigadier Sibley, it had made a campaign into New Mexico and defeated
+the Federals in some minor actions, in one of which, Valverde, the four
+guns had been captured. The feeble health of Sibley caused his
+retirement a few days after he reached the Teche, and Colonel Thomas
+Green, a distinguished soldier, succeeded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> to the command of the
+brigade. The men were hardy and many of the officers brave and zealous,
+but the value of these qualities was lessened by lack of discipline. In
+this, however, they surpassed most of the mounted men who subsequently
+joined me, discipline among these "shining by its utter absence." Their
+experience in war was limited to hunting down Comanches and Lipans, and,
+as in all new societies, distinctions of rank were unknown. Officers and
+men addressed each other as Tom, Dick, or Harry, and had no more
+conception of military gradations than of the celestial hierarchy of the
+poets.</p>
+
+<p>I recall an illustrative circumstance. A mounted regiment arrived from
+Texas, which I rode out to inspect. The profound silence in the camp
+seemed evidence of good order. The men were assembled under the shade of
+some trees, seated on the ground, and much absorbed. Drawing near, I
+found the colonel seated in the center, with a blanket spread before
+him, on which he was dealing the fascinating game of monte. Learning
+that I would not join the sport, this worthy officer abandoned his
+amusement with some displeasure. It was a scene for that illustrious
+inspector Colonel Martinet to have witnessed.</p>
+
+<p>There also arrived from the east, in the month of March, 1863, to take
+command of the "Trans-Mississippi Department," Lieutenant-General E.
+Kirby Smith, which "department," including the States of Missouri,
+Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and the Indian Territory, with claims on
+New Mexico, extended over some millions of square miles. The occupation
+of a large part of this region by the Federals would have spared General
+Smith some embarrassments, had he not given much of his mind to the
+recovery of his lost empire, to the detriment of the portion yet in his
+possession; and the substance of Louisiana and Texas was staked against
+the shadow of Missouri and northern Arkansas.</p>
+
+<p>General E. Kirby Smith graduated from West Point in 1845, in time to see
+service in the war with Mexico. Resigning from the United States cavalry
+to join the Confederacy, he moved with General Joseph E. Johnston's
+forces from the Valley to re&euml;nforce Beauregard at Manassas, where he was
+wounded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> while bringing up some troops to our left. Commanding in
+eastern Tennessee in the summer of 1862, he led a force into Kentucky
+through Cumberland Gap, to co&ouml;perate with Bragg. At Richmond, Kentucky,
+a body of Federals was driven off, and Smith moved north to Lexington
+and Frankfort; after which his column was absorbed by Bragg's army. The
+senior general west of the Mississippi, Holmes, was in Arkansas, where
+he had accomplished nothing except to lose five thousand of his best
+troops, captured at Arkansas Post by General Sherman. It was advisable
+to supersede Holmes; and, though he proved unequal to extended command,
+Smith, from his training and services, seemed an excellent selection.
+General Smith remained for several weeks in Alexandria, when he was
+driven away by the enemy's movements. The military situation of my
+immediate command was explained to him.</p>
+
+<p>To reopen the navigation of the Mississippi was the great desire of the
+Federal Government, and especially of the Western people, and was
+manifested by declarations and acts. Grant was operating against
+Vicksburg, and Banks would certainly undertake the reduction of Port
+Hudson; but it was probable that he would first clear the west bank of
+the Mississippi to prevent interruption of his communications with New
+Orleans, threatened so long as we had a force on the lower Atchafalaya
+and Teche. Banks had twenty thousand men for the field, while my force,
+including Green's Texans, would not exceed twenty-seven hundred, with
+many raw recruits, and badly equipped. The position at Bisland might be
+held against a front attack, but could be turned by the way of Grand
+Lake. With five thousand infantry I would engage to prevent the
+investment of Port Hudson; and as such a re&euml;nforcement must come from
+Holmes, and could not reach me for a month, I hoped immediate orders
+would be issued.</p>
+
+<p>On the 28th of March Weitzel, who had been quiet at Berwick's Bay for
+some time, sent the gunboat Diana, accompanied by a land force, up the
+Teche to drive in our pickets. The capture of the Queen of the West and
+destruction of the Indianola had impaired the prestige of gunboats, and
+the troops at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> Bisland were eager to apply my theory of attacking them
+at close quarters. The enemy's skirmishers were driven off; a section of
+the "Valverde" battery, Captain Sayres, rapidly advanced; the fire of
+the gunboat was silenced in a moment, and she surrendered, with two
+companies of infantry on board. She was armed with a thirty-pounder
+Parrott and two field guns, and had her boilers protected by railway
+iron. Moved up to Bisland, her "Parrott" became a valuable adjunct to
+our line of defense.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS&mdash;ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG&mdash;CAPTURE OF
+BERWICK'S BAY.</p>
+
+
+<p>Increased activity of the enemy at Berwick's Bay in the first days of
+April indicated an advance; and to guard against the danger from Grand
+Lake, Fuller, whose wounds in the Cotton affair were partially healed,
+was sent to Alexandria to complete repairs on the Queen and convert one
+or two other steamers into gunboats. It was hoped that he might harass
+the enemy on Grand Lake, delay the landing of troops, and aid the little
+garrison at Butte &agrave; la Rose in defending the Atchafalaya. Fuller was as
+energetic as brave, but the means at his disposal were very limited.
+Accompanied by a tender, he descended the Atchafalaya on the Queen,
+leaving orders for his steamers to follow as soon as they were armed.
+They failed to reach him, and his subsequent fate will be mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th of April the enemy had assembled at Berwick's sixteen
+thousand men under Weitzel, Emory, and Grover ("Report on the Conduct of
+the War," vol. ii., page 309). On the 12th Weitzel and Emory, twelve
+thousand strong, advanced up the Teche against Bisland, while Grover,
+with four thousand men, embarked on transports to turn our position by
+Grand Lake. Weitzel and Emory came in sight of our lines before
+nightfall, threw forward skirmishers, opened guns at long range, and
+bivouacked; and our scouts reported the movement on the lake. My
+dispositions were as follows: Mouton, with six hundred men and six guns,
+held the left from the lake to the Teche. The Diana in the bayou and two
+twenty-fours on the right bank guarded the stream and the main road; and
+sixteen hundred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> men, with twelve guns, prolonged the line to the
+railway embankment on our extreme right, held by Green with his
+dismounted horsemen. One of Green's regiments, Colonel Reilly, the 2d
+Louisiana cavalry, Colonel Vincent, recently embodied, and a section of
+guns, were at Hutchin's Point on Grand Lake.</p>
+
+<p>The cannonading ceased at dark, and when all was quiet I rode up to
+Franklin, thirteen miles, to look after my rear. A staff officer had
+been previously sent to direct the removal of stores from New Iberia,
+order down Clack's battalion, some ninety men, from the salt mines, and
+communicate with Fuller at Butte &agrave; la Rose; but the country around the
+Butte was flooded, and he was unable to reach it.</p>
+
+<p>Above Franklin the Teche makes a great bend to the east and approaches
+Grand Lake at Hutchin's Point, where there was a shell bank, and a good
+road leading to the high ground along the bayou. The road to New Iberia
+leaves the Teche at Franklin to avoid this bend, and runs due north
+across the prairie. Just clear of the village it enters a small wood,
+through which flows a sluggish stream, the Bayou Yokely, crossed by a
+bridge. In the wood and near the stream the ground was low and boggy,
+impassable for wagons except on a causeway. The distance from Hutchin's
+Point to Yokely Bridge was less than that from Bisland; and this bridge,
+held by the enemy, made escape from the latter place impossible; yet to
+retreat without fighting was, in the existing condition of public
+sentiment, to abandon Louisiana.</p>
+
+<p>I remained at Franklin until after midnight, when, learning from Reilly
+that no landing had been made at Hutchin's, I returned to Bisland. The
+enemy was slow in moving on the 13th, apparently waiting for the effect
+of his turning movement to be felt. As the day wore on he opened his
+guns, and gradually increased his fire until it became very heavy. Many
+of his field pieces were twenty-pounder Parrotts, to which we had
+nothing to reply except the Parrott on the Diana and the twenty-fours;
+and, as our supply of ammunition was small, Major Brent desired to
+reserve it for an emergency.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of Green's command, the troops on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> right of the
+Teche were raw, and had never been in action. As shot and shell tore
+over the breastwork behind which they were lying, much consternation was
+exhibited, and it was manifest that an assault, however feeble, would
+break a part of the line. It was absolutely necessary to give the men
+some <i>morale</i>; and, mounting the breastwork, I made a cigarette, struck
+fire with my <i>briquet</i>, and walked up and down, smoking. Near the line
+was a low tree with spreading branches, which a young officer, Bradford
+by name, proposed to climb, so as to have a better view. I gave him my
+field glass, and this plucky youngster sat in his tree as quietly as in
+a chimney corner, though the branches around were cut away. These
+examples, especially that of Captain Bradford, gave confidence to the
+men, who began to expose themselves, and some casualties were suffered
+in consequence.</p>
+
+<p>From the extreme right Colonel Green sent word that his corner was
+uncomfortably hot, and I found it so. The battery near him was cut up,
+its captain, Sayres, severely wounded, and Major Brent withdrew it.
+Green was assured that there were no places on our line particularly
+cool, and there was nothing to be done but submit to the pounding.</p>
+
+<p>A heavy fire was concentrated on the twenty-fours and the Diana. Captain
+Semmes, son of Admiral Semmes of Alabama fame, and an officer of much
+coolness in action, had been detached from his battery and placed in
+command of the boat. A message from him informed me that the Diana was
+disabled. She was lying against the bank under a severe fire. The waters
+of the bayou seemed to be boiling like a kettle. An officer came to the
+side of the boat to speak to me, but before he could open his mouth a
+shell struck him, and he disappeared as suddenly as Harlequin in a
+pantomine. Semmes then reported his condition. Conical shells from the
+enemy's Parrotts had pierced the railway iron, killed and wounded
+several of his gunners and crew, and cut a steam pipe. Fortunately, he
+had kept down his fires, or escaping steam would have driven every one
+from the boat. It was necessary to take her out of fire for repairs. To
+lose even temporarily our best gun, the thirty-pounder, was hard, but
+there was no help for it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>During the day staff officers were frequently sent to Mouton to
+ascertain his condition; and, as the bridge over which they passed was
+in the line of fire directed on the Diana and the twenty-fours, the
+promenade was not a holiday affair.</p>
+
+<p>Several times in the afternoon the enemy appeared to be forming for an
+assault; and after my men had become steady, I hoped an attack would be
+made, feeling confident of repulsing it.</p>
+
+<p>Night brought quiet, and no report came from Reilly at Hutchin's. No
+news seemed good news; for I would have ample time to provide against a
+debarkation north of Hutchin's. The force at Bisland was in fine
+spirits. Protected by the breastwork, we had suffered but little; and
+the Diana was expected to resume her position before morning.</p>
+
+<p>At 9 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> appeared Colonel Reilly to make the following report: The
+enemy had landed at Hutchin's, several thousand strong, with artillery,
+and advanced to the Teche, pushing our people back to and through
+Franklin. Reilly had left his command in camp below Franklin, toward
+Bisland, but thought the enemy had not reached the village at nightfall.
+Here was pleasant intelligence! There was no time to ask questions. I
+hoped to cut my way through, but feared the loss of wagons and material.
+Mouton was directed to withdraw from the left bank of the bayou, start
+the artillery and trains to Franklin, and follow with the infantry.
+Green, with his mounted men and a section of guns, was to form the rear
+guard; and Semmes was told to hurry his repairs and get the Diana to
+Franklin by dawn. As there was no means of removing the two
+twenty-fours, they were to be disabled. Leaving Major Brent to look
+after his artillery and Major Levy to superintend the prompt execution
+of orders, I rode for Franklin, taking Reilly with me. Reaching his
+camp, three miles from the town, I found the men sleeping and the trains
+parked, though the enemy was so near at hand. The camp was aroused, the
+troops were ordered under arms, and Reilly left to move up at once, with
+his trains following.</p>
+
+<p>Two hours after midnight, and the village of Franklin was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> as silent as
+the grave. Beyond the last houses, toward New Iberia, a faint light from
+some camp fires could be seen. Were the Federals in possession of the
+road? Approaching the fires cautiously, I saw a sentinel walking his
+post, and, as he passed between me and the light, marked his ragged
+Confederate garb. Major Clack had reached this point after dark, and
+intended to resume his march to Bisland in the morning. He speedily got
+his little band under arms, and in the darkness we beat the wood to our
+right. Not a picket nor scout was found, and Yokely Causeway and Bridge
+were safe. From the farther edge of the wood, in open fields, Federal
+camp fires were visible. It was a wonderful chance. Grover had stopped
+just short of the prize. Thirty minutes would have given him the wood
+and bridge, closing the trap on my force. Reilly, with his own and
+Vincent's regiments of horse and the two guns, came up. The guns were
+placed on the road near the Teche, with orders to stand fast. Reilly and
+Vincent dismounted their men, sent horses well to the rear, and formed
+line in the wood to the left of the guns, with Clack to the left of
+Vincent.</p>
+
+<p>The first light of dawn made objects visible and aroused the Federals,
+some two hundred yards distant. Advancing rapidly from the wood, our
+line poured in a fire and rushed forward with a shout. Taken by
+surprise, the Federals fell back, leaving a battery on their right
+exposed. To prevent the sleepy gunners from opening, I rode straight on
+the guns, followed by my staff and four mounted couriers, and the
+gunners made off. All this was easy enough. Surprise and the uncertain
+light had favored us; but broad day exposed our weakness, and the enemy
+threw forward a heavy line of skirmishers. It was necessary for us to
+regain the wood, now four hundred yards to the rear. Officers behaved
+admirably in seconding my efforts to encourage and steady their men and
+keep them well in hand. Our two guns on the road fired rapidly and
+effectively, but the Federals came on in numbers, and their fire began
+to tell. Reilly was killed, Vincent wounded in the neck, and many others
+went down. At this moment the peculiar whistle of a Parrott shell was
+heard, and Semmes appeared with the Diana.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The enemy's advance was arrested; Gray's infantry from Bisland came up;
+the wood was occupied; Mouton with the remaining infantry arrived, and
+all danger was over. Green, in command of the rear guard, showed great
+vigor, and prevented Emory and Weitzel from pressing the trains. Besides
+the twenty-fours mentioned, one gun of Cornay's battery, disabled in the
+action of the 13th, was left at Bisland, and with these exceptions every
+wagon, pot, or pan was brought off. Two months later these guns were
+recaptured, much to the delight of our men.</p>
+
+<p>The trains over Yokely Bridge and on the road to New Iberia, Mouton
+skillfully withdrew from Grover's front as Green entered Franklin from
+below. To facilitate this, Semmes was directed to work the Diana's gun
+to the last moment, then get ashore with his crew, and blow up the boat.
+With his usual coolness Semmes carried out his instructions, but,
+remaining too long near the Diana to witness the explosion he had
+arranged, was captured.</p>
+
+<p>The object sought in holding on to Bisland was attained. From this time
+forward I had the sympathy and support of the people, and my troops were
+full of confidence. Our retreat to Opelousas, by New Iberia and
+Vermilionville, was undisturbed, Green with his horse keeping the enemy
+in check. Indeed, the pursuit was without energy or vigor. The first
+defensible position was at the Bayou Vermilion, thirty miles south of
+Opelousas. Here, after an action of some warmth, the enemy was held back
+until night and the bridge destroyed. From Opelousas the infantry, by
+easy marches, moved to and up the valley of the Red River, where
+supplies were abundant. The country was open, and the great superiority
+of his numbers enabled the enemy to do as he liked. Mouton, with Green's
+horse, marched west of Opelousas. It was hoped that he could find
+subsistence between that place and the Mermentou River, and be in
+position to fall on the enemy's rear and capture any small force left on
+the Teche. I supposed that the Federal army, after reaching Alexandria,
+would turn to the east, cross the Mississippi, and invest Port Hudson;
+and this supposition proved to be correct.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, accompanied by a tender, Fuller on the Queen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> entered Grand
+Lake on the 13th, expecting his two armed steamers to follow. On the
+morning of the 14th the Federal gunboats from Berwick's Bay appeared,
+and Fuller, dispatching the tender up the Atchafalaya to hasten his
+steamers, prepared for action, as he doubtless would have done in
+presence of Admiral Farragut's fleet. A shell set fire to the Queen, and
+Fuller with his crew was captured. On the 20th the enemy's gunboats,
+assisted by four companies of infantry, captured Butte &agrave; la Rose with
+two twenty-four-pounders and sixty men. Semmes, Fuller, and the
+prisoners taken from the Queen and at the Butte, were on the transport
+Maple Leaf with Captain Fusilier, and escaped in the manner related,
+excepting Fuller, who from wounds received in his last action was unable
+to walk. Remaining in charge of the Maple Leaf until his friends were
+ashore, he restored her to the Federals, was taken to Fort Delaware, and
+died in prison. A braver man never lived.</p>
+
+<p>The Federal army reached Opelousas on the 20th of April, and remained
+there until the 5th of May, detained by fear of Mouton's horse to the
+west. Unfortunately, this officer was forced by want of supplies to move
+to the Sabine, more than a hundred miles away, and thrown out of the
+game for many days.</p>
+
+<p>In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pp. 309 and 310,
+the Federal General Banks makes the following statements: "During these
+operations on the Teche we captured over twenty-five hundred prisoners
+and twenty-two guns; destroyed three gunboats and eight steamers"; and
+further: "A dispatch from Governor Moore to General Taylor was
+intercepted, in which Taylor was directed to fall back into Texas." At
+the time, my entire force in western Louisiana was under three thousand,
+and it is rather startling to learn that we were all captured. Two
+twenty-fours and one field gun were abandoned at Bisland, and two
+twenty-fours lost at Butte &agrave; la Rose. We scuttled and burnt the Cotton
+at Bisland, and blew up the Diana (captured from the enemy) at Franklin.
+The Queen (also captured) was destroyed in action on Grand Lake. The
+Federals caught two small steamers, the Ellen and Cornie, in the
+Atchafalaya, and we destroyed two in the Teche. The other four re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>ported
+by General Banks must have come from the realm of the multitude of
+prisoners and guns. It also appears from the intercepted dispatch of
+Governor Moore that major-generals of the Confederate army were under
+the orders of State governors&mdash;an original discovery.</p>
+
+<p>The delay of the Federals at Opelousas gave abundant time to remove our
+stores from Alexandria. General Kirby Smith, the new departmental
+commander, was advised to retire to Shreveport, two hundred miles up Red
+River, where, remote from danger or disturbance, he could organize his
+administration. Threatened in rear, Fort De Russy was untenable; so the
+place was dismantled and the little garrison withdrawn. On the 16th of
+April Admiral Porter with several gunboats had passed the Vicksburg
+batteries, and the abandonment of De Russy now left the Red River open
+to him. He reached Alexandria on the 9th of May, a few hours in advance
+of Banks's army. From the 8th to the 11th of the same month some of his
+gunboats bombarded Fort Beauregard, on the Washita, but were driven off
+by the garrison under Colonel Logan.</p>
+
+<p>At this time I was sorely stricken by domestic grief. On the approach of
+the enemy to Alexandria my family embarked on a steamer for Shreveport.
+Accustomed to the gentlest care, my good wife had learned to take action
+for herself, insisting that she was unwilling to divert the smallest
+portion of my time from public duty. A moment to say farewell, and she
+left with our four children, two girls and two boys, all pictures of
+vigorous health. Before forty-eight hours had passed, just as she
+reached Shreveport, scarlet fever had taken away our eldest boy, and
+symptoms of the disease were manifest in the other children. The
+bereaved mother had no acquaintance in Shreveport, but the Good
+Samaritan appeared in the person of Mr. Ulger Lauve, a resident of the
+place, who took her to his house and showed her every attention, though
+he exposed his own family to great danger from contagion. The second boy
+died a few days later. The two girls, older and stronger, recovered. I
+was stunned by this intelligence, so unexpected, and it was well perhaps
+that the absorbing character of my duties left no time for the
+indulgence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> of private grief; but it was sad to think of the afflicted
+mother, alone with her dead and dying, deprived of the consolation of my
+presence. Many days passed before we met, and then but for an hour.</p>
+
+<p>My infantry, hardly a thousand strong, with the trains, had marched to
+Natchitoches and camped, and some mounted scouts to observe the enemy
+were kept in the vicinity of Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>On page 309 of the "Report" before quoted, General Banks says: "A force
+under Generals Weitzel and Dwight pursued the enemy nearly to Grand
+Ecore, so thoroughly dispersing his forces that he was unable to
+reorganize a respectable army until July." A party of Federal horse
+crossed Cane River at Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Grand Ecore,
+and chased a mounted orderly and myself about four miles, then turned
+back to Alexandria; but I maintain that the orderly and I were not
+dispersed, for we remained together to the end.</p>
+
+<p>The Federal army withdrew from Alexandria on the 13th of May, and on the
+23d crossed the Mississippi and proceeded to invest Port Hudson;
+whereupon I returned by steamer to Alexandria, directing the infantry at
+Natchitoches to march back to the Teche to unite with Mouton. Having
+obtained supplies on the Sabine, Mouton and Green, the latter promoted
+to brigadier for gallant conduct, returned to the Teche country, but
+arrived too late to cut off the enemy, who with large plunder had
+crossed to the east side of Berwick's Bay, where he had fortifications
+and gunboats.</p>
+
+<p>At Alexandria a communication from General Kirby Smith informed me that
+Major-General Walker, with a division of infantry and three batteries,
+four thousand strong, was on the march from Arkansas, and would reach me
+within the next few days; and I was directed to employ Walker's force in
+some attempt to relieve Vicksburg, now invested by General Grant, who
+had crossed the Mississippi below on the 1st of May.</p>
+
+<p>The peculiar position of Vicksburg and the impossibility of approaching
+it from the west bank of the Mississippi have been stated, and were now
+insisted upon. Granting the feasibility<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> of traversing the narrow
+peninsula opposite the place, seven miles in length and swept by guns
+afloat on both sides, what would be gained? The problem was to withdraw
+the garrison, not to re&euml;nforce it; and the correctness of this opinion
+was proved by the fact that Pemberton could not use the peninsular route
+to send out messengers.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, I was confident that, with Walker's force, Berwick's
+Bay could be captured, the Lafourche overrun, Banks's communication with
+New Orleans interrupted, and that city threatened. Its population of two
+hundred thousand was bitterly hostile to Federal rule, and the
+appearance of a Confederate force on the opposite bank of the river
+would raise such a storm as to bring General Banks from Port Hudson, the
+garrison of which could then unite with General Joseph Johnston in the
+rear of General Grant. Too late to relieve Port Hudson, I accomplished
+all the rest with a force of less than three thousand of all arms.</p>
+
+<p>Remonstrances were of no avail. I was informed that all the Confederate
+authorities in the east were urgent for some effort on our part in
+behalf of Vicksburg, and that public opinion would condemn us if we did
+not <i>try to do something</i>. To go two hundred miles and more away from
+the proper theatre of action in search of an indefinite <i>something</i> was
+hard; but orders are orders. Time was so important that I determined to
+run the risk of moving Walker by river, though the enemy could bring
+gunboats into the lower Red and Washita, as well as into the Tensas, and
+had some troops in the region between this last and the Mississippi.
+Steamers were held in readiness, and as soon as Walker arrived his
+command was embarked and taken up the Tensas. I went on in advance to
+give notice to the boats behind of danger; for, crowded with troops,
+these would have been helpless in the event of meeting an enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Without interference, a point on the Tensas opposite Vicksburg was
+reached and the troops disembarked. Here Captain Harrison's mounted men,
+previously mentioned, met us. For safety the steamers were sent down the
+Tensas to its junction with the Washita, and up the last above Fort
+Beauregard; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> bridges were thrown over the Tensas and Macon to give
+communication with the terminus of the Monroe Railway.</p>
+
+<p>Walker rapidly advanced to the village of Richmond, midway between the
+Tensas and Mississippi, some twelve miles from each, where he surprised
+and captured a small Federal party. At Young's Point, ten miles above
+Vicksburg, on the west bank of the river, the enemy had a fortified
+camp, and a second one four miles above Young's, both occupied by negro
+troops. Holding one brigade in reserve at the point of separation of the
+roads, Walker sent a brigade to Young's and another to the camp above.
+Both attacks were made at dawn, and, with the loss of some scores of
+prisoners, the negroes were driven over the levee to the protection of
+gunboats in the river.</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen miles above Vicksburg the Yazoo River enters the Mississippi
+from the east, and twenty-five miles farther up Steele's Bayou connects
+the two rivers. Before reaching the Mississippi the Yazoo makes a bend
+to the south, approaching the rear of Vicksburg. The right of Grant's
+army rested on this bend, and here his supplies were landed, and his
+transports were beyond the reach of annoyance from the west bank of the
+Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>As foreseen, our movement resulted, and could result, in nothing. Walker
+was directed to desist from further efforts on the river, and move to
+Monroe, where steamers would be in readiness to return his command to
+Alexandria, to which place I pushed on in advance. Subsequently, General
+Kirby Smith reached Monroe direct from Shreveport, countermanded my
+orders, and turned Walker back into the region east of the Tensas, where
+this good soldier and his fine division were kept idle for some weeks,
+until the fall of Vicksburg. The time wasted on these absurd movements
+cost us the garrison of Port Hudson, nearly eight thousand men; but the
+pressure on General Kirby Smith to <i>do something</i> for Vicksburg was too
+strong to be resisted.</p>
+
+<p>At Alexandria I found three small regiments of Texan horse, just
+arrived. Together they numbered six hundred and fifty, and restored the
+loss suffered in action and in long marches<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> by the forces on the Teche.
+Colonel (afterward brigadier) Major, the senior officer, was ordered to
+move these regiments to Morgan's Ferry on the Atchafalaya; and by
+ambulance, with relays of mules, I reached Mouton and Green on the lower
+Teche in a few hours.</p>
+
+<p>The Federals had a number of sick and convalescent at Berwick's Bay, but
+the effective force was small. Some works strengthened their positions,
+and there was a gunboat anchored in the bay. Mouton and Green were
+directed to collect small boats, skiffs, flats, even sugar-coolers, in
+the Teche; and the importance of secrecy was impressed upon them.
+Pickets were doubled to prevent communication with the enemy, and only a
+few scouts permitted to approach the bay. Returning north to Morgan's
+Ferry, I crossed the Atchafalaya with Major's command, and moved down
+the Fordoche and Grosse-T&ecirc;te, bayous draining the region between the
+Atchafalaya and Mississippi. A short march brought us near the Fausse
+Rivi&egrave;re, an ancient bed of the Mississippi, some miles west of the
+present channel, and opposite Port Hudson.</p>
+
+<p>Halting the command on the Fordoche, I rode out to the estate of an
+acquaintance on Fausse Rivi&egrave;re, whence the noise of battle at Port
+Hudson could be heard. Two ladies of the family, recently from New
+Orleans, told me that the Federal force left in the city would not
+exceed a thousand men; that a small garrison occupied a work near
+Donaldsonville, where the Lafourche leaves the Mississippi, and with
+this exception there were no troops on the west bank of the river. From
+our position on the Fordoche to the Bayou B&oelig;uf, in rear of the
+Federal camp at Berwick's Bay, was over a hundred miles. The route
+followed the Grosse-T&ecirc;te to Plaquemine on the Mississippi, and to escape
+observation Plaquemine must be passed in the night. Below this point
+there was an interior road that reached the Lafourche some distance
+below Donaldsonville. Minute instructions and guides were given to
+Major.</p>
+
+<p>It was now the 19th of June, and he was expected to reach the B&oelig;uf on
+the morning of the 23d. The necessity of punctuality was impressed on
+him and his officers, as I would attack<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> Berwick's at dawn on the 23d,
+and their co&ouml;peration was required to secure success. Indeed, their own
+safety depended on promptness. The men carried rations, with some
+forage, and wagons were sent back across the Atchafalaya. Major moved in
+time to pass Plaquemine, twenty odd miles, before midnight, and I
+hastened to Mouton's camp below Bisland, reaching it in the afternoon of
+the 22d.</p>
+
+<p>Fifty-three small craft, capable of transporting three hundred men, had
+been collected. Detachments for the boats were drawn from Green's
+brigade and the 2d Louisiana horse. Major Hunter of Baylor's Texans was
+placed in command, with Major Blair of the 2d Louisiana as second. After
+nightfall Hunter embarked his men, and paddled down the Teche to the
+Atchafalaya and Grand Lake. Fortunately, there was no wind; for the
+slightest disturbance of the lake would have swamped his <i>fleet</i>. He had
+about twelve miles to make, and was expected to reach before daylight
+the northeast end of the island, a mile from Berwick's and the railway
+terminus, where he was instructed to lie quiet until he heard General
+Green's guns from the west side of the bay, then rush on the rear of the
+Federal works. During the night Green placed a battery opposite the
+gunboat and railway station, and deployed five hundred dismounted men
+along the shores of the bay, here eight hundred yards wide. The battery
+was run up by hand, and every precaution to secure silence taken. At
+dawn of the 23d (June, 1863) our guns opened on the gunboat, and
+speedily drove it away. Fire was then directed on the earthwork, where
+the enemy, completely surprised, had some heavy pieces with which he
+attempted to reply. A shout was heard in his rear, and Hunter with his
+party came rushing on. Resistance ceased at once; but before Hunter
+closed in, a train of three engines and many carriages escaped from the
+station toward the B&oelig;uf, seven miles away. I crossed in a "pirogue"
+with Green, and sent back two flats and several skiffs found on the east
+side for his men, who used them to get over, their horses swimming
+alongside.</p>
+
+<p>It was a scene of the wildest excitement and confusion. The sight of
+such quantities of "loot" quite upset my hungry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> followers. Wandering
+through the station and warehouse, filled with stores, a Texan came upon
+a telegraphic instrument, clicking in response to one down the line.
+Supposing this to be some infernal machine for our destruction, he
+determined to save his friends at the risk of his own life, and smashed
+the instrument with his heavy boots; then rushed among his comrades,
+exclaiming: "Boys! they is trying to blow us up. I seen the triggers
+a-working, but I busted 'em."</p>
+
+<p>Mouton now crossed with some infantry, and order was restored; and
+Green, who had brought over several scores of horses, mounted his men
+and followed the rail toward the B&oelig;uf. Before reaching it he heard
+the noise of the train; then, firing and moving forward, found the train
+stopped, and Major, up to time, in possession of the bridge. The capture
+of the train was of importance, as it enabled us to operate the thirty
+miles of rail between Berwick's and the Lafourche.</p>
+
+<p>In the combined movements described, Green and Major had set out from
+points more than a hundred miles apart, the latter marching through a
+region in possession or under control of the enemy, while the boat
+expedition of Hunter passed over twelve miles of water; yet all reached
+their goal at the appointed time. Although every precaution had been
+taken to exclude mistakes and insure co&ouml;peration, such complete success
+is not often attained in combined military movements; and I felt that
+sacrifices were due to Fortune.</p>
+
+<p>In his rapid march from the Fordoche Major captured seventy prisoners
+and burned two steamers at Plaquemine. He afterward encountered no enemy
+until he reached Thibodeaux, near which place, at Lafourche Crossing,
+there was a stockade held by a small force to protect the railway
+bridge. Colonel Pyron, with two hundred men, was detached to mask or
+carry this stockade, and Major passed on to the B&oelig;uf. Pyron's attack
+was repulsed with a loss of fifty-five killed and wounded, Pyron among
+the latter; but the enemy, after destroying the bridge, abandoned the
+post and three guns and retired to New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>The spoils of Berwick's were of vast importance. Twelve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> guns,
+thirty-twos and twenty-fours (among which were our old friends from
+Bisland), seventeen hundred prisoners, with many small arms and
+accouterments, and great quantities of quarter-master's, commissary,
+ordnance, and medical stores, fell into our hands. For the first time
+since I reached western Louisiana I had supplies, and in such abundance
+as to serve for the Red River campaign of 1864. Three fourths of the
+prisoners were sick and convalescent men left here, as well as the
+stores, by General Banks, when he marched up the Teche in April.
+Excepting those too ill to be moved, the prisoners were paroled and sent
+to New Orleans under charge of their surgeons.</p>
+
+<p>I was eager to place batteries on the Mississippi to interrupt Banks's
+communication with New Orleans; but the passage of Berwick's Bay
+consumed much time, though we worked night and day. We were forced to
+dismount guns and carriages and cross them piecemeal in two small flats,
+and several days elapsed before a little steamer from the upper Teche
+could be brought down to assist. It must be remembered that neither
+artillery nor wagons accompanied Major's march from the Fordoche.</p>
+
+<p>On the 24th General Green, with Major's men and such of his own as had
+crossed their horses, marched for Donaldsonville, sixty-five miles, and
+General Mouton, with two regiments of infantry, took rail to Thibodeaux
+and sent pickets down the line to Bayou Des Allemands, twenty-five miles
+from New Orleans. Our third regiment of infantry remained at the bay,
+where Major Brent was at work mounting the captured guns on the southern
+end of the island and on the western shore opposite. Gunboats could stop
+the crossing, and entrance from the Gulf was open. While we might drive
+off "tin-clads" the enemy had boats capable of resisting field guns, and
+it is remarkable that, from the 23d of June to the 22d of July, he made
+no attempt to disturb us at Berwick's Bay.</p>
+
+<p>General Green reached the vicinity of Donaldsonville on the 27th, and
+found an earthwork at the junction of the Lafourche and Mississippi.
+This work, called Fort Butler, had a ditch on three sides, and the river
+face was covered by gunboats in the stream. The garrison was reported to
+be from two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> to three hundred negro troops. After some correspondence
+with Mouton, Green determined to assault the place, and drew around it
+five hundred of his men in the night of the 27th. Two hours before dawn
+of the 28th Colonel Joseph Phillipps led his regiment, two hundred
+strong, to the attack. Darkness and ignorance of the ground caused much
+blundering. The levee above the fort was mistaken for the parapet, and
+some loss was sustained from the fire of gunboats. Changing direction,
+Phillipps came upon the ditch, unknown to him as to Green, who had been
+deceived by false information. The ditch passed, Phillipps mounted the
+parapet and fell dead as he reached the top. An equally brave man, Major
+Ridley, worthy of his leader, followed, and, calling on his men to come,
+jumped into the work. Frightened by his appearance, the enemy abandoned
+the parapet; but finding that Ridley was alone, returned and captured
+him. A dozen men would have carried the place; but the ditch afforded
+protection from fire, and the men, disheartened by Phillipps's death,
+could not be induced to leave it. Indeed, the largest part of our loss,
+ninety-seven, was made up of these men, who remained in the ditch until
+daylight and surrendered.</p>
+
+<p>The above statements are taken from the report of Major Ridley, made
+after he was exchanged. The affair was unfortunate. Open to fire from
+vessels on the river, Fort Butler was of no value to us, and the feeble
+garrison would have remained under cover; but, like the Irishman at
+Donnybrook, Green's rule was to strike an enemy whenever he saw him&mdash;a
+most commendable rule in war, and covering a multitude of such small
+errors as the attack on Fort Butler.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime I was detained at Berwick's Bay, engaged in hurrying over and
+forward artillery and arranging to transport the more valuable stores
+into the interior. It was not, however, until near the end of the first
+week in July that I succeeded in placing twelve guns on the river below
+Donaldsonville. Fire was opened, one transport destroyed and several
+turned back. Gunboats attempted to dislodge us, but were readily driven
+away by the aid of Green's men, dismounted and protected by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> the levee.
+For three days the river was closed to transports, and our mounted
+scouts were pushed down to a point opposite Kenner, sixteen miles above
+New Orleans. A few hours more, and the city would have been wild with
+excitement; but in war time once lost can not be regained. The unwise
+movement toward Vicksburg retarded operations at Berwick's and on the
+river, and Port Hudson fell. During the night of the 10th of July
+intelligence of its surrender on the previous day reached me, and some
+hours later the fall of Vicksburg on the 4th was announced.</p>
+
+<p>An iron-clad or two in Berwick's Bay, and the road at Plaquemine held by
+troops, supported by vessels in the river, would close all egress from
+the Lafourche, and the enemy could make arrangements to bag us at his
+leisure; while Grant's army and Porter's fleet, now set free, might
+overrun the Washita and Red River regions and destroy Walker's division,
+separated from me by a distance of more than three hundred miles. The
+outlook was not cheerful, but it was necessary to make the best of it,
+and at all hazards save our plunder. Batteries and outposts were ordered
+in to the Lafourche; Green concentrated his horse near Donaldsonville,
+the infantry moved to Labadieville to support him, and Mouton went to
+Berwick's, where he worked night and day in crossing stores to the west
+side of the bay.</p>
+
+<p>On the 13th of July Generals Weitzel, Grover, and Dwight, with six
+thousand men, came from Port Hudson, disembarked at Donaldsonville, and
+advanced down the Lafourche. Ordering up the infantry, I joined Green,
+but did not interfere with his dispositions, which were excellent. His
+force, fourteen hundred, including a battery, was dismounted and in
+line. As I reached the field the enemy came in sight, and Green led on
+his charge so vigorously as to drive the Federals into Donaldsonville,
+capturing two hundred prisoners, many small arms, and two guns, one of
+which was the field gun lost at Bisland. The affair was finished too
+speedily to require the assistance of the infantry.</p>
+
+<p>Undisturbed, we removed not only all stores from Berwick's, but many
+supplies from the abundant Lafourche country, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>cluding a large herd of
+cattle driven from the prairies of Opelousas by the Federals some weeks
+before. On the 21st of July, we ran the engines and carriages on the
+railway into the bay, threw in the heavy guns, and moved up the Teche,
+leaving pickets opposite Berwick's. Twenty-four hours thereafter the
+enemy's scouts reached the bay. The timidity manifested after the action
+of the 13th may be ascribed to the fertile imagination of the Federal
+commander, General Banks, which multiplied my force of less than three
+thousand of all arms into nine or twelve thousand.</p>
+
+<p>In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 313 and 314,
+General Banks states:</p>
+
+<p>"Orders had been sent to Brashear City [Berwick's] to remove all stores,
+but to hold the position, with the aid of gunboats, to the last. The
+enemy succeeded in crossing Grand Lake by means of rafts, and surprised
+and captured the garrison, consisting of <i>about three hundred men</i>. The
+enemy, greatly strengthened in numbers, then attacked the works at
+Donaldsonville, on the Mississippi, which were defended by a garrison of
+two hundred and twenty-five men, including convalescents, commanded by
+Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers. The attack was made on the
+morning of the 28th of June, and lasted until daylight. The garrison
+made a splendid defense, killing and wounding more than their own
+number, and capturing as many officers and nearly as many men as their
+garrison numbered. The enemy's troops were under the command of General
+Green of Texas, and consisted of the Louisiana troops under General
+Taylor and five thousand Texas cavalry, making a force of nine to twelve
+thousand in that vicinity.</p>
+
+<p>"The troops engaged in these different operations left but <i>four hundred
+men for the defense of New Orleans</i>. Upon the surrender of Port Hudson
+it was found that the enemy had established batteries below, on the
+river, cutting off our communication with New Orleans, making it
+necessary to send a large force to dislodge them. On the 9th of July
+seven transports, containing all my available force, were sent below
+against the enemy in the vicinity of Donaldsonville. The country was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>
+speedily freed from his presence, and Brashear City [Berwick's] was
+recaptured on the 22d of July."</p>
+
+<p>Here are remarkable statements. Fourteen hundred men and the vast stores
+at Berwick's (Brashear City) are omitted, as is the action of the 13th
+of July with "all my [his] available force.... The country was speedily
+freed from his [my] presence, and Brashear City reoccupied," though I
+remained in the country for eleven days after the 9th, and had abandoned
+Brashear City twenty-four hours before the first Federal scout made his
+appearance. The conduct of Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers,
+with two hundred and twenty-five negroes, "including convalescents,"
+appears to have surpassed that of Leonidas and his Spartans; but, like
+the early gods, modern democracies are pleased by large utterances.</p>
+
+<p>While we were engaged in these operations on the Lafourche, a movement
+of Grant's forces from Natchez was made against Fort Beauregard on the
+Washita. The garrison of fifty men abandoned the place on the 3d of
+September, leaving four heavy and four field guns, with their
+ammunition, to be destroyed or carried off by the enemy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER&mdash;CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS.</p>
+
+
+<p>Recent events on the Mississippi made it necessary to concentrate my
+small force in the immediate valley of Red River. Indeed, when we lost
+Vicksburg and Port Hudson, we lost not only control of the river but of
+the valley from the Washita and Atchafalaya on the west to Pearl River
+on the east. An army of forty odd thousand men, with all its material,
+was surrendered in the two places, and the fatal consequences were felt
+to the end of the struggle. The policy of shutting up large bodies of
+troops in fortifications, without a relieving army near at hand, can not
+be too strongly reprobated. Vicksburg should have been garrisoned by not
+more than twenty-five hundred men, and Port Hudson by a thousand. These
+would have been ample to protect the batteries against a sudden <i>coup</i>,
+and forty thousand men added to General Joseph Johnston's force would
+have prevented the investment of the places, or at least made their loss
+of small moment.</p>
+
+<p>After wasting three months in ineffectual attempts to divert the channel
+of the Mississippi, General Grant ran gunboats and transports by the
+batteries, and crossed the river below. Instead of meeting this movement
+with every available man, Pemberton detached General Bowen with a weak
+division, who successfully resisted the Federal advance for many hours,
+vainly calling the while for re&euml;nforcements. Pemberton then illustrated
+the art of war by committing every possible blunder. He fought a series
+of actions with fractions against the enemy's masses, and finished by
+taking his defeated fragments into the Vicksburg trap. It may be stated,
+however, that, had he acted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> wisely and kept out of Vicksburg, he would
+have been quite as much hounded as he subsequently was.</p>
+
+<p>Grant's error in undertaking an impossible work cost him three months'
+time and the loss by disease of many thousands of his men. The event
+showed that he could as readily have crossed the river below Vicksburg
+at first as at last; but, once over, he is entitled to credit for
+promptly availing himself of his adversary's mistakes and vigorously
+following him. The same may be said of his first success at Fort
+Donelson on the Cumberland. The terror inspired by gunboats in the first
+year of the war has been alluded to; and at Fort Donelson General Grant
+had another potent ally. The two senior Confederate generals,
+politicians rather than warriors, retired from command on the approach
+of the enemy. One can imagine the effect of such conduct, unique in war,
+on the raw troops left behind. General Buckner, an educated soldier, was
+too heavily handicapped by his worthy superiors to make a successful
+defense, and General Grant secured an easy victory. "Among the blind,
+the one-eyed are kings."</p>
+
+<p>General Grant's first essay at Belmont failed, and at Shiloh he was
+out-man&oelig;uvred and out-fought by Sidney Johnston, and, indeed, he was
+saved from destruction by Johnston's death. Before he moved against
+Bragg at Missionary Ridge, the latter had detached Longstreet with a
+third of his force, while he (Grant) re&euml;nforced Thomas with most of the
+Vicksburg army and two strong corps under Hooker from the east. The
+historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states that, in reply to a
+question of General Meade, Grant said: "I never man&oelig;uvre"; and one
+has but to study the Virginia campaign of 1864, and imagine an exchange
+of resources by Grant and Lee, to find the true place of the former
+among the world's commanders. He will fall into the class represented by
+Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland.</p>
+
+<p>Genius is God-given, but men are responsible for their acts; and it
+should be said of General Grant that, as far as I am aware, he made war
+in the true spirit of a soldier, never by deed or word inflicting wrong
+on non-combatants. It would be to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> the credit of the United States army
+if similar statements could be made of Generals Sherman and Sheridan.</p>
+
+<p>Released at length from the swamps of the Tensas, where it had suffered
+from sickness, Walker's division of Texas infantry joined me in the
+early autumn, and was posted to the north of Opelousas. Major-General
+J.G. Walker served as a captain of mounted rifles in the war with
+Mexico. Resigning from the United States army to join the Confederacy,
+he commanded a division at the capture of Harper's Ferry in 1862, and in
+the subsequent battle of Antietam; after which he was transferred to
+Arkansas. Seconded by good brigade and regimental officers, he had
+thoroughly disciplined his men, and made them in every sense soldiers;
+and their efficiency in action was soon established.</p>
+
+<p>On the 29th of September Green, with his horse and a part of Mouton's
+brigade of Louisiana infantry, crossed the Atchafalaya at Morgan's
+Ferry, and attacked and routed the enemy on the Fordoche, capturing four
+hundred and fifty prisoners and two guns. Green lost a hundred in killed
+and wounded; the enemy, who fought under cover, less than half that
+number.</p>
+
+<p>In October the Federals moved a large force of all arms up the Teche,
+their advance reaching the Courtableau. I concentrated for a fight, but
+they suddenly retired to the Bayou Bourbeau, three miles south of
+Opelousas, where they left a considerable body under General Burbridge.
+On the 3d of November Green, re&euml;nforced by three regiments of Walker's
+division, was ordered to attack them, and they were beaten with the loss
+of six hundred prisoners. This was the first opportunity I had had of
+observing the admirable conduct of Walker's men in action. Green's
+pursuit was stopped by the approach of heavy masses of the enemy from
+the south, who seemed content with the rescue of Burbridge, as they
+retired at once to the vicinity of New Iberia, fifty miles away. Green
+followed with a part of his horse, and kept his pickets close up; but
+one of his regiments permitted itself to be surprised at night, on the
+open prairie near New Iberia, and lost a hundred men out of a hundred
+and twenty-five. So much for want of discipline and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> over-confidence.
+General Banks's report mentions this capture, but is silent about
+Bourbeau.</p>
+
+<p>The prisoners taken at the Bourbeau were marched to the Red River, where
+supplies could be had. The second day after the action, <i>en route</i> for
+Alexandria in an ambulance, I turned out of the road on to the prairie
+to pass the column, when I observed an officer, in the uniform of a
+colonel, limping along with his leg bandaged. Surprised at this, I
+stopped to inquire the reason, and was told that the colonel refused to
+separate from his men. Descending from the ambulance, I approached him,
+and, as gently as possible, remonstrated against the folly of walking on
+a wounded leg. He replied that his wound was not very painful, and he
+could keep up with the column. His regiment was from Wisconsin,
+recruited among his neighbors and friends, and he was very unwilling to
+leave it. I insisted on his riding with me, for a time at least, as we
+would remain on the road his men were following. With much reluctance he
+got into the ambulance, and we drove on. For some miles he was silent,
+but, avoiding subjects connected with the war, I put him at ease, and
+before Alexandria was reached we were conversing pleasantly. Impressed
+by his bearing and demeanor, I asked him in what way I could serve him,
+and learned that he desired to send a letter to his wife in Wisconsin,
+who was in delicate health and expecting to be confined. She would hear
+of the capture of his regiment, and be uncertain as to his fate. "You
+shall go to the river to-night," I replied, "catch one of your steamers,
+and take home the assurance of your safety. Remain on parole until you
+can send me an officer of equal rank, and I will look to the comfort of
+your men and have them exchanged at the earliest moment." His manly
+heart was so affected by this as to incapacitate him from expressing his
+thanks.</p>
+
+<p>During the administration of Andrew Johnson a convention met in the city
+of Philadelphia which, at the earnest instance of the President, I
+attended. The gallant Wisconsin colonel was also there to lend his
+assistance in healing the wounds of civil strife. My presence in the
+city of <i>brotherly love</i> furnished an occasion to a newspaper to
+denounce me as "a rebel who,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> with hands dripping with loyal blood, had
+the audacity to show myself in a loyal community." Whereupon my
+Wisconsin friend, accompanied by a number of persons from his State,
+called on me to express condemnation of the article in question, and was
+ready, with the slightest encouragement, to make the newspaper office a
+hot place. This was the difference between brave soldiers and
+non-fighting politicians, who grew fat by inflaming the passions of
+sectional hate.</p>
+
+<p>The ensuing winter of 1863-4 was without notable events. Control of the
+Mississippi enabled the enemy to throw his forces upon me from above and
+below Red River, and by gunboats interfere with my movements along this
+stream; and as soon as the Lafourche campaign ended, steps were taken to
+provide against these contingencies. Twenty miles south of Alexandria a
+road leaves the B&oelig;uf, an effluent of Red River, and passes through
+pine forest to Burr's Ferry on the Sabine. Twenty odd miles from the
+B&oelig;uf this road intersects another from Opelousas to Fort Jesup, an
+abandoned military post, thence to Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, and
+Shreveport. At varying distances of twelve to thirty miles the valley of
+the Red River is an arc, of which this last-mentioned road is the chord,
+and several routes from the valley cross to ferries on the Sabine above
+Burr's. But the country between the B&oelig;uf and Pleasant Hill, ninety
+miles, was utterly barren, and depots of forage, etc., were necessary
+before troops could march through it. With great expenditure of time and
+labor depots were established, with small detachments to guard them; and
+events proved that the time and labor were well bestowed.</p>
+
+<p>Movements of the Federals along the west coast of Texas in November
+induced General Kirby Smith to withdraw from me Green's command of Texas
+horse, and send it to Galveston. This left me with but one mounted
+regiment, Vincent's 2d Louisiana, and some independent companies, which
+last were organized into two regiments&mdash;one, on the Washita, by Colonel
+Harrison, the other, on the Teche, by Colonel Bush; but they were too
+raw to be effective in the approaching campaign. Mouton's brigade of
+Louisiana infantry could be recruited to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> some extent; but the Texas
+infantry received no recruits, and was weakened by the ordinary
+casualties of camp life, as well as by the action of the Shreveport
+authorities. The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department"
+displayed much ardor in the establishment of bureaux, and on a scale
+proportioned rather to the extent of his territory than to the smallness
+of his force. His staff surpassed in numbers that of Von Moltke during
+the war with France; and, to supply the demands of bureaux and staff,
+constant details from the infantry were called for, to the great
+discontent of the officers in the field. Hydrocephalus at Shreveport
+produced atrophy elsewhere. Extensive works for defense were constructed
+there, and heavy guns mounted; and, as it was known that I objected to
+fortifications beyond mere water batteries, for reasons already stated,
+the chief engineer of the "department" was sent to Fort De Russy to
+build an iron-casemated battery and other works. We shall see what
+became of De Russy.</p>
+
+<p>In the winter there joined me from Arkansas a brigade of Texas infantry,
+numbering seven hundred muskets. The men had been recently dismounted,
+and were much discontented thereat. Prince Charles Polignac, a French
+gentleman of ancient lineage, and a brigadier in the Confederate army,
+reported for duty about the same time, and was assigned to command this
+brigade. The Texans swore that a Frenchman, whose very name they could
+not pronounce, should never command them, and mutiny was threatened. I
+went to their camp, assembled the officers, and pointed out the
+consequences of disobedience, for which I should hold them accountable;
+but promised that if they remained dissatisfied with their new commander
+<i>after an action</i>, I would then remove him. Order was restored, but it
+was up-hill work for General Polignac for some time, notwithstanding his
+patience and good temper. The incongruity of the relation struck me, and
+I thought of sending my monte-dealing Texas colonel to Paris, to command
+a brigade of the Imperial Guard.</p>
+
+<p>In the first weeks of 1864 the enemy sent a gunboat expedition up the
+Washita, and Polignac's brigade, with a battery,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> was moved to Trinity
+to meet it. The gunboats were driven off, and Polignac, by his coolness
+under fire, gained the confidence of his men, as he soon gained their
+affections by his care and attention. They got on famously, and he made
+capital soldiers out of them. General Polignac returned to Europe in
+1865, and as he had shown great gallantry and talent for war while
+serving with me, I hoped that he might come to the front during the
+struggle with Germany; but he belonged to that race of historic gentry
+whose ancestors rallied to the white plume of Henry at Ivry, and
+followed the charge of Cond&eacute; at Rocroy. Had he been a shopkeeper or
+scribbling attorney, he might have found favor with the dictator who
+ruled France.</p>
+
+<p>All the information received during the months of January and February,
+1864, indicated a movement against me in the early spring; and in the
+latter month it was ascertained that Porter's fleet and a part of
+Sherman's army from Vicksburg would join Banks's forces in the movement,
+while Steele would co&ouml;perate from Little Rock, Arkansas. This
+information was communicated to department headquarters, and I asked
+that prompt measures should be taken to re&euml;nforce me; but it was "a far
+cry" to Shreveport as to "Lochow," and the emergency seemed less
+pressing in the rear than at the front.</p>
+
+<p>The end of February found my forces distributed as follows: Harrison's
+mounted regiment (just organized), with a four-gun battery, was in the
+north, toward Monroe; Mouton's brigade near Alexandria; Polignac's at
+Trinity on the Washita, fifty-five miles distant; Walker's division at
+Marksville and toward Simmsport on the Atchafalaya, with two hundred men
+under Colonel Byrd detached to assist the gunners at De Russy, which,
+yet unfinished, contained eight heavy guns and two field pieces. Walker
+had three companies of Vincent's horse on the east side of the
+Atchafalaya, watching the Mississippi. The remainder of Vincent's
+regiment was on the Teche.</p>
+
+<p>Increased activity and concentration at Berwick's Bay, and a visit of
+Sherman to New Orleans to confer with Banks, warned me of the impending
+blow; and on the 7th of March Polignac was ordered to move at once to
+Alexandria, and thence, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> Mouton's brigade, to the B&oelig;uf,
+twenty-five miles south. Harrison was directed to get his regiment and
+battery to the west bank of the Washita, gather to him several
+independent local companies of horse, and report to General Liddell,
+sent to command on the north bank of Red River, whence he was to harass
+the enemy's advance up that stream. Vincent was ordered to leave flying
+scouts on the Teche and move his regiment, with such men as Bush had
+recruited, to Opelousas, whence he afterward joined me on the Burr's
+Ferry road. At Alexandria steamers were loaded with stores and sent
+above the falls, and everything made ready to evacuate the place. These
+arrangements were not completed a moment too soon.</p>
+
+<p>On March 12th Admiral Porter, with nineteen gunboats, followed by ten
+thousand men of Sherman's army, entered the mouth of Red River. (These
+numbers are from Federal official reports.) On the 13th, under cover of
+a part of the fleet, the troops debarked at Simmsport, on the
+Atchafalaya near the Red, other vessels ascending the latter stream, and
+on the 14th, under command of General A.J. Smith, marched to De Russy,
+thirty miles, which they reached about 5 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> As stated, the work was
+incomplete, and had time been given me would have been abandoned.
+Attacked in the rear, the garrison surrendered after losing ten killed
+and wounded. Byrd's two hundred men were in rifle pits on the river
+below, where gunboats, under Commander Phelps, were removing
+obstructions in the channel. A number of Byrd's men and a few gunners
+escaped to the swamps and rejoined their commands; but we lost a hundred
+and eighty-five prisoners, eight heavy guns, and two field pieces. Thus
+much for our Red River Gibraltar.</p>
+
+<p>Cut off from direct communication by the sudden appearance of the enemy
+on the 12th, the three mounted companies east of the Atchafalaya were
+forced to cross at Morgan's Ferry, below Simmsport, and did not rejoin
+Walker until the 15th. This officer was thereby left without means of
+information; but, judging correctly of the numbers of the enemy by a
+personal observation of his transports and fleet, he fell back from his
+advanced position to the B&oelig;uf, forty miles, where he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> united with
+Mouton and Polignac. His division at this time was reduced to some
+thirty-three hundred muskets, too weak to make head against A.J. Smith's
+column.</p>
+
+<p>On the afternoon of the 15th of March the advanced boats of Porter's
+fleet reached Alexandria, whence all stores had been removed; but, by
+the mismanagement of a pilot, one steamer was grounded on the falls and
+had to be burned.</p>
+
+<p>In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., page 192, Colonel
+J.S. Clarke, aide-de-camp to General Banks, states that Banks's army in
+this campaign was twenty-eight thousand strong, eighteen thousand under
+Franklin, ten thousand under A.J. Smith. General Steele, operating from
+Arkansas, reports his force at seven thousand; and the number of
+gunboats given is taken from the reports of Admiral Porter to the
+Secretary of the Navy.</p>
+
+<p>To meet Porter and A.J. Smith, Major-General Franklin had left the lower
+Teche on the 13th for Alexandria, with eighteen thousand men. My entire
+force on the south side of Red River consisted of fifty-three hundred
+infantry, five hundred horse, and three hundred artillerymen; and
+Liddell, on the north, had about the same number of horse and a four-gun
+battery. From Texas, if at all, the delayed re&euml;nforcements must come,
+and it was vital to cover the roads from the Sabine.</p>
+
+<p>From the B&oelig;uf, on the 16th, I marched on the Burr's Ferry road to
+Carroll Jones's, which was reached on the evening of the 18th. Here,
+where the Burr's Ferry and Natchitoches roads separated, was a depot of
+forage, and I camped.</p>
+
+<p>Polignac's and the Louisiana brigade, under Colonel Gray, were united in
+a division for General Mouton. Vincent's horse, from Opelousas, joined
+on the 19th, and on the following day was sent forward to the Bayou
+Rapides, twelve miles, where it skirmished with the enemy's horse from
+Alexandria, twenty miles below. At dawn of the 21st Edgar's battery,
+four guns, was sent to strengthen Vincent, and posted in a strong
+position near James's Store, where it overlooked and commanded the
+valley.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, couriers were dispatched to the Sabine to inform<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> approaching
+re&euml;nforcements of my position, and direct them on to the Fort Jesup
+road. The 21st proved to be a cold, rainy day, with gusts of wind.
+Toward evening the sound of Edgar's guns was heard. Fearing a surprise
+during the night, Captain Elgee of my staff was sent to withdraw the
+battery and warn Vincent of the necessity of vigilance; but the enemy
+had been too prompt. Vincent's pickets found their fires more agreeable
+than outposts. At nightfall the battery and a number of the horse were
+captured, as was Captain Elgee, who rode up just after the event. We
+lost the four guns, with their caissons, and two hundred men. Vincent,
+with the remainder of his command escaped. In truth, my horse was too
+ill disciplined for close work. On the 22d we marched to Beaseley's,
+twelve miles, and remained until the 29th, hoping that re&euml;nforcements
+would reach us. Beaseley's was a depot of forage, and covered roads to
+Fort Jesup and Natchitoches; and a cross road reached the Red River
+valley at a point twenty-five miles below the latter place, by which
+some supplies were obtained. As no re&euml;nforcements arrived, and the enemy
+was moving up the river, the troops were ordered to Pleasant Hill via
+Fort Jesup, forty miles, and I went to Natchitoches, thirty miles. Here,
+on the night of the 30th, I met Colonel McNeill's regiment of Texas
+horse, numbering two hundred and fifty men, of whom fifty were without
+arms; and the following morning Colonel Herbert came in, with a hundred
+and twenty-five of his three hundred and fifty men unarmed. These were a
+part of Green's command, and the first re&euml;nforcements received.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy's advance reached Natchitoches, by the river road, on the
+31st, and McNeill and Herbert were directed to fall back slowly toward
+Pleasant Hill, thirty-six miles. I remained in the town until the enemy
+entered, then rode four miles to Grand Ecore, where, in the main channel
+of Red River, a steamer was awaiting me. Embarking, I went up river to
+Blair's Landing, forty miles by the windings of the stream, whence was a
+road, sixteen miles, to Pleasant Hill. Four miles from Blair's was Bayou
+Pierre, a large arm of the river, crossed by a ferry. At Pleasant Hill,
+on the 1st of April, Walker and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> Mouton, with their infantry divisions,
+artillery, and trains joined me, as did Green with his staff. From the
+latter I learned that De Bray's regiment of cavalry, with two batteries
+and trains, was in march from Fort Jesup. As the enemy was moving from
+Natchitoches, and could strike the Jesup road across country, De Bray
+was ordered to push forward his artillery and wagons, and look well to
+his right. He reached Pleasant Hill after dark. The enemy attempted to
+impede the march, but was driven off, with a loss of five wounded to De
+Bray. During the day our horse, toward Natchitoches, had some
+skirmishing.</p>
+
+<p>It appeared that General Major, with the remainder of Green's horse,
+could not get up before the 6th, and he was directed to cross the Sabine
+at Logansport and march to Mansfield, twenty miles in my rear. This
+insured his march against disturbance; and, to give him time, I halted
+two days at Pleasant Hill, prepared for action. But the enemy showed no
+disposition to advance seriously, and on the 4th and 5th the infantry
+moved to Mansfield, where on the following day Major, with his horse and
+Buchell's regiment of cavalry, joined. General Major was sent to
+Pleasant Hill to take charge of the advance.</p>
+
+<p>De Bray's and Buchell's regiments have been spoken of as <i>cavalry</i> to
+distinguish them from mounted infantry, herein called <i>horse</i>. They had
+never before left their State (Texas), were drilled and disciplined, and
+armed with sabers. Buchell's regiment was organized in the German
+settlement of New Braunfels. The men had a distinct idea that they were
+fighting for their adopted country, and their conduct in battle was in
+marked contrast to that of the Germans whom I had encountered in the
+Federal army in Virginia. Colonel Buchell had served in the Prussian
+army, and was an instructed soldier. Three days after he joined me, he
+was mortally wounded in action, and survived but a few hours. I sat
+beside him as his brave spirit passed away. The old "Fatherland" sent no
+bolder horseman to battle at Rossbach or Gravelotte.</p>
+
+<p>During this long retreat of two hundred miles from the banks of the
+Atchafalaya to Mansfield, I had been in correspond<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>ence with General
+Kirby Smith at Shreveport, and always expressed my intention to fight as
+soon as re&euml;nforcements reached me. General Kirby Smith thought that I
+would be too weak to meet the enemy, even with all possible
+re&euml;nforcements, and suggested two courses: one, to hold the works at
+Shreveport until he could concentrate a force to relieve me; the other,
+to retire into Texas and induce the enemy to follow us.</p>
+
+<p>My objection to the first suggestion was, that it would result in the
+surrender of the troops and Shreveport, as it would be impossible to
+raise a new force for their relief; and to the second, that its
+consequences would be quite as disastrous as a defeat, as it would be an
+abandonment of Louisiana and southern Arkansas. The men from these
+States might be expected to leave us, and small blame to them; while
+from the interior of Texas we could give no more aid to our brethren on
+the east of the Mississippi than from the Sandwich Islands. General
+Kirby Smith did not insist on the adoption of either of his own
+suggestions, nor express an approval of mine; but when Mansfield was
+reached, a decision became necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Three roads lead from this place to Shreveport, the Kingston, Middle,
+and Keachi. The distance by the first, the one nearest to the valley of
+Red River, is thirty-eight miles; by the second, forty; and by the
+third, forty-five. From Keachi, five and twenty miles from Mansfield and
+twenty from Shreveport, roads cross the Sabine into Texas. Past
+Mansfield, then, the enemy would have three roads, one of which would be
+near his fleet on the river, and could avail himself of his great
+superiority in numbers. This was pointed out to the "Aulic Council" at
+Shreveport, but failed to elicit any definite response.</p>
+
+<p>On the 21st of March there had reached Shreveport, from Price's command
+in Arkansas, two brigades of Missouri infantry and two of Arkansas,
+numbering together forty-four hundred muskets. These troops I had
+repeatedly asked for, but they were retained at Shreveport until the
+afternoon of the 4th of April, when they marched to Keachi, and reported
+to me from that place on the morning of the 6th. Supplies were far from
+abundant in the vicinity of Mansfield; and as I might at any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> moment
+receive an order to retire to Keachi, they were directed to remain there
+for the present. Green, now promoted to major-general, was placed in
+command of all the horse, with Brigadiers Bee, Major, and Bagby under
+him.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the 7th of April, Major, from Pleasant Hill, reported
+the enemy advancing in force; whereupon Green went to the front. Later
+in the day the southerly wind brought such distinct sounds of firing to
+Mansfield as to induce me to join Green. Riding hard, I suddenly met
+some fifty men from the front, and reined up to speak to them; but,
+before I could open my mouth, received the following rebuke from one of
+the party for a bad habit: "General! if you won't curse us, we will go
+back with you." I bowed to the implied homily, rode on, followed by the
+men, and found Green fighting a superior force of horse. Putting in my
+little re&euml;nforcement, I joined him, and enjoyed his method of managing
+his wild horsemen; and he certainly accomplished more with them than any
+one else could have done. After some severe work, the enemy's progress
+was arrested, and it became evident that Green could camp that night at
+a mill stream seven miles from Pleasant Hill, a matter of importance.</p>
+
+<p>The roads in this region follow the high ridge dividing the drainage of
+Red River from that of the Sabine, and water is very scarce. Between
+Pleasant Hill and Mansfield but two streams are found, the one above
+mentioned, and a smaller, seven miles nearer to the latter place. For
+twenty miles from Pleasant Hill toward Natchitoches there was little or
+no water; and at Pleasant Hill itself we had exhausted the wells and
+reduced the store in cisterns during our stay. This, as it affected
+movements and positions of troops, should be borne in mind.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Green, I returned to Mansfield, stopping on the road to select
+my ground for the morrow. This was in the edge of a wood, fronting an
+open field eight hundred yards in width by twelve hundred in length,
+through the center of which the road to Pleasant Hill passed. On the
+opposite side of the field was a fence separating it from the pine
+forest, which, open on the higher ground and filled with underwood on
+the lower,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> spread over the country. The position was three miles in
+front of Mansfield, and covered a cross-road leading to the Sabine. On
+either side of the main Mansfield-Pleasant Hill road, at two miles'
+distance, was a road parallel to it and connected by this Sabine
+cross-road.</p>
+
+<p>General Churchill, commanding the Missouri-Arkansas troops at Keachi,
+was ordered to march for Mansfield at dawn of the 8th, and advised that
+a battle was impending. My medical director was instructed to prepare
+houses in the village for hospitals, and quartermasters were told to
+collect supplies and park surplus wagons. An officer with a small guard
+was selected to preserve order in the town, and especially among the
+wagoners, always disposed to "stampede." Walker and Mouton were ordered
+to move their divisions in the morning, ready for action, to the
+position selected; and a staff officer was sent to Green, with
+instructions to leave a small force in front of the enemy, and before
+dawn withdraw to the appointed ground. These arrangements made, a
+dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith at Shreveport, informing him
+that I had returned from the front, found the enemy advancing in force,
+and would give battle on the following day, April 8, 1864, unless
+positive orders to the contrary were sent to me. This was about 9 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>
+of the 7th.</p>
+
+<p>My confidence of success in the impending engagement was inspired by
+accurate knowledge of the Federal movements, as well as the character of
+their commander, General Banks, whose measure had been taken in the
+Virginia campaigns of 1862 and since.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the 7th of April Admiral Porter left Grand Ecore with
+six gunboats and twenty transports, on which last were embarked some
+twenty-five hundred troops. The progress of these vessels up the river
+was closely watched by an officer of my staff, who was also in
+communication with General Liddell on the north side. Banks began his
+movement from Grand Ecore to Pleasant Hill on the 6th, with an estimated
+force of twenty-five thousand. Though lateral roads existed, his column
+marched by the main one, and in the following order:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> Five thousand
+mounted men led the advance, followed by a large wagon train and much
+artillery. Infantry succeeded, then more wagons and artillery, then
+infantry again. In the afternoon of the 7th I knew that the front and
+rear of his column were separated by a distance of twenty miles.</p>
+
+<p>My troops reached the position in front of Sabine cross-road at an early
+hour on the 8th, and were disposed as follows: On the right of the road
+to Pleasant Hill, Walker's infantry division of three brigades, with two
+batteries; on the left, Mouton's, of two brigades and two batteries. As
+Green's men came in from the front, they took position, dismounted, on
+Mouton's left. A regiment of horse was posted on each of the parallel
+roads mentioned, and De Bray's cavalry, with McMahon's battery, held in
+reserve on the main road. Dense forest prevented the employment of much
+artillery, and, with the exception of McMahon's, which rendered
+excellent service, none was used in the action.</p>
+
+<p>I had on the field fifty-three hundred infantry; three thousand horse,
+and five hundred artillerymen&mdash;in all, eight thousand eight hundred men,
+a very full estimate. But the vicious dispositions of the enemy made me
+confident of beating all the force he could concentrate during the day;
+and on the morrow Churchill, with forty-four hundred muskets, would be
+up.</p>
+
+<p>The forenoon of the 8th wore on as the troops got into position. Riding
+along the line, I stopped in front of the Louisiana brigade of Mouton's
+division, and made what proved to be an unfortunate remark to the men:
+"As they were fighting in defense of their own soil I wished the
+Louisiana troops to draw the first blood." But they were already
+inflamed by many outrages on their homes, as well as by camp rumors that
+it was intended to abandon their State without a fight. At this moment
+our advanced horse came rushing in, hard followed by the enemy. A shower
+of bullets reached Mouton's line, one of which struck my horse, and a
+body of mounted men charged up to the front of the 18th Louisiana. A
+volley from this regiment sent them back with heavy loss. Infantry was
+reported in the wood opposite my left. This was a new disposition of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
+the enemy, for on the 6th and 7th his advance consisted of horse alone;
+and to meet it, Mouton was strengthened by moving Randall's brigade of
+Walker's from the right to the left of the road. To cover this change,
+skirmishers were thrown forward and De Bray's regiment deployed in the
+field.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy showing no disposition to advance, at 4 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> I ordered a
+forward movement of my whole line. The ardor of Mouton's troops,
+especially the Louisianians, could not be restrained by their officers.
+Crossing the field under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms, the
+division reached the fence, paused for a moment to draw breath, then
+rushed into the wood on the enemy. Here our loss was severe. General
+Mouton was killed, as were Colonels Armand, Beard, and Walker, commanding
+the 18th, Crescent, and 28th Louisiana regiments of Gray's brigade. Major
+Canfield of the Crescent also fell, and Lieutenant-Colonel Clack of the
+same regiment was mortally wounded. As these officers went down, others,
+among whom Adjutant Blackman was conspicuous, seized the colors and led
+on the men. Polignac's brigade, on the left of Gray's, also suffered
+heavily. Colonel Noble, 17th Texas, with many others, was killed. Polignac,
+left in command by the death of Mouton, displayed ability and pressed the
+shattered division steadily forward. Randall, with his fine brigade,
+supported him on the right; while Major's dismounted men, retarded by
+dense wood, much to the impatience of General Green, gradually turned
+the enemy's right, which was forced back with loss of prisoners and guns.</p>
+
+<p>On the right of the main road General Walker, with Waul's and Scurry's
+brigades, encountered but little resistance until he had crossed the
+open field and entered the wood. Finding that he outflanked the enemy's
+left, he kept his right brigade, Scurry's, advanced, and swept
+everything before him.</p>
+
+<p>The first Federal line, consisting of all the mounted force and one
+division of the 13th army corps, was in full flight, leaving prisoners,
+guns, and wagons in our hands. Two miles to the rear of the first
+position, the 2d division of the 13th corps brought up, but was speedily
+routed, losing guns and pri<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>soners; and our advance continued. Near
+sunset, four miles from our original position, the 19th army corps was
+found, drawn up on a ridge overlooking a small stream. Fatigued, and
+disordered by their long advance through dense wood, my men made no
+impression for a time on this fresh body of troops; but possession of
+the water was all-important, for there was none other between this and
+Mansfield. Walker, Green, and Polignac led on their weary men, and I
+rode down to the stream. There was some sharp work, but we persisted,
+the enemy fell back, and the stream was held, just as twilight faded
+into darkness.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-five hundred prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, several
+stands of colors, many thousands of small arms, and two hundred and
+fifty wagons were the fruits of victory in the battle of Mansfield.
+Eight thousand of the enemy, his horse and two divisions of infantry,
+had been utterly routed, and over five thousand of the 19th corps driven
+back at sunset. With a much smaller force on the field, we invariably
+outnumbered the enemy at the fighting point; and foreseeing the
+possibility of this, I was justified in my confidence of success. The
+defeat of the Federal army was largely due to the ignorance and
+arrogance of its commander, General Banks, who attributed my long
+retreat to his own wonderful strategy.</p>
+
+<p>Night put an end to the struggle along the little stream, and my troops
+camped by the water.</p>
+
+<p>A dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, to inform him
+of the result of the day's fighting, and of my intention to push the
+enemy on the following morning. Leaving instructions for Green, with all
+the mounted force, to pursue at dawn, I rode to Mansfield to look after
+our wounded and meet Churchill. The precautions taken had preserved
+order in the village throughout the day. Hospitals had been prepared,
+the wounded brought in and cared for, prisoners and captured property
+disposed of. Churchill came and reported his command in camp, four miles
+from Mansfield, on the Keachi road; and he was directed to prepare two
+days' rations, and march toward Pleasant Hill<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> at 3 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span></p>
+
+<p>Sitting by my camp fire to await the movement of Churchill's column, I
+was saddened by recollection of the many dead, and the pleasure of
+victory was turned to grief as I counted the fearful cost at which it
+had been won. Of the Louisianians fallen, most were acquaintances, many
+had been neighbors and friends; and they were gone. Above all, the death
+of gallant Mouton affected me. He had joined me soon after I reached
+western Louisiana, and had ever proved faithful to duty. Modest,
+unselfish, and patriotic, he showed best in action, always leading his
+men. I thought of his wife and children, and of his father, Governor
+Mouton, whose noble character I have attempted to portray.</p>
+
+<p>Churchill's march disturbed these solemn reveries, and I returned to the
+front, where Walker and Green were awaiting the approaching day. The
+horse, with a battery, moved early to Pleasant Hill, fourteen miles,
+leaving Walker and Polignac to follow Churchill's column as soon as it
+had passed. I rode with Green, and we found many stragglers, scattered
+arms, and burning wagons, showing the haste of the enemy's retreat. The
+mill stream, seven miles distant, was reached, then the vicinity of
+Pleasant Hill, before a shot was fired. A short mile in front of the
+latter place the enemy was found; and as our rapid advance had left the
+infantry far to the rear, feints were made to the right and left to
+develop his position and strength.</p>
+
+<p>The village of Pleasant Hill occupies part of a plateau, a mile wide
+from east to west, along the Mansfield and Fort Jesup road. The highest
+ground, called College Hill, is on the west, and here enters a road from
+the Sabine, which, sixteen miles to the east, strikes the Red River at
+Blair's Landing; while, from the necessity of turning Spanish Lake, the
+distance to Natchitoches and Grand Ecore is thirty-six miles. The
+Federal fleet, with accompanying troops, was now many miles above
+Blair's, which by river is forty-five miles above Grand Ecore. Driven
+from Pleasant Hill to the latter place, the Federal forces would be
+widely separated, and might be destroyed in detail. Though it appeared
+to be the enemy's intention to continue his retreat, as he was known to
+be moving back his trains, yet if undis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>turbed he might find courage to
+attempt a junction with his fleet at Blair's Landing; and I did not wish
+to lose the advantage of the <i>morale</i> gained by success on the previous
+day.</p>
+
+<p>Our reconnoissance showed that the Federal lines extended across the
+open plateau, from College Hill on their left to a wooded height on the
+right of the road to Mansfield. Winding along in front of this position
+was a gully cut by winter rains, but now dry, and bordered by a thick
+growth of young pines, with fallen timber interspersed. This was held by
+the enemy's advanced infantry, with his main line and guns on the
+plateau. Separating the gully and thicket from the forest toward
+Mansfield was an open field, several hundred yards wide near the road,
+but diminishing in width toward the west. Here the Federal commander had
+concentrated some eighteen thousand, including A.J. Smith's force, not
+engaged on the previous day.</p>
+
+<p>My plan of attack was speedily determined. Orders were sent to the
+infantry to fill canteens at the mill stream, and to the trains to park
+there. Shortly after midday the infantry appeared, Churchill in advance;
+but a glance showed that his men were too much exhausted to attack. They
+had marched forty-five miles, and were thoroughly jaded. Walker's and
+Polignac's divisions had been heavily engaged on the previous day, and
+all were suffering from heat and thirst. Accordingly, two hours were
+given to the troops to lie down and rest.</p>
+
+<p>At 3 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Churchill, with two batteries and three regiments of horse,
+was directed to move to the right and turn the enemy's left. His route
+was through the forest for two miles to the road coming from the Sabine.
+The enemy's left outflanked, he was to attack from the south and west,
+keeping his regiments of horse well to his right, and Walker would
+attack on his left. This was explained to Churchill, and Mr. T.J.
+Williams, formerly sheriff of De Soto parish, and acquainted with every
+road in the vicinity, was sent with him as a guide. On Walker's left,
+near the road from Mansfield, Major Brent had twelve guns in the wood,
+with four on the road, where were posted Buchell's and De Bray's
+cavalry, under General Bee, and Poli<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>gnac's division, the last in
+reserve. In the wood on the left of the road from Mansfield, Major, with
+two brigades of horse dismounted, was to drive back the enemy's
+skirmishers, turn his right, and gain the road to Blair's Landing. As no
+offensive movement by the enemy was anticipated, he would be turned on
+both flanks, subjected to a concentric fire, and overwhelmed. Though I
+had but twelve thousand five hundred men against eighteen thousand in
+position, the <i>morale</i> was greatly in our favor, and intelligent
+execution of orders was alone necessary to insure success.</p>
+
+<p>At 4.30 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Churchill was reported to be near the position whence he
+would attack; and, to call off attention, Major Brent advanced his
+twelve guns into the field, within seven hundred yards of the enemy's
+line, and opened fire. Soon thereafter the sound of Churchill's attack
+was heard, which the cheers of his men proved to be successful. Walker
+at once led forward his division by echelons of brigades from his right,
+Brent advanced his guns, and Major turned the enemy's right and gained
+possession of the road to Blair's. Complete victory seemed assured when
+Churchill's troops suddenly gave way, and for a time arrested the
+advance of Walker and Major.</p>
+
+<p>The road from the Sabine reached, Churchill formed his line with the two
+Missouri brigades, General Parsons on the right, and the two Arkansas,
+General Tappan, on the left. Advancing three fourths of a mile through
+the forest, he approached the enemy's line, and found that he had not
+gained ground enough to outflank it. Throwing forward skirmishers, he
+moved by the right flank until the Missouri brigades were on the right
+of the Sabine road, the regiments of horse being farther to the right.
+Churchill should have placed his whole command on the right of the
+Sabine road, and he would have found no difficulty in successfully
+executing his orders. In his official report he states "that had my
+[his] line extended a half mile more to the right, a brilliant success
+would have been achieved"; and he gives as the reason for not so
+disposing his force that he judged, from information furnished by his
+guides, the enemy's left to be already outflanked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The attack ordered, the Missourians threw themselves on the enemy, drove
+him from the gully and thicket, mounted the plateau, broke an opposing
+line, captured and sent to the rear three hundred prisoners, got
+possession of two batteries, the horses of which had been killed, and
+reached the village. Here a Federal brigade, left by Churchill's error
+on his right, attacked them in flank and rear, while their rapid charge
+had put three hundred yards between them and the Arkansas brigades,
+delayed by the gully. The enemy's reserve was thrust into this opening
+and advanced in front. Finding themselves assaulted on all sides, the
+Missourians retreated hastily, and in repassing the gully and thicket
+fell into much confusion. Colonel Hardiman, commanding the horse,
+checked the enemy, and Parsons rallied his men on the line first formed
+by Churchill. The Arkansas brigades had forced the gully and mounted the
+plateau as the Missourians retreated, whereupon they fell back, their
+left brigade (Gause's) running into Walker's right (Scurry's) and
+impeding its advance. Gause imagined that Scurry had fired on him; but
+as his entire loss in the action amounted to but fifteen killed and
+fifty-nine wounded, out of eleven hundred men, there appears little
+ground for this belief. Churchill's two batteries followed the
+Missourians, and with much difficulty reached the plateau, where they
+opened an effective fire. When the infantry retreated three carriages
+broke down in the attempt to get through the thicket and fallen timber,
+and the guns were lost. Night ended the conflict on this part of the
+field, and both sides occupied their original positions. We brought off
+three hundred prisoners, but lost three guns and one hundred and
+seventy-nine prisoners from Churchill's command. Out of two thousand
+men, the Missourians lost three hundred and thirty-one in killed and
+wounded, and the Arkansas brigades, of equal strength, one hundred and
+forty-two.</p>
+
+<p>Within a few minutes of the time when our whole line became engaged, an
+officer came to inform me that General Walker was wounded. Directing
+Polignac to move up his division and hold it in readiness, I left
+General Green in charge of the center and hastened to Walker, whose
+division was now fully engaged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> in the wood. I found him suffering from
+a contusion in the groin, and ordered him to retire, which he
+unwillingly did. Here it was that our right gave way in the manner
+described. Scurry's brigade of Walker's, disordered by the sudden
+retreat upon it of Gause, was heavily pressed by the enemy. Scurry and
+his men struggled gallantly, but required immediate relief; and to give
+it, Waul and Randall on their left were ordered to drive back the line
+fronting them. Never was order more thoroughly executed. Leading on
+their fine brigades with skill and energy, these officers forced back
+the Federals and relieved Scurry.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the fire of Brent's guns had overpowered a Federal battery
+posted on the plateau in front of the road from Mansfield. The confusion
+attending the withdrawal of this battery, coupled with the fierce attack
+of Waul and Randall, led General Green to believe that the enemy was
+retreating, and he ordered Bee to charge with his two regiments of
+cavalry, Buchell's and De Bray's. Bee reached the plateau, where he was
+stopped by a heavy fire from infantry, in the wood on both sides of the
+road. Some men and horses went down, Buchell was mortally wounded, and
+Bee and De Bray slightly. The charge was premature and cost valuable
+lives, but was of use in moral effect. I returned to the road as Bee,
+with coolness and pluck, withdrew. Brent advanced his guns close up to
+the opposing line, Polignac attacked on Randall's left with his reduced
+but stubborn division, and Green urged on his dismounted horsemen,
+cleared the wood from the Mansfield to the Blair's Landing road, and at
+nightfall held the position previously occupied by the Federal battery.</p>
+
+<p>Severe fighting continued in the dense thicket, where Polignac, Randall,
+Waul, and Scurry were steadily driving back the enemy. Approaching
+twilight obscured the wood, but resistance in front was becoming feeble,
+and, anxious to reach the village, I urged on our men. As Randall and
+Waul gained ground to the front, they became separated by a ravine in
+which was concealed a brigade of Federals. Isolated by the retreat of
+their friends, these troops attempted to get out. Fired on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> from both
+sides of the ravine, a part of them appeared on the field in front of
+Brent's guns, to be driven back by grape. With heavy loss they at length
+succeeded in escaping through the thicket. A letter from the commander
+was subsequently captured, wherein he denounces the conduct of his
+superiors who abandoned him to his fate. However true the allegation, it
+is doubtful if his brigade could have rendered more service elsewhere.
+The suddenness of its appearance stopped our forward movement, and a cry
+arose that we were firing on our own people. The thickening gloom made
+it impossible to disabuse the troops of this belief, and I ordered them
+to withdraw to the open field. The movement was made slowly and in
+perfect order, the men forming in the field as they emerged from the
+thicket. The last light of day was fading as I rode along the line, and
+the noise of battle had ceased.</p>
+
+<p>Churchill came to report the result of his attack, and seemed much
+depressed. I gave such consolation as I could, and directed him to move
+his command to the mill stream, seven miles to the rear, where he would
+find his trains and water. A worthy, gallant gentleman, General
+Churchill, but not fortunate in war.</p>
+
+<p>The mill stream was the nearest water to be had, and I was compelled to
+send the troops back to it. The enemy made no attempt to recover the
+ground from which his center and right had been driven. Bee picketed the
+field with his cavalry, his forage wagons were ordered up from the mill
+stream, and it was hoped that water for his two regiments could be found
+in the wells and cisterns of the village. Sounds of retreat could be
+heard in the stillness of the night. Parties were sent on the field to
+care for the wounded, and Bee was ordered to take up the pursuit toward
+Grand Ecore at dawn, to be followed by the horse from the mill stream as
+soon as water and forage had been supplied. These dispositions for the
+morning made, worn out by fatigue and loss of sleep, I threw myself on
+the ground, within two hundred yards of the battle field, and sought
+rest. The enemy retreated during the night, leaving four hundred
+wounded, and his many dead unburied. On the morning of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> the 10th Bee
+pursued for twenty miles before he overtook his rear guard, finding
+stragglers and burning wagons and stores, evidences of haste.</p>
+
+<p>In the two actions of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill my loss in killed and
+wounded was twenty-two hundred. At Pleasant Hill we lost three guns and
+four hundred and twenty-six prisoners, one hundred and seventy-nine from
+Churchill's, and two hundred and forty-seven from Scurry's brigade at
+the time it was so nearly overwhelmed. The Federal loss in killed and
+wounded exceeded mine, and we captured twenty guns and twenty-eight
+hundred prisoners, not including stragglers picked up after the battle.
+The enemy's campaign for conquest was defeated by an inferior force, and
+it was doubtful if his army and fleet could escape destruction.</p>
+
+<p>These were creditable results, yet of much less importance than those
+that would have been accomplished but for my blunder at Pleasant Hill.
+Instead of intrusting the important attack by my right to a subordinate,
+I should have conducted it myself and taken Polignac's division to
+sustain it. True, this would have removed my reserve from the center and
+line of retreat, and placed it on a flank; but I was confident that the
+enemy had no intention of resuming the offensive, and should have acted
+on that conviction. All this flashed upon me the instant I learned of
+the disorder of my right. Herein lies the vast difference between genius
+and commonplace: one anticipates errors, the other discovers them too
+late.</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing account of Churchill's attack at Pleasant Hill, hidden
+from me by intervening wood, is taken from his official report and the
+reports of his subordinates; and I will now supplement it by some
+extracts from the testimony given by General Francis Fessenden of the
+Federal army. On pages 94 and 95 of the second volume of the "Report on
+the Conduct of the War," the following appears:</p>
+
+<p>"In the afternoon we were changed, from a position in the woods in front
+of Pleasant Hill, to a position in rear of a deep ditch near the town.
+We were placed behind this ditch, in open ground, and practically held
+the left of the front line; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> my regiment was on the left. I think it
+was not expected that an attack would be made by the enemy in that
+direction. The attack was expected by the road which led in by the right
+center of the army. Instead of that, however, the enemy came around
+through the woods, and about half-past 5 o'clock drove in our
+skirmishers, and made a very fierce attack on the brigade I was
+in&mdash;Colonel Benedict's brigade. The brigade fell back under the attack a
+great deal broken up, and my regiment was separated from the other three
+regiments which went off in another direction. I had fallen back still
+further to the left, as I knew there was a brigade of troops in there to
+protect our left flank and rear from attack in that direction. My
+regiment being the last of the brigade to fall back, the enemy had
+already advanced so far after the other three regiments that I could not
+fall back where they did. I therefore fell back in another direction,
+rallying my regiment and forming on the right of the brigade referred
+to; and that brigade, my regiment, and another brigade, which I think
+had been brought up under General Emory, made an attack upon the enemy's
+column, which had advanced some distance, and drove them back with great
+loss. We continued to advance, and drove them a mile or more, so
+completely off the field that there was no other attack made by the
+enemy in that direction.</p>
+
+<p>"That night we fell back again, marching all night and all the next
+morning, until we reached the camping ground at the end of our first
+day's march from Grand Ecore. I ought to state here that in that attack
+of the enemy on our left the brigade commander, Colonel Benedict, was
+killed, and I then assumed command of the brigade. We remained at Grand
+Ecore some eight or nine days, where we built intrenchments to a certain
+extent&mdash;rifle pits. I think the whole army threw up a kind of temporary
+work in front."</p>
+
+<p>General Fessenden's statements accord with the reports of Churchill and
+his officers, and in other respects are accurate.</p>
+
+<p>On page 62 of the volume quoted from, General A.L. Lee, commanding
+mounted division of Banks's army, testifies:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The next morning (9th of April) I was ordered by General Banks to
+detach one thousand cavalry to act as scouts and skirmishers, and to
+take the remainder of my division, and take whatever was left of the
+detachment of the 13th army corps and some negro troops that were there,
+and take the trains and the majority of the artillery of the army to
+Grand Ecore. It was thought that the enemy would get between us and
+Grand Ecore. I started about 11 o'clock with this train, and with six or
+eight batteries of artillery, and reached Grand Ecore the next day. The
+battle of the 9th of April commenced just as I was leaving. The next day
+at night the main army had reached Grand Ecore and joined me there.
+General Banks impressed on me very strongly that, in sending me back
+from Pleasant Hill just as the fight was commencing, it was of the
+greatest importance to save what material we had left. Early the next
+morning, when I was distant from Pleasant Hill eighteen miles, I
+received a dispatch from General Banks. I have not the dispatch with me,
+but it was to this effect: that they had whipped the enemy terribly;
+that Price was killed, also two or three other rebel generals whom he
+named, but who have since recovered; and that I was to send back the
+subsistence trains for such and such troops. I was very much puzzled by
+that order, and immediately sent a staff officer back for more specific
+instructions. But he had not been gone more than half an hour when a
+staff officer of General Banks arrived with an order to me, with which
+he had left in the night, for me to continue pressing on with the whole
+train to Grand Ecore, and with instructions if any wagons broke down to
+burn them, not stop to fix anything, but get everything into Grand Ecore
+as quickly as I could, and look out very carefully on the flanks."</p>
+
+<p>There can be no question of the correctness of these statements of
+General A.L. Lee.</p>
+
+<p>The following quotations from the reports of Admiral Porter to the
+Secretary of the Navy are taken from page 239, and succeeding pages of
+the same volume:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 22em;">"<span class="smcap">Flag-ship Cricket, Grand Ecore</span>, <i>April 14, 1864</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"The army here has met with a great defeat, no matter what the generals
+try to make ofit. With the defeat has come demoralization, and it will
+take some time to reorganize and make up the deficiencies in killed and
+prisoners. The whole affair has been seriously mismanaged. It was well
+we came up, for I am convinced the rebels would have attacked this broken
+army at Grand Ecore had we not been here to cover them. I do not think
+our army would be in a condition to resist them. I must confess that I
+feel a little uncertain how to act. I could not leave this army now
+without disgracing myself forever; and, when running a risk in their
+cause, I do not want to be deserted. One of my officers has already been
+asked 'If we would not burn our gunboats as soon as the army left?'
+speaking as if a gunboat was a very ordinary affair, and could be burned
+with indifference. I inclose two notes I received from Generals Banks and
+Stone. There is a faint attempt to make a victory out of this, but two
+or three such victories would cost us our existence."</p>
+
+<p>Again, on page 166 of the same volume appears this dispatch from
+Lieutenant-General Grant, at Culpepper, Virginia, to General Halleck,
+Chief of Staff, at Washington:</p>
+
+<p>"You can see from General Brayman's dispatch to me something of General
+Banks's disaster."</p>
+
+<p>Concerning the battle of Pleasant Hill General Banks reports (page 326):</p>
+
+<p>"The whole of the reserves were now ordered up, and in turn we drove the
+enemy, continuing the pursuit until night compelled us to halt. The
+battle of the 9th was desperate and sanguinary. The defeat of the enemy
+was complete, and his loss in officers and men more than double that
+sustained by our forces. There was nothing in the immediate position and
+condition of the two armies to prevent a forward movement the next
+morning, and orders were given to prepare for an advance. But
+representations subsequently received from General Franklin and all the
+general officers of the 19th corps, as to the con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>dition of their
+respective commands for immediate active operations against the enemy,
+caused a suspension of this order, and a conference of the general
+officers was held in the evening, in which it was determined to retire
+upon Grand Ecore the following day. The reasons urged for this course
+were: 1. That the absence of water made it absolutely necessary to
+advance or retire without delay. General Emory's command had been
+without rations for two days, and the train, which had been turned to
+the rear during the battle, could not be put in condition to move
+forward upon the single road through dense woods, in which it stood,
+without great difficulty and much loss of time."</p>
+
+<p>Again, on page 13, General Banks states:</p>
+
+<p>"The enemy was driven from the field. It was as clear a rout as it was
+possible for any army to suffer. After consulting with my officers, I
+concluded, against my own judgment, to fall back to Grand Ecore and
+reorganize. We held the field of battle. Our dead were buried. The
+wounded men were brought in and placed in the best hospitals we could
+organize, and surgeons were left with them, with provisions, medicines,
+and supplies; and at daybreak we fell back to Grand Ecore."</p>
+
+<p>Here the proportion of fiction to fact surpasses that of sack to bread
+in Sir John's tavern bill; and it may be doubted if a mandarin from the
+remotest province of the Celestial Empire ever ventured to send such a
+report to Peking. General Fessenden's testimony, given above, shows that
+the army marched during the night of the 9th, and continued to Grand
+Ecore, where it intrenched; and General A.L. Lee's, that the main army
+joined him at that place on the evening of the 10th. Twenty of the
+thirty-six miles between Pleasant Hill and Grand Ecore were passed on
+the 10th by my cavalry before the rear of the enemy's column was seen;
+yet General Banks officially reports that his army left Pleasant Hill at
+daybreak of the 10th. Homeric must have been the laughter of his troops
+when this report was published.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER.</p>
+
+
+<p>From my resting-place on the ground at Pleasant Hill, after the battle
+of the 9th, I was aroused about 10 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> by General Kirby Smith, just
+arrived from Shreveport. This officer disapproved of further pursuit of
+Banks, except by a part of our mounted force, and ordered the infantry
+back to Mansfield. He was apprehensive that the troops on the transports
+above would reach Shreveport, or disembark below me and that place. In
+addition, Steele's column from Arkansas caused him much uneasiness, and
+made him unwilling for my troops to increase their distance from the
+capital of the "Trans-Mississippi Department." It was pointed out that
+the water in Red River was falling, and navigation becoming more and
+more difficult; that I had a staff officer watching the progress of the
+fleet, which was not accompanied by more than three thousand men, too
+few to attempt a landing, and that they would certainly hear of Banks's
+defeat and seek to rejoin him at Grand Ecore. As to Steele he was more
+than a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, harassed by Price's force;
+he must learn of Banks's misfortune, and, leading but a subsidiary
+column, would retire to Little Rock. Banks, with the remains of his
+beaten army, was before us, and the fleet of Porter, with barely water
+enough to float upon. We had but to strike vigorously to capture or
+destroy both. But it was written that the sacrifices of my little army
+should be wasted, and, on the morning of the 10th, I was ordered to take
+all the infantry and much of the horse to Mansfield.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Bayou Pierre, three hundred feet wide and too deep to ford, leaves
+the Red River a few miles below Shreveport, and after a long course, in
+which it frequently expands into lakes, returns to its parent stream
+three miles above Grand Ecore, dividing the pine-clad hills on the west
+from the alluvion of the river on the east. Several roads lead from the
+interior to landings on the river, crossing Bayou Pierre by ferries. One
+from Pleasant Hill to Blair's Landing, sixteen miles, has been
+mentioned. Another led from Mansfield to Grand Bayou Landing, eighteen
+miles. Dispatches from Captain McCloskey informed me that the enemy's
+fleet had passed this last place on the morning of the 9th, pushing
+slowly up river, impeded by low water. Feeling assured that intelligence
+of Banks's defeat would send the fleet back to Grand Ecore, and hoping
+to cut off its communication, at dawn of the 11th I sent General Bagby,
+with a brigade of horse and a battery, from Mansfield to Grand Bayou
+Landing. Before reaching the ferry at Bayou Pierre, he ascertained that
+the fleet had turned back on the afternoon of the 10th. There was a
+pontoon train at Shreveport that I had in vain asked for, and Bagby
+experienced great delay in crossing Bayou Pierre by means of one small
+flat. The fleet, descending, passed Grand Bayou Landing at 10 o'clock
+<span class="smcap">A.M.</span> of the 11th, some hours before Bagby reached the river; and he
+pushed on toward Blair's Landing, where he arrived on the night of the
+12th, after the close of Green's operations of that day.</p>
+
+<p>General Green, from Pleasant Hill, had been directing the movements of
+our advanced horse, a part of which, under Bee, was in front of Grand
+Ecore and Natchitoches. Advised of the movements of the enemy's fleet,
+he, with seven hundred and fifty horse and two batteries, left Pleasant
+Hill for Blair's Landing at 6 o'clock <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> on the 11th. As in the case
+of Bagby, he was delayed at Bayou Pierre, and, after hard work, only
+succeeded in crossing three guns and a part of his horse before the
+fleet came down on the 12th. Green attacked at once, and leading his men
+in his accustomed fearless way, was killed by a discharge of grape from
+one of the gunboats. Deprived of their leader, the men soon fell back,
+and the fleet reached Grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> Ecore without further molestation from the
+west bank. The enemy's loss, supposed by our people to have been
+immense, was officially reported at seven on the gunboats and fifty on
+the transports. <i>Per contra</i>, the enemy believed that our loss was
+stupendous; whereas we had scarcely a casualty except the death of
+General Green, an irreparable one. No Confederate went aboard the fleet
+and no Federal came ashore; so there was a fine field of slaughter in
+which the imagination of both sides could disport itself.</p>
+
+<p>With facilities for crossing the Pierre at hand, the fleet, during the
+11th and 12th, would have been under the fire of two thousand riflemen
+and eighteen guns and suffered heavily, especially the transports,
+crowded with troops. As it was, we accomplished but little and lost
+General Green.</p>
+
+<p>Like Mouton, this officer had joined me at an early period of my service
+in western Louisiana. Coming to me with the rank of colonel, his
+conspicuous services made it my pleasant duty to recommend him for
+promotion to brigadier and major-general. Upright, modest, and with the
+simplicity of a child, danger seemed to be his element, and he rejoiced
+in combat. His men adored him, and would follow wherever he led; but
+they did not fear him, for, though he scolded at them in action, he was
+too kind-hearted to punish breaches of discipline. In truth, he had no
+conception of the value of discipline in war, believing that all must be
+actuated by his own devotion to duty. His death was a public calamity,
+and mourned as such by the people of Texas and Louisiana. To me he was a
+tried and devoted friend, and our friendship was cemented by the fact
+that, through his Virginia mother, we were related by blood. The great
+Commonwealth, whose soil contains his remains, will never send forth a
+bolder warrior, a better citizen, nor a more upright man than Thomas
+Green.</p>
+
+<p>The brigade of horse brought by General Green to Louisiana, and with
+which he was so long associated, had some peculiar characteristics. The
+officers such as Colonels Hardiman, Baylor, Lane, Herbert, McNeill, and
+others, were bold and enterprising. The men, hardy frontiersmen,
+excellent riders, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> skilled riflemen, were fearless and self-reliant,
+but discharged their duty as they liked and when they liked. On a march
+they wandered about at will, as they did about camp, and could be kept
+together only when a fight was impending. When their arms were injured
+by service or neglect, they threw them away, expecting to be supplied
+with others. Yet, with these faults, they were admirable fighters, and
+in the end I became so much attached to them as to be incapable of
+punishing them.</p>
+
+<p>After the affair at Blair's Landing on the 12th, the horse returned to
+Pleasant Hill, and thence joined Bee in front of Grand Ecore, where
+Banks had his army concentrated behind works, with gunboats and
+transports in the river, Bee occupying the town of Natchitoches, four
+miles away. On the morning of the 13th General Kirby Smith visited me at
+Mansfield. Relieved of apprehension about the fleet, now at Grand Ecore,
+he expressed great anxiety for the destruction of Steele's column. I was
+confident that Steele, who had less than ten thousand men and was more
+than a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, would hear of Banks's
+disaster and retreat; but General Kirby Smith's views differed from
+mine. I then expressed my willingness to march, with the main body of
+the infantry, to join Price in Arkansas, and serve under his command
+until Steele's column was destroyed or driven back; insisting, however,
+that in the event of Steele's retreat I should be permitted to turn on
+Banks and Porter, to complete the work of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.
+The destruction of the Federal army and capture of the fleet, helpless
+alone by reason of low and falling water in Red River, were the
+legitimate fruits of those victories, and I protested with all possible
+earnestness against a policy that would fail to reap them. After this
+conversation General Kirby Smith returned to Shreveport, leaving me
+under the impression that my last proposition was acceded to. The loss
+of valuable time incurred by a wild-goose chase after Steele was most
+annoying, but I was hopeful it might be recovered. To get the fleet down
+to Alexandria and over the falls at that place would require much time
+in the low condition of the water; and Banks's army was so much
+demoralized by defeat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> that Bee found no difficulty in restraining its
+movements with his horse.</p>
+
+<p>At dawn of the 14th Walker's and Churchill's divisions of infantry, with
+their artillery, prepared for an active campaign, marched for
+Shreveport, forty miles. The same day Polignac's infantry division,
+reduced to some twelve hundred muskets, was sent toward Grand Ecore to
+strengthen the horse in front of the enemy. On the evening of the 15th I
+reached Shreveport, and had a short interview with General Kirby Smith,
+who informed me that Steele had begun his retreat from a point a hundred
+and ten miles distant, but that he hoped to overtake him, and would
+personally direct the pursuit. I was further informed that my presence
+with the troops was not desired, and that I would remain in nominal
+command of Shreveport, but might join the force near Grand Ecore if I
+thought proper. All this with the curt manner of a superior to a
+subordinate, as if fearing remonstrance. General Kirby Smith marched
+north of Shreveport on the 16th, and three days thereafter I received a
+dispatch from his "chief of staff" informing me that the pontoon train,
+asked for in vain when it would have been of priceless value, would be
+sent back from his army and placed at my disposition. Doubtless General
+Kirby Smith thought that a pontoon train would supply the place of seven
+thousand infantry and six batteries.</p>
+
+<p>I remained at Shreveport three days, occupied with reports and sending
+supplies to my little force near Grand Ecore, toward which I proceeded
+on the 19th of April. Major-General Wharton, who had gained reputation
+as a cavalry officer in the Confederate Army of Tennessee, accompanied
+me. He had reported for duty at Shreveport on the 18th, and was assigned
+to the command of the horse to replace the lamented Green. We reached
+Polignac's camp, in the vicinity of Grand Ecore, ninety odd miles from
+Shreveport, on the evening of the 21st, and learned that the enemy had
+threatened an advance during the day. This convinced me of his intention
+to retreat, and an officer was sent to General Bee to warn him.</p>
+
+<p>Cane River leaves the main channel of the Red below Grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> Ecore, and,
+passing by Natchitoches, returns to the Red after a winding course of
+sixty miles. Except at the season of floods, it is not navigable; but
+the alluvion through which it flows is very productive, while the pine
+forest immediately to the west is sterile. Bee, under instructions,
+occupied the valley of Cane River with his horse, and had been ordered
+to keep his pickets close to Grand Ecore and Natchitoches, draw his
+forage from plantations along the river, and, when the enemy retreated
+toward Alexandria, fall back before him to Monette's Ferry, which he was
+expected to hold. Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Natchitoches, was
+on the only practicable road to Alexandria. Here the river made a wide,
+deep ford, and pine-clad hills rose abruptly from the southern bank. On
+the left, looking toward Natchitoches, were hills and impassable lakes,
+easily held against any force. On the right, hills, rugged and
+pine-clad, extended eight miles to the point at which Cane River
+re&euml;nters the Red. The distance from Monette's to Alexandria is
+thirty-five miles, of which fourteen is through wooded hills. Roads led
+west to Carroll Jones's and Beaseley's, twelve and thirty miles
+respectively; and on these roads Bee was directed to keep his trains.</p>
+
+<p>Concerning the position at Monette's General Banks reports: "The army
+marched from Grand Ecore on the morning of the 22d of April. To prevent
+the occupation of Monette's Bluff, on Cane River, a strong position
+commanding the only road leading across the river to Alexandria, or to
+prevent the concentration of the enemy's forces at that point, it became
+necessary to accomplish the evacuation without his knowledge." As before
+stated, the threatened advance of the 21st convinced me that the enemy's
+retreat was imminent, and so I advised Bee; but there was not time to
+send General Wharton to him after I reached Polignac's camp. Bee had two
+thousand horse and four batteries, and, after several days to examine
+and prepare his ground, might well be expected to hold it with tenacity.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately after the battle of Pleasant Hill I had sent Vincent, with
+his own and Bush's regiments of Louisiana horse, to threaten Alexandria
+and drive out small parties of the enemy from the Attakapas and Teche
+regions. Subsequently, a bri<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>gade of Texas horse, seven hundred strong,
+under Brigadier William Steele, joined me, and was now with Polignac.</p>
+
+<p>As anticipated, the enemy left Grand Ecore during the night of the 21st
+and marched without halting to Cloutierville, thirty-two miles. With
+Steele's brigade, Wharton drove his rear guard from Natchitoches on the
+morning of the 22d, capturing some prisoners, and continued the pursuit
+to the twenty-four-mile ferry. On the 23d, after a sharp action, he
+pushed the enemy's rear below Cloutierville, taking some score of
+prisoners. Polignac's infantry joined that evening, and covered a road
+leading through the hills from Cloutierville to Beaseley's. If Bee stood
+firm at Monette's, we were in position to make Banks unhappy on the
+morrow, separated as he was from the fleet, on which he relied to aid
+his demoralized forces. But Bee gave way on the afternoon of the 23d,
+permitting his strong position to be forced at the small cost to the
+enemy of less than four hundred men, and suffering no loss himself.
+Then, instead of attacking the great trains, during their fourteen
+miles' march through the forest, and occupying with artillery McNutt's
+Hill, a high bluff twenty miles from Alexandria and commanding the road
+thither in the valley, he fell back at once to Beaseley's, thirty miles.
+Before this mistake could be rectified, the enemy crossed at Monette's,
+burning many wagons at the ford, and passed below McNutt's Hill. General
+Bee had exhibited much personal gallantry in the charge at Pleasant
+Hill, but he was without experience in war, and had neglected to study
+the ground or strengthen his position at Monette's. Leaving Mansfield
+for Shreveport on the 15th, under orders from General Kirby Smith, I
+only got back to the front on the night of the 21st, too late to reach
+Monette's or send Wharton there.</p>
+
+<p>It was very disheartening, but, persuaded that the enemy could not pass
+the falls at Alexandria with his fleet, I determined to stick to him
+with my little force of less than forty-five hundred of all arms. It was
+impossible to believe that General Kirby Smith would continue to persist
+in his inexplicable policy, and fail to come, ere long, to my
+assistance.</p>
+
+<p>On the 26th Bee's horse, from Beaseley's, joined Steele's at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> McNutt's
+Hill; and together, under Wharton, they attacked the enemy in the valley
+and drove him, with loss of killed and prisoners, to the immediate
+vicinity of Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>When General Banks retreated so hastily from Grand Ecore, Admiral Porter
+was laboring to get his fleet down to Alexandria. In a communication to
+the Secretary of the Navy from his flag-ship below Grand Ecore, he says
+("Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 234-5):</p>
+
+<p>"I soon saw that the army would go to Alexandria again, and we would be
+left above the bars in a helpless condition. The vessels are mostly at
+Alexandria, above the falls, excepting this one and two others I kept to
+protect the Eastport. The Red River is falling at the rate of two inches
+a day. If General Banks should determine to evacuate this country, the
+gunboats will be cut off from all communication with the Mississippi. It
+cannot be possible that the country would be willing to have eight
+iron-clads, three or four other gunboats, and many transports sacrificed
+without an effort to save them. It would be the worst thing that has
+happened this war."</p>
+
+<p>The Eastport, the most formidable iron-clad of the Mississippi squadron,
+grounded on a bar below Grand Ecore. Three tin-clad gunboats and two
+transports remained near to assist in getting her off; and, to prevent
+this, some mounted riflemen were sent, on the morning of the 26th, to
+co&ouml;perate with Liddell's raw levies on the north bank of the river.
+These forced the enemy to destroy the Eastport, and drove away the
+gunboats and transports. Our loss in the affair was two killed and four
+wounded. Meantime, to intercept the gunboats and transports on their way
+down, Colonel Caudle of Polignac's division, with two hundred riflemen
+and Cornay's four-gun battery, had been posted at the junction of Cane
+and Red Rivers, twenty miles below. At 6 o'clock <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> of the 26th the
+leading gunboat and one transport came down. Our fire speedily crippled
+and silenced the gunboat, and a shot exploded the boiler of the
+transport. Under cover of escaping steam the gunboat drifted out of
+fire, but the loss of life on the transport was fearful. One hundred
+dead and eighty-seven severely scalded, most of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> whom subsequently died,
+were brought on shore. These unfortunate creatures were negroes, taken
+from plantations on the river above. The object of the Federals was to
+remove negroes from their owners; but for the lives of these poor people
+they cared nothing, or, assuredly, they would not have forced them, on
+an unprotected river steamer, to pass riflemen and artillery, against
+which gunboats were powerless. On the following day, the 27th, the two
+remaining gunboats and transport attempted to pass Caudle's position;
+and the former, much cut up, succeeded, but the transport was captured.
+Colonel Caudle had one man wounded, and the battery one killed&mdash;its
+commander, Captain Cornay, who, with Mouton, Armand, and many other
+creoles, proved by distinguished gallantry that the fighting qualities
+of the old French breed had suffered no deterioration on the soil of
+Louisiana.</p>
+
+<p>The following extracts from the report of Admiral Porter well exhibit
+the efficiency of Caudle and Cornay in this affair:</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 22em;">"<span class="smcap">Flag-ship Cricket, off Alexandria</span>, <i>April 28, 1864</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"When rounding the point, the vessels in close order and ready for
+action, we descried a party of the enemy with artillery on the right
+bank, and we immediately opened fire with our bow guns. The enemy
+immediately returned it with a <i>large number of cannon, eighteen in
+all</i>, every shot of which struck this vessel. The captain gave orders to
+stop the engines. I corrected this mistake, and got headway on the
+vessel again, but not soon enough to avoid the pelting showers of shot
+and shell which the enemy poured into us, every shot going through and
+through us, clearing all our decks in a moment. I took charge of the
+vessel, and, <i>as the battery was a very heavy one</i>, I determined to pass
+it, which was done under the heaviest fire I ever witnessed. Seeing that
+the Hindman did not pass the batteries, the Juliet disabled, and that
+one of the pump boats (transport) had her boiler exploded by a shot, I
+ran down to a point three or four miles below. Lieutenant-Commander
+Phelps had two vessels in charge, the Juliet and Champion (transport),
+which he wished to get through safely. He kept them out of range until
+he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> could partially repair the Juliet, and then, starting under a heavy
+fire, he make a push by. Unfortunately the pump boat (Champion) was
+disabled and set fire to. The Hindman had her wheel ropes cut away, and
+drifted past, turning round and round, and getting well cut up in going
+by. The Juliet was cut to pieces in hull and machinery; had fifteen
+killed and wounded. I inclose the report of Lieutenant-Commander Phelps,
+from the time of his first misfortune until his arrival at this place
+(Alexandria), where I now am with all the fleet, but very much surprised
+that I have any left, considering all the difficulties encountered. I
+came up here with the river on the rise, and water enough for our
+largest vessels; and even on my way up to Shreveport from Grand Ecore
+the water rose, while it commenced falling where I left the largest
+gunboats. Falling or not, I could not go back while in charge of the
+transports and material on which <i>an army of thirty thousand men
+depended</i>."</p>
+
+<p>This is high testimony to the fighting capacity of two hundred riflemen
+and four guns, two twelve-pounder smooth-bores and two howitzers, all
+that Admiral Porter's three gunboats had to contend with. It proves the
+utter helplessness of gunboats in narrow streams, when deprived of the
+protection of troops on the banks. Even the iron-clads, with armor
+impenetrable by field guns, were readily driven off by sharp-shooters,
+who, under cover, closed their ports or killed every exposed man.</p>
+
+<p>On the 24th Liddell, from the north bank of Red River, dashed into
+Pineville, opposite Alexandria, killed and captured a score of the
+enemy's party, and drove the remainder over the river.</p>
+
+<p>On the 27th Admiral Porter's fleet was lying above the falls, now
+impassable, and Banks's army, over twenty thousand strong, was in and
+around Alexandria behind earthworks. Such was the condition to which
+this large force had been reduced by repeated defeat, that we not only
+confined it to its works, driving back many attacks on our advanced
+positions, but I felt justified in dividing my little command in order
+to blockade the river below, and cut off communication with the
+Mississippi. Whar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>ton's horse was divided into three parts, each a
+thousand strong, and accompanied by artillery. The first, under Steele,
+held the river and Rapides roads, above and west of Alexandria; the
+second, under Bagby, the B&oelig;uf road to the south of that place; while
+Major, with the third, was sent to Davide's Ferry, on the river,
+twenty-five miles below. Polignac's infantry, twelve hundred muskets,
+was posted on the B&oelig;uf within supporting distance of the two last.
+Liddell's seven hundred newly-organized horse, with four guns, was of
+little service beyond making feints to distract the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Major reached his position on the 30th, and on the following day, the
+1st of May, captured and sunk the transport Emma. On the 3d he captured
+the transport City Belle, on her way up to Alexandria, with the 120th
+Ohio regiment on board. All the officers and two hundred and seventy-six
+men were taken, with many killed and wounded. On the evening of the 4th
+the gunboats Covington and Signal, each mounting eight heavy guns, with
+the transport Warner, attempted to pass. The Covington was blown up by
+her crew to escape capture, but the Signal and Warner surrendered. Four
+guns, two three-inch rifled and two howitzers, were engaged in this
+action with the Covington and Signal. They were run up to the river's
+bank by hand, the howitzers above, the three-inch rifles below the
+gunboats, which, overpowered by the rapid fire, moved back and forth
+until one surrendered and the other was destroyed, affording a complete
+illustration of the superiority of field guns to gunboats in narrow
+streams. There was no further attempt to pass Major's position, and
+Federal communication with the Mississippi was closed for fifteen days.</p>
+
+<p>During these operations the enemy was engaged night and day in the
+construction of a dam across the Red River, to enable him to pass his
+fleet over the falls; and the following extracts from the report of
+Admiral Porter to the Secretary of the Navy well exhibit the condition
+of affairs in and around Alexandria ("Report on the Conduct of the War,"
+vol. ii., page 250):<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 22em;">"<span class="smcap">Flag-ship Cricket, Alexandria</span>, <i>April 28, 1864</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>: I have written you an account of the operations of the fleet in
+these waters, but take the liberty of writing to you confidentially the
+true state of affairs. I find myself blockaded by a fall of three feet
+of water, three feet four inches being the amount now on the falls.
+Seven feet being required to get over, no amount of lightening will
+accomplish the object. I have already written to you how the whole state
+of things has been changed by a too blind carelessness on the part of
+our military leader, and our retreat back to Alexandria from place to
+place has so demoralized General Banks's army that the troops have no
+confidence in anybody or anything. Our army is now all here, with the
+best general (Franklin) wounded and unfit for duty in the field. General
+Banks seems to hold no communication with any one, and it is impossible
+for me to say what he will do. I have no confidence in his promises, as
+he asserted in a letter, herein inclosed, that he had no intention of
+leaving Grand Ecore, when he had actually already made all his
+preparations to leave. The river is crowded with transports, and every
+gunboat I have is required to convoy them. I have to withdraw many
+light-draughts from other points on the Mississippi to supply demands
+here. In the mean time the enemy are splitting up into parties of two
+thousand, and bringing in the artillery (with which we have supplied
+them) to blockade points below here; and what will be the upshot of it
+all I can not foretell. I know that it will be disastrous in the
+extreme, for this is a country in which a retreating army is completely
+at the mercy of an enemy. Notwithstanding that the rebels are reported
+as coming in from Washita, with heavy artillery to plant on the hills
+opposite Alexandria, no movement is being made to occupy the position,
+and I am in momentary expectation of hearing the rebel guns open on the
+transports on the town side; or if they go down or come up the river, it
+will be at the risk of destruction. Our light-clads can do nothing
+against hill batteries. I am in momentary expectation of seeing this
+army retreat, when the result will be disastrous. Unless instructed by
+the Government, I do not think that General<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> Banks will make the least
+effort to save the navy here. The following vessels are above the falls
+and command the right of the town: Mound City, Louisville, Pittsburgh,
+Carondelet, Chillicothe, Osage, Neosho, Ozark, Lexington, and Fort
+Hindman. At this moment the enemy have attacked our outposts, and driven
+in our indifferent cavalry, which came up numbering six thousand, and
+have brought nothing but calamity in their train. Our whole army is
+cooped up in this town, while a much inferior force is going rampant
+about the country, making preparations to assail our helpless transports,
+which, if caught filled with men, would be perfect slaughter-houses.
+Quick remedies are required, and I deem it my duty to lay the true state
+of affairs before you. If left here by the army, I will be obliged to
+destroy this fleet to prevent it falling into the enemy's hands. I can
+not conceive that the nation will permit such a sacrifice to be made,
+when men and money can prevent it. We have fought hard for the opening
+of the Mississippi, and have reduced the naval forces of the rebels in
+this quarter to two vessels. If we have to destroy what we have here,
+there will be material enough to build half a dozen iron-clads, and the
+Red River, which is now of no further dread to us, will require half
+the Mississippi squadron to watch it. I am apprehensive that the turrets
+of the monitors will defy any efforts we can make to destroy them. Our
+prestige will receive a shock from which it will be long in recovering;
+and if the calamities I dread should overtake us, the annals of this war
+will not present so dire a one as will have befallen us."</p>
+
+<p>Thus Admiral Porter, who even understates the facts.</p>
+
+<p>In vain had all this been pointed out to General Kirby Smith, when he
+came to me at Pleasant Hill in the night after the battle. Granted that
+he was alarmed for Shreveport, sacred to him and his huge staff as
+Benares, dwelling-place of many gods, to the Hindoo; yet, when he
+marched from that place on the 16th of April against Steele, the latter,
+already discomfited by Price's horse, was retreating, and, with less
+than a third of Banks's force at Grand Ecore, was then further from
+Shreve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>port than was Banks. To pursue a retreating foe, numbering six
+thousand men, he took over seven thousand infantry, and left me twelve
+hundred to operate against twenty odd thousand and a powerful fleet.
+From the evening of the 21st of April, when I returned to the front near
+Grand Ecore, to the 13th of May, the day on which Porter and Banks
+escaped from Alexandria, I kept him advised of the enemy's movements and
+condition. Couriers and staff officers were sent to implore him to
+return and reap the fruits of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, whose price
+had been paid in blood. Not a man was sent me; even the four-gun battery
+with Liddell on the north of the river was, without my knowledge,
+withdrawn toward Arkansas. From first to last, General Kirby Smith
+seemed determined to throw a protecting shield around the Federal army
+and fleet.</p>
+
+<p>In all the ages since the establishment of the Assyrian monarchy no
+commander has possessed equal power to destroy a cause. Far away from
+the great centers of conflict in Virginia and Georgia, on a remote
+theatre, the opportunity of striking a blow decisive of the war was
+afforded. An army that included the strength of every garrison from
+Memphis to the Gulf had been routed, and, by the incompetency of its
+commander, was utterly demoralized and ripe for destruction. But this
+army was permitted to escape, and its 19th corps reached Chesapeake Bay
+in time to save Washington from General Early's attack, while the 13th,
+16th, and 17th corps re&euml;nforced Sherman in Georgia. More than all, we
+lost Porter's fleet, which the falling river had delivered into our
+hands; for the protection of an army was necessary to its liberation, as
+without the army a dam at the falls could not have been constructed.
+With this fleet, or even a portion of it, we would have at once
+recovered possession of the Mississippi, from the Ohio to the sea, and
+undone all the work of the Federals since the winter of 1861. Instead of
+Sherman, Johnston would have been re&euml;nforced from west of the
+Mississippi, and thousands of absent men, with fresh hope, would have
+rejoined Lee. The Southern people might have been spared the humiliation
+of defeat, and the countless woes and wrongs inflicted on them by their
+conquerors.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was for this that Green and Mouton and other gallant spirits fell! It
+was for this that the men of Missouri and Arkansas made a forced march
+to die at Pleasant Hill! It was for this that the divisions of Walker
+and Polignac had held every position intrusted to them, carried every
+position in their front, and displayed a constancy and valor worthy of
+the Guards at Inkermann or Lee's veterans in the Wilderness! For this,
+too, did the handful left, after our brethren had been taken from us,
+follow hard on the enemy, attack him constantly at any odds, beat off
+and sink his gunboats, close the Red River below him and shut up his
+army in Alexandria for fifteen days! Like "Sister Ann" from her watch
+tower, day after day we strained our eyes to see the dust of our
+approaching comrades arise from the north bank of the Red. Not a camp
+follower among us but knew that the arrival of our men from the North
+would give us the great prize in sight. Vain, indeed, were our hopes.
+The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department" had the power to
+destroy the last hope of the Confederate cause, and exercised it with
+all the success of Bazaine at Metz.</p>
+
+<p>"The affairs of mice and men aft gang aglee," from sheer stupidity and
+pig-headed obstinacy. General Kirby Smith had publicly announced that
+Banks's army was too strong to be fought, and that the proper policy was
+either to defend the works protecting Shreveport, or retreat into Texas.
+People do not like to lose their reputations as prophets or sons of
+prophets. Subsequently, it was given out that General Kirby Smith had a
+wonderful plan for the destruction of the enemy, which I had disturbed
+by rashly beating his army at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill; but this
+plan, like Trochu's for the defense of Paris, was never
+disclosed&mdash;undoubtedly, because <i>c'&eacute;tait le secret de Polichinelle</i>.</p>
+
+<p>After many days of energetic labor, the enemy on the 13th of May
+succeeded in passing his fleet over the falls at Alexandria, evacuated
+the place, and retreated down the river, the army, on the south bank,
+keeping pace with the fleet. Admiral Porter, in his report to the
+Secretary of the Navy, gives a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> graphic account of the passage of the
+falls, and under date of May 19th, says: "In my report in relation to
+the release of the gunboats from their unpleasant position above the
+falls, I did not think it prudent to mention that I was obliged to
+destroy eleven thirty-two-pounders, not having time to haul them from
+above the falls to Alexandria, the army having moved and drawn in all
+their pickets. For the same reason I also omitted to mention that I was
+obliged to take off the iron from the sides of the Pook gunboats and
+from the Ozark, to enable them to get over."</p>
+
+<p>To harass the retreat, the horse and artillery, on the river above
+Alexandria, were directed to press the enemy's rear, and the remaining
+horse and Polignac's infantry to intercept his route at Avoyelles
+Prairie. During the 14th, 15th, and 16th he was constantly attacked in
+front, rear, and right flank; and on the 17th Wharton charged his rear
+near Mansura, capturing many prisoners, while Colonel Yager, with two
+regiments of horse, cut in on the wagon train at Yellow Bayou, killed
+and drove off the guard, and destroyed much property. Meanwhile Liddell,
+on the north bank of the Red, followed the fleet and kept up a constant
+fire on the transports. But for the unfortunate withdrawal of his
+battery, before alluded to, he could have destroyed many of these
+vessels. On the 18th we attacked the enemy at Yellow Bayou, near
+Simmsport, and a severe engagement ensued, lasting until night. We held
+the field, on which the enemy left his dead, but our loss was heavy,
+four hundred and fifty-two in killed and wounded; among the former,
+Colonel Stone, commanding Polignac's old brigade. Polignac, in charge of
+division, was conspicuous in this action. The following day, May 19,
+1864, the enemy crossed the Atchafalaya and was beyond our reach. Here,
+at the place where it had opened more than two months before, the
+campaign closed.</p>
+
+<p>The army I had the honor to command in this campaign numbered, at its
+greatest strength, about thirteen thousand of all arms, including
+Liddell's force on the north bank of Red River; but immediately after
+the battle of Pleasant Hill it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> reduced to fifty-two hundred by the
+withdrawal of Walker's and Churchill's divisions. Many of the troops
+marched quite four hundred miles, and from the 5th of April to the 18th
+of May not a day passed without some engagement with the enemy, either
+on land or river. Our total loss in killed, wounded, and missing was
+three thousand nine hundred and seventy-six; that of the enemy, nearly
+three times this number.</p>
+
+<p>From the action at Yellow Bayou on the 18th of May, 1864, to the close
+of the war in the following year, not a shot was fired in the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department." Johnston was forced back to Atlanta and
+relieved from command, and Atlanta fell. Not even an effective
+demonstration was made toward Arkansas and Missouri to prevent troops
+from being sent to re&euml;nforce Thomas at Nashville, and Hood was
+overthrown. Sherman marched unopposed through Georgia and South
+Carolina, while Lee's gallant army wasted away from cold and hunger in
+the trenches at Petersburg. Like Augustus in the agony of his spirit,
+the sorely pressed Confederates on the east of the Mississippi asked,
+and asked in vain: "Varus! Varus! Where are our legions?"</p>
+
+<p>The enemy's advance, fleet and army, reached Alexandria on the 16th of
+March, but he delayed sixteen days there and at Grand Ecore. My first
+re&euml;nforcements, two small regiments of horse, joined at Natchitoches on
+the 31st; but the larger part of Green's force came in at Mansfield on
+the 6th of April, Churchill's infantry reaching Keachi the same day. Had
+Banks pushed to Mansfield on the 5th instead of the 8th of April, he
+would have met but little opposition; and, once at Mansfield, he had the
+choice of three roads to Shreveport, where Steele could have joined him.</p>
+
+<p>Judging from the testimony given to the Congressional Committee on the
+Conduct of the War, cotton and elections seem to have been the chief
+causes of delay. In the second volume of "Report" may be found much
+crimination and recrimination between the Navy and Army concerning the
+seizure of cotton. Without attempting to decide the question, I may
+observe that Admiral Porter informs the Secretary of the Navy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> of "the
+capture from the rebels of three thousand bales of cotton on the Washita
+river, and two thousand on the Red, all of which I have sent to Cairo";
+while General Banks testifies that he "took from western Louisiana ten
+thousand bales of cotton and twenty thousand beef cattle, horses, and
+mules." From this, the Army appears to have surpassed the navy to the
+extent of five thousand bales of cotton and the above-mentioned number
+of beef cattle, etc. Whether Admiral Porter or General Banks was the
+more virtuous, the unhappy people of Louisiana were deprived of "cakes
+and ale."</p>
+
+<p>In his enthusiasm for art the classic cobbler forgot his last; but "all
+quality, pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war" could not make
+General Banks forget his politics, and he held elections at Alexandria
+and Grand Ecore. The General describes with some unction the devotion of
+the people to the "Union," which was and was to be, to them, "the fount
+of every blessing."</p>
+
+<p>Says General Banks in his report: "It became necessary to accomplish the
+evacuation [of Grand Ecore] without the enemy's knowledge. The
+conflagration of a portion of the town at the hour appointed for the
+movement partially frustrated the object." And further on: "Rumors were
+circulated freely throughout the camp at Alexandria, that upon the
+evacuation of the town it would be burned, and a considerable portion of
+the town was destroyed." Evidently, these burnings were against the
+orders of General Banks, who appears to have lost authority over some of
+his troops. Moreover, in their rapid flight from Grand Ecore to
+Monette's Ferry, a distance of forty miles, the Federals burned nearly
+every house on the road. In pursuit, we passed the smoking ruins of
+homesteads, by which stood weeping women and children. Time for the
+removal of the most necessary articles of furniture had been refused. It
+was difficult to restrain one's inclination to punish the ruffians
+engaged in this work, a number of whom were captured; but they asserted,
+and doubtless with truth, that they were acting under orders.</p>
+
+<p>From the universal testimony of citizens, I learned that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> General Banks
+and the officers and men of the 19th corps, Eastern troops, exerted
+themselves to prevent these outrages, and that the perpetrators were the
+men of General A.J. Smith's command from Sherman's army. Educated at
+West Point, this General Smith had long served in the regular army of
+the United States, and his men were from the West, whose brave sons
+might well afford kindness to women and babes. A key to their conduct
+can be found in the "Memoirs" of General W.T. Sherman, the commander who
+formed them, and whose views are best expressed in his own words.</p>
+
+<p>The city of Atlanta, from which the Confederates had withdrawn, was
+occupied by Slocum's corps of Sherman's army on the 2d of September,
+1864. In vol. ii. of his "Memoirs," page 111, General Sherman says: "I
+was resolved to make Atlanta a pure military garrison or depot, with no
+civil population to influence military measures. I gave notice of this
+purpose as early as the 4th of September, to General Halleck, in a
+letter concluding with these words: 'If the people raise a howl against
+my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not
+popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relations must
+stop the war.'" On pages 124-6 appears the correspondence of General
+Sherman with the mayor and councilmen of Atlanta concerning the removal
+of citizens, in which the latter write: "We petition you to reconsider
+the order requiring them to leave Atlanta. It will involve in the
+aggregate consequences appalling and heartrending. Many poor women are
+in an advanced state of pregnancy, others now having young children, and
+whose husbands for the greater part are either in the army, prisoners,
+or dead. Some say, 'I have such a one sick at my house; who will wait on
+them when I am gone?' Others say, 'What are we to do? we have no house
+to go to, and no means to buy, build, or rent any; no parents,
+relatives, or friends to go to.' This being so, how is it possible for
+the people still here, mostly women and children, to find shelter? And
+how can they live through the winter in the woods?" To this General
+Sherman replies: "I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a
+petition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>tants from Atlanta.
+I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of the
+distress that will be occasioned, and yet shall not revoke my orders,
+because <i>they were not intended to meet the humanities of the case</i>. You
+might as well appeal against the thunderstorm as against these terrible
+hardships of war. They are inevitable; and the only way the people of
+Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home is to stop
+the war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error and
+is perpetuated in pride." Again, on page 152 is Sherman's telegram to
+General Grant: "Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us to
+occupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people
+will cripple their military resources. I can make this march, and make
+Georgia howl." It could hardly be expected that troops trained by this
+commander would respect <i>the humanities</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.</p>
+
+
+<p>Prostrated by two years of constant devotion to work&mdash;work so severe,
+stern, and exacting as to have prevented me from giving the slightest
+attention to my family, even when heavily afflicted&mdash;and persuaded that
+under existing administration nothing would be accomplished in the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department," a month after the close of the Red River
+campaign I applied for relief from duty. After several applications this
+was granted, and with my wife and two surviving children I retired to
+the old Spanish-French town of Natchitoches. The inhabitants, though
+impoverished by the war, had a comfortable house ready for my family, to
+which they invited me, with all the warmth of Southern hearts and all
+the good taste of the Latin race. Here I remained for several weeks,
+when information of my promotion to lieutenant-general came from
+Richmond, with orders to report for duty on the east side of the
+Mississippi. The officers of my staff, who had long served with me,
+desired and were permitted to accompany me, with the exception of Brent,
+now colonel of artillery, who could not be spared. Colonel Brent
+remained in west Louisiana until the close of the war, attaining the
+rank of brigadier. Of his merit and services I have already written.</p>
+
+<p>The Red River campaign of 1864 was the last Federal campaign undertaken
+for political objects, or intrusted to political generals. Experience
+taught the Washington Government that its enormous resources must be
+concentrated, and henceforth unity of purpose and action prevailed.
+Posts on the Mississippi between Memphis and New Orleans were
+strengthened, inter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>vening spaces closely guarded by numerous gunboats,
+and parties thrown ashore to destroy all boats that could be found.
+Though individuals, with precaution, could cross the great river, it was
+almost impossible to take over organized bodies of troops or supplies,
+and the Confederates on the west were isolated. The Federal Government
+now directed its energies against Richmond and Atlanta.</p>
+
+<p>Upon what foundations the civil authorities of the Confederacy rested
+their hopes of success, after the campaign of 1864 fully opened, I am
+unable to say; but their commanders in the field, whose rank and
+position enabled them to estimate the situation, fought simply to afford
+statesmanship an opportunity to mitigate the sorrows of inevitable
+defeat.</p>
+
+<p>A grand old oak, on the east bank of the Black River, the lower Washita,
+protected my couch; and in the morning, with two guides, the faithful
+Tom following, I threaded my way through swamp and jungle to the
+Mississippi, which was reached at sunset. A light canoe was concealed
+some distance from the river bank, and after the short twilight faded
+into night this was borne on the shoulders of the guides, and launched.
+One of the guides embarked to paddle, and Tom and I followed, each
+leading a horse. A gunboat was lying in the river a short distance
+below, and even the horses seemed to understand the importance of
+silence, swimming quietly alongside of our frail craft. The eastern
+shore reached, we stopped for a time to rub and rest the cattle,
+exhausted by long-continued exertion in the water; then pushed on to
+Woodville, some five and twenty miles east. This, the chief town of
+Wilkison county, Mississippi, was in telegraphic communication with
+Richmond, and I reported my arrival to the war office. An answer came,
+directing me to take command of the department of Alabama, Mississippi,
+etc., with the information that President Davis would shortly leave
+Richmond to meet me at Montgomery, Alabama. While awaiting telegram, I
+learned of the fall of Atlanta and the forts at the entrance of Mobile
+Bay. My predecessor in the department to the command of which
+telegraphic orders had just assigned me was General Bishop Polk, to whom
+I accord all his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> titles; for in him, after a sleep of several
+centuries, was awakened the church militant. Before he joined Johnston
+in northern Georgia, Polk's headquarters were at Meridian, near the
+eastern boundary of Mississippi, where the Mobile and Ohio Railway,
+running north, is crossed by the Vicksburg, Jackson, and Selma line,
+running east. To this point I at once proceeded, <i>via</i> Jackson, more
+than a hundred miles northeast of Woodville. Grierson's and other
+"raids," in the past summer, had broken the New Orleans and Jackson
+Railway, so that I rode the distance to the latter place. It was in
+September, and the fierce heat was trying to man and beast. The open
+pine forests of southern Mississippi obstruct the breeze, while
+affording no protection from the sun, whose rays are intensified by
+reflection from the white, sandy soil. Jackson reached, I stopped for an
+hour to see the Governor of Mississippi, Clarke, an old acquaintance,
+and give instructions to Brigadier Wirt Adams, the local commander; then
+took rail to Meridian, eighty miles, where I found the records of the
+department left by General Polk, as well as several officers of the
+general staff. These gentlemen had nothing especial to do, and appeared
+to be discharging that duty conscientiously; but they were zealous and
+intelligent, and speedily enabled me to judge of the situation.
+Major-General Maury, in immediate command at Mobile, and the senior
+officer in the department before my arrival, had ordered General Forrest
+with his cavalry to Mobile in anticipation of an attack. Forrest himself
+was expected to pass through Meridian that evening, <i>en route</i> for
+Mobile.</p>
+
+<p>Just from the Mississippi river, where facilities for obtaining
+information from New Orleans were greater than at Mobile, I was
+confident that the enemy contemplated no immediate attack on the latter
+place. Accordingly, General Maury was informed by telegraph of my
+presence, that I assumed command of the department, and would arrest
+Forrest's movement. An hour later a train from the north, bringing
+Forrest in advance of his troops, reached Meridian, and was stopped; and
+the General, whom I had never seen, came to report. He was a tall,
+stalwart man, with grayish hair, mild countenance, and slow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> and homely
+of speech. In few words he was informed that I considered Mobile safe
+for the present, and that all our energies must be directed to the
+relief of Hood's army, then west of Atlanta. The only way to accomplish
+this was to worry Sherman's communications north of the Tennessee river,
+and he must move his cavalry in that direction at the earliest moment.</p>
+
+<p>To my surprise, Forrest suggested many difficulties and asked numerous
+questions: how he was to get over the Tennessee; how he was to get back
+if pressed by the enemy; how he was to be supplied; what should be his
+line of retreat in certain contingencies; what he was to do with
+prisoners if any were taken, etc. I began to think he had no stomach for
+the work; but at last, having isolated the chances of success from
+causes of failure with the care of a chemist experimenting in his
+laboratory, he rose and asked for Fleming, the superintendent of the
+railway, who was on the train by which he had come. Fleming appeared&mdash;a
+little man on crutches (he had recently broken a leg), but with the
+energy of a giant&mdash;and at once stated what he could do in the way of
+moving supplies on his line, which had been repaired up to the Tennessee
+boundary. Forrest's whole manner now changed. In a dozen sharp sentences
+he told his wants, said he would leave a staff officer to bring up his
+supplies, asked for an engine to take him back north twenty miles to
+meet his troops, informed me he would march with the dawn, and hoped to
+give an account of himself in Tennessee.</p>
+
+<p>Moving with great rapidity, he crossed the Tennessee river, captured
+stockades with their garrisons, burned bridges, destroyed railways,
+reached the Cumberland River below Nashville, drove away gunboats,
+captured and destroyed several transports with immense stores, and
+spread alarm over a wide region. The enemy concentrated on him from all
+directions, but he eluded or defeated their several columns, recrossed
+the Tennessee, and brought off fifteen hundred prisoners and much spoil.
+Like Clive, Nature made him a great soldier; and he was without the
+former's advantages. Limited as was Clive's education, he was a person
+of erudition compared with Forrest, who read<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> with difficulty. In the
+last weeks of the war he was much with me, and told me the story of his
+life. His father, a poor trader in negroes and mules, died when he was
+fifteen years of age, leaving a widow and several younger children
+dependent on him for support. To add to his burden, a posthumous infant
+was born some weeks after the father's death. Continuing the paternal
+occupations in a small way, he continued to maintain the family and give
+some education to the younger children. His character for truth,
+honesty, and energy was recognized, and he gradually achieved
+independence and aided his brethren to start in life. Such was his short
+story up to the war.</p>
+
+<p>Some months before the time of our first meeting, with two thousand men
+he defeated the Federal General Sturgis, who had five times his force,
+at Tishimingo; and he repeated his success at Okalona, where his
+opponent, General Smith, had even greater odds against him. The battle
+of Okalona was fought on an open plain, and Forrest had no advantage of
+position to compensate for great inferiority of numbers; but it is
+remarkable that he employed the tactics of Frederick at Leuthen and
+Zorndorf, though he had never heard these names. Indeed, his tactics
+deserve the closest study of military men. Asked after the war to what
+he attributed his success in so many actions, he replied: "Well, I <i>got
+there first with the most men</i>." Jomini could not have stated the key to
+the art of war more concisely. I doubt if any commander since the days
+of lion-hearted Richard has killed as many enemies with his own hand as
+Forrest. His word of command as he led the charge was unique: "Forward,
+men, and <i>mix</i> with 'em!" But, while cutting down many a foe with
+long-reaching, nervous arm, his keen eye watched the whole fight and
+guided him to the weak spot. Yet he was a tender-hearted, kindly man.
+The accusations of his enemies that he murdered prisoners at Fort Pillow
+and elsewhere are absolutely false. The prisoners captured on his
+expedition into Tennessee, of which I have just written, were negroes,
+and he carefully looked after their wants himself, though in rapid
+movement and fighting much of the time. These negroes told me of Mass
+Forrest's kindness to them. After the war I frequently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> met General
+Forrest, and received many evidences of attachment from him. He has
+passed away within a month, to the regret of all who knew him. In the
+States of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, to generations yet
+unborn, his name will be a "household word."</p>
+
+<p>Having devoted several hours at Meridian to the work mentioned, I took
+rail for Mobile, a hundred and forty miles. This town of thirty thousand
+inhabitants is situated on the west bank of the Alabama (here called
+Mobile) River, near its entrance into Mobile Bay, which is
+five-and-twenty miles long by ten broad. A month before my arrival
+Admiral Farragut had captured Fort Morgan at the eastern mouth of the
+bay, after defeating the Confederate fleet under Admiral Buchanan, who
+was severely wounded in the action. Two or three of Buchanan's vessels
+had escaped, and were in charge of Commodore Farrand near Mobile. The
+shallow waters of the bay were thickly planted with torpedoes, and many
+heavy guns were mounted near the town, making it safe in front. Mobile
+had excellent communications with the interior. The Alabama, Tombigby,
+and Black Warrior Rivers afforded steam navigation to central Alabama
+and eastern Mississippi, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway reached the
+northern limit of the latter State. Supplies from the fertile
+"cane-brake" region of Alabama and the prairies of eastern Mississippi
+were abundant. Before they abandoned Pensacola, the Confederates had
+taken up fifty miles of rails from the Pensacola and Montgomery line,
+and used them to make a connection between the latter place and
+Blakeley, at the eastern head of the bay, opposite Mobile. From the
+known dispositions of the Federal forces, I did not think it probable
+that any serious attempt on Mobile would be made until spring. Already
+in possession of Fort Morgan and Pensacola, thirty miles east of the
+first, and the best harbor on the Gulf, the enemy, when he attacked,
+would doubtless make these places his base. It was important, then, to
+look to defensive works on the east side of the bay, and such works were
+vigorously pushed at Blakeley, above mentioned, and at Spanish Fort,
+several miles south. I had no intention of standing a siege in Mobile,
+but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> desired to hold the place with a small force, so as to compel the
+employment of an army to reduce it; and for this its situation was
+admirably adapted. The Mobile River, forty miles long, and formed by the
+Alabama and Tombigby, is but the estuary at the head of Mobile Bay,
+silted up with detritus by the entering streams. Several miles wide, it
+incloses numerous marshy islands in its many channels. These features
+make its passage difficult, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway, trending
+to the west as it leaves the town to gain the high land above the
+valley, affords a ready means for the withdrawal of a limited force.</p>
+
+<p>The officer commanding at Mobile was well qualified for his task.
+Major-General D.H. Maury, nephew to the distinguished Matthew Maury,
+formerly of the United States navy, graduated from West Point in time to
+serve in the war with Mexico, where he was wounded. A Virginian, he
+resigned from the United States cavalry to share the fortunes of his
+State. Intelligent, upright, and devoted to duty, he gained the respect
+and confidence of the townspeople, and was thereby enabled to supplement
+his regular force of eight thousand of all arms with a body of local
+militia. It was a great comfort to find an able officer in this
+responsible position, who not only adopted my plans, but improved and
+executed them. General Maury had some excellent officers under him, and
+the sequel will show how well they discharged their duty to the end.</p>
+
+<p>From Mobile to Meridian, and after some days to Selma, ninety miles
+east. The railway between these last places had been recently laid down,
+and was very imperfect. There was no bridge over the Tombigby at
+Demopolis, and a steam ferry was employed. East of Demopolis, the line
+passed through the cane-brake country, a land of fatness. The army of
+Lee, starving in the trenches before Richmond and Petersburg, could have
+been liberally supplied from this district but for lack of
+transportation.</p>
+
+<p>Here it may be asserted that we suffered less from inferiority of
+numbers than from want of mechanical resources. Most of the mechanics
+employed in the South were Northern men, and returned to their section
+at the outbreak of war. The loss of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> New Orleans, our only large city,
+aggravated this trouble, and we had no means of repairing the long lines
+of railway, nor the plant. Even when unbroken by raids, wear and tear
+rendered them inefficient at an early period of the struggle. This had a
+more direct influence on the sudden downfall of the Confederacy than is
+generally supposed.</p>
+
+<p>Selma, a place of some five thousand people, is on the north bank of the
+Alabama River, by which it has steam communication with Mobile and
+Montgomery, forty miles above on the opposite bank. In addition to the
+railway from Meridian, there was a line running to the northeast in the
+direction of Dalton, Georgia, the existing terminus of which was at Blue
+Mountain, a hundred and odd miles from Selma; and, to inspect the line,
+I went to Blue Mountain. This, the southern limit of the Alleghanies,
+which here sink into the great plain of the gulf, was distant from the
+Atlanta and Chattanooga Railway, Sherman's only line of communication,
+sixty miles. A force operating from Blue Mountain would approach this
+line at a right angle, and, drawing its supplies from the fertile
+country near Selma, would cover its own communications while threatening
+those of an enemy from Atlanta to Chattanooga. On this account the road
+might be of importance.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to Selma, I stopped at Talladega, on the east bank of the
+Coosa River, the largest affluent of the Alabama, and navigable by small
+steamers to Rome, Georgia. Here I met Brigadier Daniel Adams, in local
+command, and learned much of the condition of the surrounding region.
+After passing Chattanooga the Tennessee River makes a great bend to the
+South, inclosing a part of Alabama between itself and the Tennessee
+State line; and in this district was a small Confederate force under
+Brigadier Roddy, which was enabled to maintain an exposed position by
+knowledge of the country. General Adams thought he could procure wire
+enough to establish communication with Roddy, or materially shorten the
+courier line between them; and, as this would duplicate my means of
+getting news, especially of Forrest, he was directed to do so. I had no
+knowledge of Hood's plans or condition, saving that he had been defeated
+and was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> southwest of Atlanta; but if he contemplated operations on
+Sherman's communications, which was his true policy, he must draw
+supplies from Selma, as much of the country between the Tennessee and
+Alabama Rivers was sterile and sparsely populated. Accordingly, I moved
+my headquarters to Selma and ordered the collection of supplies there,
+and at Talladega; then took steamer for Montgomery, to meet the General
+Assembly of Alabama, called in extra session in view of the crisis
+produced by Hood's defeat and the fall of Atlanta. Just as the steamer
+was leaving Selma, I received dispatches from Forrest, announcing his
+first success after crossing the Tennessee river. Traveling alone, or
+with one staff officer, and unknown to the people, I had opportunities
+of learning something of the real state of public sentiment in my new
+department. Citizens were universally depressed and disheartened. Sick
+and wounded officers and men from Hood's army were dissatisfied with the
+removal of Johnston from command, and the subsequent conduct of affairs.
+From conversations in railway carriages and on river steamers I had
+gathered this, and nothing but this, since my arrival.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching Montgomery in the morning, I had interviews with the Governor
+and leading members of the Assembly, who promised all the assistance in
+their power to aid in the defense of the State. The Governor, Watts, who
+had resigned the office of Attorney-General of the Confederacy to accept
+his present position, was ever ready to co&ouml;perate with me.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the afternoon a dispatch was received from President Davis,
+announcing his arrival for the following morning. He came, was received
+by the State authorities, visited the Capitol, addressed the Assembly,
+and then received leading citizens; all of which consumed the day, and
+it was ten o'clock at night when he took me to his chamber, locked the
+door, and said we must devote the night to work, as it was imperative
+for him to return to Richmond the next morning. He began by saying that
+he had visited Hood and his army on his way to Montgomery, and was
+gratified to find officers and men in excellent spirits, not at all
+depressed by recent disasters, and that he thought well of a movement
+north toward Nashville. I ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>pressed surprise at his statement of the
+condition of Hood's army, as entirely opposed to the conclusions forced
+on me by all the evidence I could get, and warned him of the danger of
+listening to narrators who were more disposed to tell what was agreeable
+than what was true. He readily admitted that persons in his position
+were exposed to this danger. Proceeding to discuss the suggested
+movement toward Nashville, I thought it a serious matter to undertake a
+campaign into Tennessee in the autumn, with troops so badly equipped as
+were ours for the approaching winter. Every mile the army marched north,
+it was removing farther from supplies, and no re&euml;nforcements were to be
+hoped for from any quarter. Besides, Sherman could control force enough
+to garrison Chattanooga and Nashville, and, if time were allowed him to
+accumulate supplies at Atlanta by his one line of rail, could abandon
+everything south of Chattanooga, and with fifty thousand men, in the
+absence of Hood's army, march where he liked. The President asked what
+assistance might be expected from the trans-Mississippi. I replied,
+none. There would not be another gun fired there; for the Federals had
+withdrawn their troops to concentrate east of the river. The difficulty
+of bringing over organized bodies of men was explained, with the
+addition of their unwillingness to come. The idea prevailed that the
+States west of the Mississippi had been neglected by the Government, and
+this idea had been encouraged by many in authority. So far from desiring
+to send any more men to the east, they clamored for the return of those
+already there. Certain senators and representatives, who had bitterly
+opposed the administration at Richmond, talked much wild nonsense about
+setting up a government west of the Mississippi, uniting with
+Maximilian, and calling on Louis Napoleon for assistance. The President
+listened attentively to this, and asked, "What then?" I informed him of
+the work Forrest was doing, pointed out the advantages of Blue Mountain
+as a base from which to operate, and suggested that Hood's army be
+thrown on Sherman's line of railway, north of Atlanta. As Johnston had
+been so recently removed from command, I would not venture to recommend
+his return, but be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>lieved that our chances would be increased by the
+assignment of Beauregard to the army. He still retained some of the
+early popularity gained at Sumter and Manassas, and would awaken a
+certain enthusiasm. Apprehending no immediate danger for Mobile, I would
+strip the place of everything except gunners and join Beauregard with
+four thousand good troops. Even the smallest re&euml;nforcement is
+inspiriting to a defeated army, and by seizing his railway we would
+force Sherman to battle. Granting we would be whipped, we could fall
+back to Blue Mountain without danger of pursuit, as the enemy was
+chained to his line of supply, and we certainly ought to make the fight
+hot enough to cripple him for a time and delay his projected movements.
+At the same time, I did not disguise my conviction that the best we
+could hope for was to protract the struggle until spring. It was for
+statesmen, not soldiers, to deal with the future.</p>
+
+<p>The President said Beauregard should come, and, after consultation with
+Hood and myself, decide the movements of the army; but that he was
+distressed to hear such gloomy sentiments from me. I replied that it was
+my duty to express my opinions frankly to him, when he asked for them,
+though there would be impropriety in giving utterance to them before
+others; but I did not admit the gloom. In fact, I had cut into this game
+with eyes wide open, and felt that in staking life, fortune, and the
+future of my children, the chances were against success. It was not for
+me, then, to whimper when the cards were bad; that was the right of
+those who were convinced there would be no war, or at most a holiday
+affair, in which everybody could display heroism. With much other talk
+we wore through the night. In the morning he left, as he purposed, and I
+returned to Selma. My next meeting with President Davis was at Fortress
+Monroe, under circumstances to be related.</p>
+
+<p>Some days at Selma were devoted to accumulation of supplies, and General
+Maury was advised that he must be prepared to forward a part of his
+command to that place, when a message from Beauregard informed me that
+he was on the way to Blue Mountain and desired to meet me there. He had
+not seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> Hood, whose army, after an ineffectual attack on Altoona, had
+left Sherman's line of communication, moved westward, and was now some
+fifteen miles to the north of Blue Mountain. Having told me this,
+Beauregard explained the orders under which he was acting. To my
+disappointment, he had not been expressly assigned to command Hood's
+army, but to the general direction of affairs in the southwest. General
+Maury, a capable officer, was at Mobile; Forrest, with his cavalry
+division, I had sent into Tennessee; and a few scattered men were
+watching the enemy in various quarters&mdash;all together hardly constituting
+a command for a lieutenant-general, my rank. Unless Beauregard took
+charge of Hood's army, there was nothing for him to do except to command
+me. Here was a repetition of 1863. Then Johnston was sent with a roving
+commission to command Bragg in Tennessee, Pemberton in Mississippi, and
+others in sundry places. The result was that he commanded nobody, and,
+when Pemberton was shut up in Vicksburg, found himself helpless, with a
+handful of troops, at Jackson. To give an officer discretion to remove
+another from command of an army in the field is to throw upon him the
+responsibility of doing it, and this should be assumed by the
+government, not left to an individual.</p>
+
+<p>However, I urged on Beauregard the considerations mentioned in my
+interview with President Davis, that Sherman had detached to look after
+Forrest, was compelled to keep garrisons at many points from Atlanta to
+Nashville, and, if forced to action fifty or sixty miles north of the
+former place, would be weaker then than we could hope to find him later,
+after he had accumulated supplies. I mentioned the little re&euml;nforcement
+we could have at once from Mobile, my readiness to take any command,
+division, brigade, or regiment to which he might assign me, and, above
+all, the necessity of prompt action. There were two persons present,
+Colonel Brent, of Beauregard's staff, and Mr. Charles Viller&eacute;, a member
+of the Confederate Congress from Louisiana. The former said all that was
+proper for a staff officer in favor of my views; the latter,
+Beauregard's brother-in-law, warmly urged their adoption. The General
+ordered his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> horse, to visit Hood, and told me to await intelligence
+from him. On his return from Hood, he informed me that the army was
+moving to the northwest, and would cross the Tennessee river near the
+Muscle Shoals. As this plan of campaign had met the sanction of
+President Davis, and Hood felt confident of success, he declined to
+interfere. I could not blame Beauregard; for it was putting a cruel
+responsibility on him to supersede a gallant veteran, to whom fortune
+had been adverse. There was nothing to be said and nothing to be done,
+saving to discharge one's duty to the bitter end. Hood's line of march
+would bring him within reach of the Mobile and Ohio Railway in northern
+Mississippi, and supplies could be sent him by that road. Selma ceased
+to be of importance, and my quarters were returned to Meridian. Forrest,
+just back from Tennessee, was advised of Hood's purposes and ordered to
+co&ouml;perate. Maury was made happy by the information that he would lose
+none of his force, and the usual routine of inspections, papers, etc.,
+occupied the ensuing weeks.</p>
+
+<p>My attention was called about this time to the existence of a
+wide-spread evil. A practice had grown up of appointing provost-marshals
+to take private property for public use, and every little post commander
+exercised the power to appoint such officials. The land swarmed with
+these vermin, appointed without due authority, or self-constituted, who
+robbed the people of horses, mules, cattle, corn, and meat. The wretched
+peasants of the middle ages could not have suffered more from the "free
+companies" turned loose upon them. Loud complaints came up from State
+governors and from hundreds of good citizens. I published an order,
+informing the people that their property was not to be touched unless by
+authority given by me and in accordance with the forms of law, and they
+were requested to deal with all violators of the order as with
+highwaymen. This put an end to the tyranny, which had been long and
+universally submitted to.</p>
+
+<p>The readiness of submission to power displayed by the American people in
+the war was astonishing. Our British forefathers transmitted to us
+respect for law and love of liberty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> founded upon it; but the influence
+of universal suffrage seemed to have destroyed all sense of personal
+manhood, all conception of individual rights. It may be said of the
+South, that its people submitted to wrong because they were engaged in a
+fierce struggle with superior force; but what of the North, whose people
+were fighting for conquest? Thousands were opposed to the war, and
+hundreds of thousands to its conduct and objects. The wonderful vote
+received by McClellan in 1864 showed the vast numbers of the Northern
+minority; yet, so far from modifying in the smallest degree the will and
+conduct of the majority, this multitude of men dared not give utterance
+to their real sentiments; and the same was true of the South at the time
+of secession. Reformers who have tried to improve the morals of
+humanity, discoverers who have striven to alleviate its physical
+conditions, have suffered martyrdom at its hands. Years upon years have
+been found necessary to induce the masses to consider, much less adopt,
+schemes for their own advantage. A government of numbers, then, is not
+one of virtue or intelligence, but of force, intangible, irresistible,
+irresponsible&mdash;resembling that of C&aelig;sar depicted by the great historian,
+which, covering the earth as a pall, reduced all to a common level of
+abject servitude. For many years scarce a descendant of the colonial
+gentry in the Eastern States has been elected to public office. To-day
+they have no existence even as a social force and example. Under the
+baleful influence of negro suffrage it is impossible to foretell the
+destiny of the South. Small wonder that pure democracies have ever
+proved ready to exchange "Demos" for some other tyrant.</p>
+
+<p>Occasional visits for inspection were made to Mobile, where Maury was
+strengthening his defenses. On the east side of the bay, Blakeley and
+Spanish Fort were progressing steadily, as I held that the enemy would
+attack there, tempted by his possession of Pensacola and Fort Morgan.
+Although this opinion was justified in the end, hope may have had some
+influence in its formation; for we could meet attack from that quarter
+better than from the west, which, indeed, would have speedily driven us
+from the place. The loss of the Mobile and Ohio<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> railway would have
+necessitated the withdrawal of the garrison across the bay, a difficult
+operation, if pressed by superior force.</p>
+
+<p>The Confederate Congress had enacted that negro troops, captured, should
+be restored to their owners. We had several hundreds of such, taken by
+Forrest in Tennessee, whose owners could not be reached; and they were
+put to work on the fortifications at Mobile, rather for the purpose of
+giving them healthy employment than for the value of the work. I made it
+a point to visit their camps and inspect the quantity and quality of
+their food, always found to be satisfactory. On one occasion, while so
+engaged, a fine-looking negro, who seemed to be leader among his
+comrades, approached me and said: "Thank you, Massa General, they give
+us plenty of good victuals; but how you like our work?" I replied that
+they had worked very well. "If you will give us guns we will fight for
+these works, too. We would rather fight for our own white folks than for
+strangers." And, doubtless, this was true. In their dealings with the
+negro the white men of the South should ever remember that no instance
+of outrage occurred during the war. Their wives and little ones remained
+safe at home, surrounded by thousands of faithful slaves, who worked
+quietly in the fields until removed by the Federals. This is the highest
+testimony to the kindness of the master and the gentleness of the
+servant; and all the dramatic talent prostituted to the dissemination of
+falsehood in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and similar productions can not rebut
+it.</p>
+
+<p>About the middle of November I received from General Lee, now commanding
+the armies of the Confederacy, instructions to visit Macon and Savannah,
+Georgia, if I could leave my department, and report to him the condition
+of affairs in that quarter, and the probabilities of Sherman's
+movements, as the latter had left Atlanta. I proceeded at once, taking
+rail at Montgomery, and reached Macon, <i>via</i> Columbus, Georgia, at dawn.
+It was the bitterest weather I remember in this latitude. The ground was
+frozen and some snow was falling. General Howell Cobb, the local
+commander, met me at the station and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> took me to his house, which was
+also his office. Arrived there, horses appeared, and Cobb said he
+supposed that I would desire to ride out and inspect the fortifications,
+on which he had been at work all night, as the enemy was twelve miles
+north of Macon at noon of the preceding day. I asked what force he had
+to defend the place. He stated the number, which was utterly inadequate,
+and composed of raw conscripts. Whereupon I declined to look at the
+fortifications, and requested him to order work upon them to be stopped,
+so that his men could get by a fire, as I then was and intended to
+remain. I had observed a movement of stores in passing the railway
+station, and now expressed the opinion that Macon was the safest place
+in Georgia, and advised Cobb to keep his stores. Here entered General
+Mackall, one of Cobb's subordinates, who was personally in charge of the
+defensive works, and could not credit the order he had received to stop.
+Cobb referred him to me, and I said: "The enemy was but twelve miles
+from you at noon of yesterday. Had he intended coming to Macon, you
+would have seen him last evening, before you had time to strengthen
+works or remove stores." This greatly comforted Cobb, who up to that
+moment held me to be a lunatic. Breakfast was suggested, to which I
+responded with enthusiasm, having been on short commons for many hours.
+While we were enjoying the meal, intelligence was brought that the enemy
+had disappeared from the north of Macon and marched eastward. Cobb was
+delighted. He pronounced me to be the wisest of generals, and said he
+knew nothing of military affairs, but had entered the service from a
+sense of duty.</p>
+
+<p>Cobb had been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and
+Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Buchanan.
+Beloved and respected in his State, he had been sent to Georgia to
+counteract the influence of Governor Joe Brown, who, carrying out the
+doctrine of State rights, had placed himself in opposition to President
+Davis. Cobb, with his conscripts, had been near Atlanta before Sherman
+moved out, and gave me a laughable account of the expeditious manner in
+which he and "his little party" got to Ma<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>con, just as he was inditing a
+superb dispatch to General Lee to inform him of the impossibility of
+Sherman's escape.</p>
+
+<p>While we were conversing Governor Brown was announced, as arrived from
+Milledgeville, the State capital, forty miles to the northeast. Cobb
+remarked that it was awkward; for Governor Brown was the only man in
+Georgia to whom he did not speak. But he yielded to the ancient jest,
+that for the time being we had best hang together, as there seemed a
+possibility of enjoying that amusement separately, and brought the
+Governor in, who told me that he had escaped from Milledgeville as the
+Federals entered. People said that he had brought off his cow and his
+cabbages, and left the State's property to take care of itself. However,
+Governor Brown deserves praise at my hands, for he promptly acceded to
+all my requests. With him were General Robert Toombs, the most original
+of men, and General G.W. Smith, both of whom had been in the Confederate
+army. Toombs had resigned to take the place of Adjutant-General of
+Georgia; Smith, to superintend some iron works, from which he had been
+driven by Sherman's movements, and was now in command of Governor
+Brown's "army," composed of men that he had refused to the Confederate
+service. This "army" had some hours before marched east toward Savannah,
+taking the direct route along the railway. I told the Governor that his
+men would be captured unless they were called back at once; and Smith,
+who undertook the duty in person, was just in time. "Joe Brown's army"
+struck the extreme right of Sherman, and suffered some loss before Smith
+could extricate it. To Albany, ninety miles south of Macon, there was a
+railway, and some forty miles farther south, across the country,
+Thomasville was reached. Here was the terminus of the Savannah and Gulf
+Railway, two hundred miles, or thereabouts, southwest of Savannah. This
+route I decided to take, and suggested it to the Governor as the only
+safe one for his troops. He acquiesced at once, and Toombs promised to
+have transportation ready by the time Smith returned. Taking leave of
+Cobb, I departed.</p>
+
+<p>Several years after the close of the war General Cobb and I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> happened to
+be in New York, accompanied by our families, but stopping at different
+inns. He dined with me, seemed in excellent health and spirits, and
+remained to a late hour, talking over former times and scenes. I walked
+to his lodgings with him, and promised to call with my wife on Mrs. Cobb
+the following day at 1 o'clock. We were there at the hour, when the
+servant, in answer to my request to take up our cards, stated that
+General Cobb had just fallen dead. I sprang up the stair, and saw his
+body lying on the floor of a room, his wife, dazed by the shock, looking
+on. A few minutes before he had written a letter and started for the
+office of the inn to post it, remarking to his wife that he would return
+immediately, as he expected our visit. A step from the threshold, and he
+was dead. Thus suddenly passed away one of the most genial and generous
+men I have known. His great fortune suffered much by the war, but to the
+last he shared its remains with less fortunate friends.</p>
+
+<p>Traveling all night, I reached Thomasville in the early morning, and
+found that there was telegraphic communication with General Hardee at
+Savannah, whom I informed of my presence and requested to send down
+transportation for Governor Brown's troops. There was much delay at
+Thomasville, the railway people appearing to think that Sherman was
+swarming all over Georgia. At length I discovered an engine and a
+freight van, which the officials promised to get ready for me; but they
+were dreadfully slow, until Toombs rode into town and speedily woke them
+up. Smith returned to Macon after my departure, found transportation
+ready for his men, brought them to Albany by rail, and was now marching
+to Thomasville. Toombs, who had ridden on in advance, was not satisfied
+with Hardee's reply to my dispatch, but took possession of the telegraph
+and threatened dire vengeance on superintendents and road masters if
+they failed to have the necessary engines and carriages ready in time.
+He damned the dawdling creatures who had delayed me to such an extent as
+to make them energetic, and my engine appeared, puffing with anxiety to
+move. He assured me that he would not be many hours after me at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+Savannah, for Smith did not intend to halt on the road, as his men could
+rest in the carriages. A man of extraordinary energy, this same Toombs.</p>
+
+<p>Savannah was reached about midnight, and Hardee was awaiting me. A short
+conversation cleared the situation and enabled me to send the following
+report to General Lee. Augusta, Georgia, held by General Bragg with a
+limited force, was no longer threatened, as the enemy had passed south
+of it. Sherman, with sixty or seventy thousand men, was moving on the
+high ground between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers; and as this
+afforded a dry, sandy road direct to Savannah, where he would most
+readily meet the Federal fleet, it was probable that he would adhere to
+it. He might cross the Savannah river forty or fifty miles above and
+march on Charleston, but this was hardly to be expected; for, in
+addition to the river named, there were several others and a difficult
+country to pass before Charleston could be reached, and his desire to
+communicate with the fleet by the nearest route and in the shortest time
+must be considered. Hardee's force was inadequate to the defense of
+Savannah, and he should prepare to abandon the place before he was shut
+up. Uniting, Bragg and Hardee should call in the garrison from
+Charleston, and all scattered forces along the coast south of
+Wilmington, North Carolina, and be prepared to resist Sherman's march
+through the Carolinas, which he must be expected to undertake as soon as
+he had established a base on the ocean. Before this report was
+dispatched, Hardee read and approved it.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile scores of absurd rumors about the enemy came in. Places I had
+passed within an hour were threatened by heavy columns; others, from
+which the enemy was distant a hundred miles, were occupied, etc. But one
+of importance did come. The railway from Savannah to Charleston passes
+near the coast. The officer commanding at Pocotaligo, midway of the two
+places, reported an advance of the enemy from Port Royal, and that he
+must abandon his post the following morning unless re&euml;nforced. To lose
+the Charleston line would seriously interfere with the concentration
+just recommended.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> Hardee said that he could ill spare men, and had no
+means of moving them promptly. I bethought me of Toombs, Smith, and
+Governor Brown's "army." The energetic Toombs had frightened the railway
+people into moving him, and, from his telegrams, might be expected
+before dawn. Hardee thought but little of the suggestion, because the
+ground of quarrel between Governor Brown and President Davis was the
+refusal of the former to allow his guards to serve beyond their state.
+However, I had faith in Toombs and Smith. A short distance to the south
+of Savannah, on the Gulf road, was a switch by which carriages could be
+shunted on to a connection with the Charleston line. I wrote to Toombs
+of the emergency, and sent one of Hardee's staff to meet him at the
+switch. The governor's army was quietly shunted off and woke up at
+Pocotaligo in South Carolina, where it was just in time to repulse the
+enemy after a spirited little action, thereby saving the railway.
+Doubtless the Georgians, a plucky people, would have responded to an
+appeal to leave their State under the circumstances, but Toombs enjoyed
+the joke of making them unconscious patriots.</p>
+
+<p>In the past autumn Cassius Clay of Kentucky killed a colored man who had
+attacked him. For more than thirty years Mr. Clay had advocated the
+abolition of slavery, and at the risk of his life. Dining with Toombs in
+New York just after the event, he said to me: "Seen the story about old
+Cassius Clay? Been an abolitionist all his days, and ends by shooting a
+nigger. I knew he would." A droll fellow is Robert Toombs. Full of
+talent and well instructed, he affects quaint and provincial forms of
+speech. His influence in Georgia is great, and he is a man to know.</p>
+
+<p>Two days at Savannah served to accomplish the object of my mission, and,
+taking leave of Hardee, I returned to my own department. An educated
+soldier of large experience, Hardee was among the best of our
+subordinate generals, and, indeed, seemed to possess the requisite
+qualities for supreme command; but this he steadily refused, alleging
+his unfitness for responsibility. Such modesty is not a common American
+weakness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> and deserves to be recorded. General Hardee's death occurred
+after the close of the war.</p>
+
+<p>In this journey through Georgia, at Andersonville, I passed in sight of
+a large stockade inclosing prisoners of war. The train stopped for a few
+moments, and there entered the carriage, to speak to me, a man who said
+his name was <i>Wirtz</i>, and that he was in charge of the prisoners near
+by. He complained of the inadequacy of his guard and of the want of
+supplies, as the adjacent region was sterile and thinly populated. He
+also said that the prisoners were suffering from cold, were destitute of
+blankets, and that he had not wagons to supply fuel. He showed me
+duplicates of requisitions and appeals for relief that he had made to
+different authorities, and these I indorsed in the strongest terms
+possible, hoping to accomplish some good. I know nothing of this Wirtz,
+whom I then met for the first and only time, but he appeared to be
+earnest in his desire to mitigate the condition of his prisoners. There
+can be but little doubt that his execution was a "sop" to the passions
+of the "many-headed."</p>
+
+<p>Returned to Meridian, the situation of Hood in Tennessee absorbed all my
+attention. He had fought at Franklin, and was now near Nashville.
+Franklin was a bloody affair, in which Hood lost many of his best
+officers and troops. The previous evening, at dusk, a Federal column,
+retreating north, passed within pistol-shot of Hood's forces, and an
+attack on it might have produced results; but it reached strong works at
+Franklin, and held them against determined assaults, until night enabled
+it to withdraw quietly to Nashville. This mistake may be ascribed to
+Hood's want of physical activity, occasioned by severe wounds and
+amputations, which might have been considered before he was assigned to
+command. Maurice of Saxe won Fontenoy in a litter, unable from disease
+to mount his horse; but in war it is hazardous to convert exceptions
+into rules.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding his frightful loss at Franklin, Hood followed the enemy
+to Nashville, and took position south of the place, where he remained
+ten days or more. It is difficult to imagine what objects he had in
+view. The town was open to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> the north, whence the Federal commander,
+Thomas, was hourly receiving re&euml;nforcements, while he had none to hope
+for. His plans perfected and his re&euml;nforcements joined, Thomas moved,
+and Hood was driven off; and, had the Federal general possessed dash
+equal to his tenacity and caution, one fails to see how Hood could have
+brought man or gun across the Tennessee River. It is painful to
+criticise Hood's conduct of this campaign. Like Ney, "the bravest of the
+brave," he was a splendid leader in battle, and as a brigade or division
+commander unsurpassed; but, arrived at higher rank, he seems to have
+been impatient of control, and openly disapproved of Johnston's conduct
+of affairs between Dalton and Atlanta. Unwillingness to obey is often
+interpreted by governments into capacity for command.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the southern bank of the Tennessee, Hood asked to be relieved,
+and a telegraphic order assigned me to the duty. At Tupelo, on the
+Mobile and Ohio Railway, a hundred and odd miles north of Meridian, I
+met him and the remains of his army. Within my experience were assaults
+on positions, in which heavy losses were sustained without success; but
+the field had been held&mdash;retreats, but preceded by repulse of the foe
+and followed by victory. This was my first view of a beaten army, an
+army that for four years had shown a constancy worthy of the "Ten
+Thousand"; and a painful sight it was. Many guns and small arms had been
+lost, and the ranks were depleted by thousands of prisoners and missing.
+Blankets, shoes, clothing, and accouterments were wanting. I have
+written of the unusual severity of the weather in the latter part of
+November, and it was now near January. Some men perished by frost; many
+had the extremities severely bitten. Fleming, the active superintendent
+mentioned, strained the resources of his railway to transport the troops
+to the vicinity of Meridian, where timber for shelter and fuel was
+abundant and supplies convenient; and every energy was exerted to
+re&euml;quip them.</p>
+
+<p>Sherman was now in possession of Savannah, but an interior line of rail
+by Columbus, Macon, and Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina,
+was open. Mobile was not imme<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>diately threatened, and was of inferior
+importance as compared with the safety of Lee's army at Petersburg.
+Unless a force could be interposed between Sherman and Lee's rear, the
+game would be over when the former moved. Accordingly, I dispatched to
+General Lee the suggestion of sending the "Army of Tennessee" to North
+Carolina, where Johnston had been restored to command. He approved, and
+directed me to send forward the men as rapidly as possible. I had long
+dismissed all thought of the future. The duty of a soldier in the field
+is simple&mdash;to fight until stopped by the civil arm of his government, or
+his government has ceased to exist; and military men have usually come
+to grief by forgetting this simple duty.</p>
+
+<p>Forrest had fought and worked hard in this last Tennessee campaign, and
+his division of cavalry was broken down. By brigades it was distributed
+to different points in the prairie and cane-brake regions, where forage
+could be had, and I hoped for time to restore the cattle and refit the
+command. With our limited resources of transportation, it was a slow
+business to forward troops to Johnston in North Carolina; but at length
+it was accomplished, and the month of March came round to raise the
+curtain for the last act of the bloody drama. Two clouds appeared on the
+horizon of my department. General Canby, a steady soldier, whom I had
+long known, had assumed command of all the Federal forces in the
+southwest, and was concentrating fifty thousand men at Fort Morgan and
+Pensacola against Mobile. In northern Alabama General Wilson had ten
+thousand picked mounted men ready for an expedition. At Selma was a
+foundry, where the best ordnance I have seen was made of Briarsfield
+iron, from a furnace in the vicinity; and, as this would naturally
+attract the enemy's attention to Selma, I endeavored to prepare for him.
+The Cahawba River, from the northeast, enters the Alabama below Selma,
+north of which it separates the barren mineral region from the fertile
+lands of the river basin; and at its crossing I directed Forrest to
+concentrate.</p>
+
+<p>Wilson, with the smallest body, would probably move first; and, once
+disposed of, Forrest could be sent south of the Alabama<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> River to delay
+Canby and prolong the defense of Mobile. For a hundred miles north of
+the gulf the country is sterile, pine forest on a soil of white sand;
+but the northern end of the Montgomery and Pensacola Railway was in our
+possession, and would enable us to transport supplies. In a conference
+with Maury at Mobile I communicated the above to him, as I had
+previously to Forrest, and hastened to Selma. Distributed for forage,
+and still jaded by hard work, Forrest ordered his brigades to the
+Cahawba crossing, leading one in person. His whole force would have been
+inferior to Wilson's, but he was a host in himself, and a dangerous
+adversary to meet at any reasonable odds.</p>
+
+<p>Our information of the enemy had proved extremely accurate; but in this
+instance the Federal commander moved with unusual rapidity, and threw
+out false signals. Forrest, with one weak brigade, was in the path; but
+two of his brigadiers permitted themselves to be deceived by reports of
+the enemy's movements toward Columbus, Mississippi, and turned west,
+while another went into camp under some misconception of orders. Forrest
+fought as if the world depended on his arm, and sent to advise me of the
+deceit practiced on two of his brigades, but hoped to stop the enemy if
+he could get up the third, the absence of which he could not account
+for. I directed such railway plant as we had to be moved out on the
+roads, retaining a small yard engine to take me off at the last moment.
+There was nothing more to be done. Forrest appeared, horse and man
+covered with blood, and announced the enemy at his heels, and that I
+must move at once to escape capture. I felt anxious for him, but he said
+he was unhurt and would cut his way through, as most of his men had
+done, whom he had ordered to meet him west of the Cahawba. My engine
+started toward Meridian, and barely escaped. Before headway was attained
+the enemy was upon us, and capture seemed inevitable. Fortunately, the
+group of horsemen near prevented their comrades from firing, so we had
+only to risk a fusillade from a dozen, who fired wild. The driver and
+stoker, both negroes, were as game as possible, and as we thundered
+across Cahawba bridge, all safe, raised a loud "Yah! yah!" of triumph,
+and smiled like two sable angels.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> Wilson made no delay at Selma, but,
+crossing the Alabama River, pushed on to Montgomery, and thence into
+Georgia. I have never met this General Wilson, whose soldierly qualities
+are entitled to respect; for of all the Federal expeditions of which I
+have any knowledge, his was the best conducted.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been useless to pursue Wilson, had there been troops
+disposable, as many hundred miles intervened between him and North
+Carolina, where Johnston commanded the nearest Confederate forces, too
+remote to be affected by his movements. Canby was now before the eastern
+defenses of Mobile, and it was too late to send Forrest to that quarter.
+He was therefore directed to draw together and reorganize his division
+near Meridian.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR&mdash;SURRENDER.</p>
+
+
+<p>On the 26th of March Canby invested Spanish Fort, and began the siege by
+regular approaches, a part of his army investing Blakeley on the same
+day. General R.L. Gibson, now a member of Congress from Louisiana, held
+Spanish Fort with twenty-five hundred men. Fighting all day and working
+all night, Gibson successfully resisted the efforts of the immense force
+against him until the evening of April 8, when the enemy effected a
+lodgment threatening his only route of evacuation. Under instructions
+from Maury, he withdrew his garrison in the night to Mobile, excepting
+his pickets, necessarily left. Gibson's stubborn defense and skillful
+retreat make this one of the best achievements of the war. Although
+invested on the 26th of March, the siege of Blakeley was not pressed
+until April 1, when Steele's corps of Canby's army joined the original
+force before it. Here, with a garrison of twenty-eight hundred men,
+commanded General Liddell, with General Cockrell, now a Senator from
+Missouri, as his second. Every assault of the enemy, who made but little
+progress, was gallantly repulsed until the afternoon of the 9th, when,
+learning by the evacuation of Spanish Fort how small a force had delayed
+him, he concentrated on Blakeley and carried it, capturing the garrison.
+Maury intended to withdraw Liddell during the night of the 9th. It would
+have been more prudent to have done so on the night of the 8th, as the
+enemy would naturally make an energetic effort after the fall of Spanish
+Fort; but he was unwilling to yield any ground until the last moment,
+and felt confident of holding the place another day. After dismantling
+his works, Maury<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> marched out of Mobile on the 12th of April, with
+forty-five hundred men, including three field batteries, and was
+directed to Cuba Station, near Meridian. In the interest of the thirty
+thousand non-combatants of the town, he properly notified the enemy that
+the place was open. During the movement from Mobile toward Meridian
+occurred the last engagement of the civil war, in a cavalry affair
+between the Federal advance and our rear guard under Colonel Spence.
+Commodore Farrand took his armed vessels and all the steamers in the
+harbor up the Tombigby River, above its junction with the Alabama, and
+planted torpedoes in the stream below. Forrest and Maury had about eight
+thousand men, but tried and true. Cattle were shod, wagons overhauled,
+and every preparation for rapid movement made.</p>
+
+<p>From the North, by wire and courier, I received early intelligence of
+passing events. Indeed, these were of a character for the enemy to
+disseminate rather than suppress. Before Maury left Mobile I had learned
+of Lee's surrender, rumors of which spreading among the troops, a number
+from the neighboring camps came to see me. I confirmed the rumor, and
+told them the astounding news, just received, of President Lincoln's
+assassination. For a time they were silent with amazement, then asked if
+it was possible that any Southern man had committed the act. There was a
+sense of relief expressed when they learned that the wretched assassin
+had no connection with the South, but was an actor, whose brains were
+addled by tragedies and Plutarch's fables.</p>
+
+<p>It was but right to tell these gallant, faithful men the whole truth
+concerning our situation. The surrender of Lee left us little hope of
+success; but while Johnston remained in arms we must be prepared to
+fight our way to him. Again, the President and civil authorities of our
+Government were on their way to the south, and might need our
+protection. Granting the cause for which we had fought to be lost, we
+owed it to our own manhood, to the memory of the dead, and to the honor
+of our arms, to remain steadfast to the last. This was received, not
+with noisy cheers, but solemn murmurs of approval, showing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> that it was
+understood and adopted. Forrest and Maury shared my opinions and
+objects, and impressed them on their men. Complete order was maintained
+throughout, and public property protected, though it was known later
+that this would be turned over to the Federal authorities. A
+considerable amount of gold was near our camps, and safely guarded; yet
+it is doubtful if our united means would have sufficed to purchase a
+breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>Members of the Confederate Congress from the adjoining and more western
+States came to us. These gentlemen had left Richmond very hurriedly, in
+the first days of April, and were sorely jaded by fatigue and anxiety,
+as the presence of Wilson's troops in Georgia had driven them to
+by-paths to escape capture. Arrived at a well-ordered camp, occupied by
+a formidable-looking force, they felt as storm-tossed mariners in a
+harbor of refuge, and, ignorant of recent events, as well as uncertain
+of the future, were eager for news and counsel. The struggle was
+virtually over, and the next few days, perhaps hours, would decide my
+course. In my judgment it would speedily become their duty to go to
+their respective homes. They had been the leaders of the people, had
+sought and accepted high office at their hands, and it was for them to
+teach the masses, by example and precept, how best to meet impending
+troubles. Possibly they might suffer annoyance and persecution from
+Federal power, but manhood and duty required them to incur the risk. To
+the credit of these gentlemen it should be recorded that they followed
+this advice when the time for action came. There was one exception which
+deserves mention.</p>
+
+<p>Ex-Governor Harris, now a United States Senator from Tennessee, occupied
+the executive chair of his State in 1862, and withdrew from Nashville
+when the army of General Sidney Johnston retreated to the Tennessee
+River in the spring of that year. By the death of President Lincoln,
+Andrew Johnson had succeeded to power, and he was from Tennessee, and
+the personal enemy of Governor Harris. The relations of their State with
+the Federal Union had been restored, and Harris's return would be
+productive of discord rather than peace. I urged him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> to leave the
+country for a time, and offered to aid him in crossing the Mississippi
+River; but he was very unwilling to go, and only consented after a
+matter was arranged, which I anticipate the current of events to relate.
+He had brought away from Nashville the coin of the Bank of Tennessee,
+which, as above mentioned, was now in our camp. An official of the bank
+had always been in immediate charge of this coin, but Harris felt that
+honor was involved in its safe return. At my request, General Canby
+detailed an officer and escort to take the coin to Nashville, where it
+arrived intact; but the unhappy official accompanying it was
+incarcerated for his fidelity. Had he betrayed his trust, he might have
+received rewards instead of stripes. 'Tis dangerous to be out of harmony
+with the practices of one's time.</p>
+
+<p>Intelligence of the Johnston-Sherman convention reached us, and Canby
+and I were requested by the officers making it to conform to its terms
+until the civil authorities acted. A meeting was arranged to take place
+a few miles north of Mobile, where the appearance of the two parties
+contrasted the fortunes of our respective causes. Canby, who preceded me
+at the appointed spot, a house near the railway, was escorted by a
+brigade with a military band, and accompanied by many officers in "full
+fig." With one officer, Colonel William Levy, since a member of Congress
+from Louisiana, I made my appearance on a hand-car, the motive power of
+which was two negroes. Descendants of the ancient race of Abraham,
+dealers in cast-off raiment, would have scorned to bargain for our rusty
+suits of Confederate gray. General Canby met me with much urbanity. We
+retired to a room, and in a few moments agreed upon a truce, terminable
+after forty-eight hours' notice by either party. Then, rejoining the
+throng of officers, introductions and many pleasant civilities passed. I
+was happy to recognize Commodore (afterward Admiral) James Palmer, an
+old friend. He was second to Admiral Thatcher, commanding United States
+squadron in Mobile Bay, and had come to meet me. A bountiful luncheon
+was spread, of which we partook, with joyous poppings of champagne corks
+for accompaniment, the first agreeable explo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>sive sounds I had heard for
+years. The air of "Hail Columbia," which the band in attendance struck
+up, was instantly changed by Canby's order to that of "Dixie"; but I
+insisted on the first, and expressed a hope that Columbia would be again
+a happy land, a sentiment honored by many libations.</p>
+
+<p>There was, as ever, a skeleton at the feast, in the person of a general
+officer who had recently left Germany to become a citizen and soldier of
+the United States. This person, with the strong accent and idioms of the
+Fatherland, comforted me by assurances that we of the South would
+speedily recognize our ignorance and errors, especially about slavery
+and the rights of States, and rejoice in the results of the war. In vain
+Canby and Palmer tried to suppress him. On a celebrated occasion an
+Emperor of Germany proclaimed himself above grammar, and this earnest
+philosopher was not to be restrained by canons of taste. I apologized
+meekly for my ignorance, on the ground that my ancestors had come from
+England to Virginia in 1608, and, in the short intervening period of two
+hundred and fifty-odd years, had found no time to transmit to me correct
+ideas of the duties of American citizenship. Moreover, my grandfather,
+commanding the 9th Virginia regiment in our Revolutionary army, had
+assisted in the defeat and capture of the Hessian mercenaries at
+Trenton, and I lamented that he had not, by association with these
+worthies, enlightened his understanding. My friend smiled blandly, and
+assured me of his willingness to instruct me. Happily for the world,
+since the days of Huss and Luther, neither tyranny nor taste can repress
+the Teutonic intellect in search of truth or exposure of error. A
+kindly, worthy people, the Germans, but wearing on occasions.</p>
+
+<p>The party separated, Canby for Mobile, I for Meridian, where within two
+days came news of Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, the capture of
+President Davis in Georgia, and notice from Canby that the truce must
+terminate, as his Government disavowed the Johnston-Sherman convention.
+I informed General Canby that I desired to meet him for the purpose of
+negotiating a surrender of my forces, and that Commodore Farrand would
+accompany me to meet Admiral Thatcher.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> The military and civil
+authorities of the Confederacy had fallen, and I was called to
+administer on the ruins as residuary legatee. It seemed absurd for the
+few there present to continue the struggle against a million of men. We
+could only secure honorable interment for the remains of our cause&mdash;a
+cause that for four years had fixed the attention of the world, been
+baptized in the blood of thousands, and whose loss would be mourned in
+bitter tears by countless widows and orphans throughout their lives. At
+the time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind,
+but such have since crept in. Many Southern warriors, from the hustings
+and in print, have declared that they were anxious to die in the last
+ditch, and by implication were restrained from so doing by the readiness
+of their generals to surrender. One is not permitted to question the
+sincerity of these declarations, which have received the approval of
+public opinion by the elevation of the heroes uttering them to such
+offices as the people of the South have to bestow; and popular opinion
+in our land is a court from whose decisions there is no appeal on this
+side of the grave.</p>
+
+<p>On the 8th of May, 1865, at Citronelle, forty miles north of Mobile, I
+delivered the epilogue of the great drama in which I had played a humble
+part. The terms of surrender demanded and granted were consistent with
+the honor of our arms; and it is due to the memory of General Canby to
+add that he was ready with suggestions to soothe our military pride.
+Officers retained their side arms, mounted men their horses, which in
+our service were private property; and public stores, ordnance,
+commissary, and quartermaster, were to be turned over to officers of the
+proper departments and receipted for. Paroles of the men were to be
+signed by their officers on rolls made out for the purpose, and I was to
+retain control of railways and river steamers to transport the troops as
+nearly as possible to their homes and feed them on the road, in order to
+spare the destitute people of the country the burden of their
+maintenance. Railways and steamers, though used by the Confederate
+authorities, were private property, and had been taken by force which
+the owners could not resist; and it was agreed that they should not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> be
+seized by civil jackals following the army without special orders from
+Washington. Finally, I was to notify Canby when to send his officers to
+my camp to receive paroles and stores.</p>
+
+<p>Near the Tombigby River, to the east of Meridian, were many thousands of
+bales of cotton, belonging to the Confederate Government and in charge
+of a treasury agent. It seemed to me a duty to protect public property
+and transfer it to the United States, successors by victory to the
+extinct Confederacy. Accordingly, a guard had been placed over this
+cotton, though I hated the very name of the article, as the source of
+much corruption to our people. Canby remarked that cotton had been a
+curse to his side as well, and he would send to New Orleans for a United
+States Treasury agent, so that we might rid ourselves of this at the
+earliest moment. The conditions of surrender written out and signed, we
+had some conversation about the state of the country, disposition of the
+people, etc. I told him that all were weary of strife, and he would meet
+no opposition in any quarter, and pointed out places in the interior
+where supplies could be had, recommending him to station troops at such
+places. I was persuaded that moderation by his officers and men would
+lead to intercourse, traffic, and good feeling with the people. He
+thanked me for the suggestions, and adopted them.</p>
+
+<p>The Governors of Mississippi and Alabama, Clarke and Watts, had asked
+for advice in the emergency produced by surrender, which they had been
+informed was impending, and I thought their best course would be to
+summon their State Legislatures. These would certainly provide for
+conventions of the people to repeal ordinances of secession and abolish
+slavery, thus smoothing the way for the restoration of their States to
+the Union. Such action would be in harmony with the theory and practice
+of the American system, and clear the road of difficulties. The North,
+by its Government, press, and people, had been declaring for years that
+the war was for the preservation of the Union and for nothing else, and
+Canby and I, in the innocence of our hearts, believed it. As Canby
+thought well of my plan, I communicated with the Governors, who acted on
+it; but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> Washington authorities imprisoned them for abetting a new
+rebellion.</p>
+
+<p>Returned to Meridian, I was soon ready for the Federal officers, who
+came quietly to our camp and entered on their appointed work; and I have
+now in my possession receipts given by them for public stores.
+Meanwhile, I received from Canby a letter informing me that he had
+directed two of his corps commanders, Generals Steele and Granger, to
+apply to me for instructions concerning the movement of their troops, as
+to time, places, and numbers. It was queer for one to be placed in
+<i>quasi</i> command of soldiers that he had been fighting for four years,
+and to whom he had surrendered; but I delicately made some suggestions
+to these officers, which were adopted.</p>
+
+<p>With two or three staff officers, I remained at Meridian until the last
+man had departed, and then went to Mobile. General Canby most
+considerately took me, Tom, and my two horses on his boat to New
+Orleans; else I must have begged my way. The Confederate paper (not
+currency, for it was without exchangeable value) in my pocket would not
+have served for traveling expenses; and my battered old sword could
+hardly be relied on for breakfasts, dinners, and horse feed.</p>
+
+<p>After an absence of four years, I saw my native place and home, New
+Orleans. My estate had been confiscated and sold, and I was without a
+penny. The man of Uz admitted that naked he came into the world, and
+naked must leave it; but to find himself naked in the midst of it tried
+even his patience. My first care was to sell my horses, and a purchaser
+was found who agreed to take and pay for them the following morning. I
+felt somewhat eager to get hold of the "greenbacks," and suffered for my
+avarice. The best horse, one that had carried me many a weary mile and
+day without failing, could not move a hoof when the purchaser came to
+take him. Like other veterans, long unaccustomed to abundance of prog,
+he had overfed and was badly foundered. Fortunately, the liveryman
+proposed to take this animal as a consideration for the keep of the two,
+and the price received for the other would suffice to bring my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> wife and
+children from the Red River to New Orleans, and was sent to them for
+that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Awaiting the arrival of my family, I had a few days of rest at the house
+of an old friend, when Generals Price, Buckner, and Brent came from
+Shreveport, the headquarters of the "Trans-Mississippi Department,"
+under flag of truce, and sent for me. They reported a deplorable
+condition of affairs in that region. Many of the troops had taken up the
+idea that it was designed to inveigle them into Mexico, and were greatly
+incensed. Some generals of the highest rank had found it convenient to
+fold their tents and quietly leave for the Rio Grande; others, who
+remained, were obliged to keep their horses in their quarters and guard
+them in person; and numbers of men had disbanded and gone off. By a
+meeting of officers, the gentlemen present were deputed to make a
+surrender and ask for Federal troops to restore order. The officers in
+question requested me to be present at their interview with General
+Canby, who also invited me, and I witnessed the conclusion. So, from the
+Charleston Convention to this point, I shared the fortunes of the
+Confederacy, and can say, as Grattan did of Irish freedom, that I "sat
+by its cradle and followed its hearse."</p>
+
+<p>For some weeks after my return to New Orleans, I had various occasions
+to see General Canby on matters connected with the surrender, and recall
+no instance in which he did not conform to my wishes. Narrow perhaps in
+his view, and harsh in discharge of duty, he was just, upright, and
+honorable, and it was with regret that I learned of his murder by a band
+of Modoc savages.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS.</p>
+
+
+<p>The military collapse of the South was sudden and unexpected to the
+world without, but by no means so to some within. I happen to know that
+one or two of our ablest and most trusted generals concurred with me in
+opinion that the failure at Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg in
+July, 1863, should have taught the Confederate Government and people the
+necessity of estimating the chances for defeat; but soldiers in the
+field can not give utterance to such opinions unless expressly solicited
+by the civil head of their government, and even then are liable to
+misconstruction.</p>
+
+<p>Of many of the important battles of the civil war I have written, and
+desire to dwell somewhat on Shiloh, but will first say a few words about
+Gettysburg, because of recent publications there-anent.</p>
+
+<p>Some facts concerning this battle are established beyond dispute. In the
+first day's fighting a part of Lee's army defeated a part of Meade's.
+Intending to continue the contest on that field, a commander not smitten
+by idiocy would desire to concentrate and push the advantage gained by
+previous success and its resultant <i>morale</i>. But, instead of attacking
+at dawn, Lee's attack was postponed until afternoon of the following
+day, in consequence of the absence of Longstreet's corps. Federal
+official reports show that some of Meade's corps reached him on the
+second day, several hours after sunrise, and one or two late in the
+afternoon. It is positively asserted by many officers present, and of
+high rank and character, that Longstreet was nearer to Lee on the first
+day than Meade's re&euml;nforcing corps to their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> chief, and even nearer than
+a division of Ewell's corps, which reached the field in time to share in
+the first day's success. Now, it nowhere appears in Lee's report of
+Gettysburg that he ordered Longstreet to him or blamed him for
+tardiness; but his report admits errors, and quietly takes the
+responsibility for them on his own broad shoulders. A recent article in
+the public press, signed by General Longstreet, ascribes the failure at
+Gettysburg to Lee's mistakes, which he (Longstreet) in vain pointed out
+and remonstrated against. That any subject involving the possession and
+exercise of intellect should be clear to Longstreet and concealed from
+Lee, is a startling proposition to those having knowledge of the two
+men. We have Biblical authority for the story that the angel in the path
+was visible to the ass, though unseen by the seer his master; but
+suppose, instead of smiting the honest, stupid animal, Balaam had
+caressed him and then been kicked by him, how would the story read? And
+thus much concerning Gettysburg.</p>
+
+<p>Shiloh was a great misfortune. At the moment of his fall Sidney
+Johnston, with all the energy of his nature, was pressing on the routed
+foe. Crouching under the bank of the Tennessee River, Grant was
+helpless. One short hour more of life to Johnston would have completed
+his destruction. The second in command, Beauregard, was on another and
+distant part of the field, and before he could gather the reins of
+direction darkness fell and stopped pursuit. During the night Buell
+reached the northern bank of the river and crossed his troops. Wallace,
+with a fresh division, got up from below. Together, they advanced in the
+morning, found the Confederates rioting in the plunder of captured
+camps, and drove them back with loss. But all this was as nothing
+compared to the calamity of Johnston's death.</p>
+
+<p>Educated at West Point, Johnston remained for eight years in the army of
+the United States, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the details of
+military duty. Resigning to aid the cause of the infant Republic of
+Texas, he became her Adjutant-General, Senior Brigadier, and Secretary
+of War. During our contest with Mexico, he raised a regiment of Texans
+to join<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> General Zachary Taylor, and was greatly distinguished in the
+fighting around and capture of Monterey. General Taylor, with whom the
+early years of his service had been passed, declared him to be the best
+soldier he had ever commanded. More than once I have heard General
+Zachary Taylor express this opinion. Two cavalry regiments were added to
+the United States army in 1854, and to the colonelcy of one of these
+Johnston was appointed. Subsequently, a brigadier by brevet, he
+commanded the expedition against the Mormons in Utah.</p>
+
+<p>Thus he brought to the Southern cause a civil and military experience
+surpassing that of any other leader. Born in Kentucky, descended from an
+honorable colonial race, connected by marriage with influential families
+in the West, where his life had been passed, he was peculiarly fitted to
+command western armies. With him at the helm, there would have been no
+Vicksburg, no Missionary Ridge, no Atlanta. His character was lofty and
+pure, his presence and demeanor dignified and courteous, with the
+simplicity of a child; and he at once inspired the respect and gained
+the confidence of cultivated gentlemen and rugged frontiersmen.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, he had passed through the furnace of ignorant newspapers,
+hotter than that of the Babylonian tyrant. Commanding some raw,
+unequipped forces at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the habitual American
+exaggeration represented him as at the head of a vast army prepared and
+eager for conquest. Before time was given him to organize and train his
+men, the absurdly constructed works on his left flank were captured. At
+Fort Donelson on the Cumberland were certain political generals, who,
+with a self-abnegation worthy of Plutarch's heroes, were anxious to get
+away and leave the glory and renown of defense to others. Johnston was
+in no sense responsible for the construction of the forts, nor the
+assignment to their command of these self-denying warriors; but his line
+of communication was uncovered by their fall, and he was compelled to
+retire to the southern bank of the Tennessee River. From the
+enlighteners of public opinion a howl of wrath came forth, and Johnston,
+who had just been Alexander, Hannibal, C&aelig;sar, Na<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>poleon, was now a
+miserable dastard and traitor, unfit to command a corporal's guard.
+President Davis sought to console him, and some of the noblest lines
+ever penned by man were written by Johnston in reply. They even wrung
+tears of repentance from the pachyderms who had attacked him, and will
+be a text and consolation to future commanders, who serve a country
+tolerant of an ignorant and licentious press. Like pure gold, he came
+forth from the furnace above the reach of slander, the foremost man of
+all the South; and had it been possible for one heart, one mind, and one
+arm to save her cause, she lost them when Albert Sidney Johnston fell on
+the field of Shiloh.</p>
+
+<p>As soon after the war as she was permitted, the Commonwealth of Texas
+removed his remains from New Orleans, to inter them in a land he had
+long and faithfully served. I was honored by a request to accompany the
+coffin from the cemetery to the steamer; and as I gazed upon it there
+arose the feeling of the Theban who, after the downfall of the glory and
+independence of his country, stood by the tomb of Epaminondas.</p>
+
+<p>"Amid the clash of arms laws are silent," and so was Confederate
+statesmanship; or at least, of its objects, efforts, and expectations
+little is known, save the abortive mission of Messrs. Stevens, Hunter,
+and Campbell to Fortress Monroe in the last months of the struggle, and
+about this there has recently been an unseemly wrangle.</p>
+
+<p>The followers of the Calhoun school, who controlled the Government, held
+the right of secession to be too clear for discussion. The adverse
+argument of Mr. Webster, approved by a large majority of the Northern
+people, was considered to be founded on lust of power, not on reason.
+The governments of western Europe, with judgments unclouded by
+selfishness, would at once acknowledge it. France, whose policy since
+the days of the eleventh Louis had been one of intense centralization,
+and Germany and Italy, whose hopes and aspirations were in the same
+direction, would admit it, while England would not be restrained by
+anti-slavery sentiment. Indeed, the statesmen of these countries had
+devoted much time to the study of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> Constitution of the United
+States, knew that it was a compact, and were in complete harmony with
+the opinions of Mr. Calhoun. There was to be no revolution, for this,
+though justified by oppression, involved the recognition of some measure
+of obligation to the Union, from which the right to secede was manifest.
+Hence the haste to manufacture a paper constitution, in which the powers
+of different departments were as carefully weighed as are dangerous
+drugs by dispensing chemists. Hence two houses of Congress, refuge for
+mischievous twaddlers to worry the executive and embarrass the armies.
+Hence the Governor Browns, who, reasoning that one State had as much
+right to disagree with eleven as eleven with twenty, declared each of
+their hamlets of more importance than the cities of others. While the
+sections were marching through the streets, with pikes crowned by gory
+heads, and clamoring for more, Siey&egrave;s had his pockets stuffed with
+constitutions and felt that his country was safe. It is not pretended
+that these ideas were entertained by the larger part of the Southern
+people, or were confessed by the ruling minority; but they existed,
+nevertheless, under different forms.</p>
+
+<p>Aggrieved by the action and tendencies of the Federal Government, and
+apprehending worse in the future, a majority of the people of the South
+approved secession as the only remedy suggested by their leaders. So
+travelers enter railway carriages, and are dragged up grades and through
+tunnels with utter loss of volition, the motive power, generated by
+fierce heat, being far in advance and beyond their control.</p>
+
+<p>We set up a monarch, too, King Cotton, and hedged him with a divinity
+surpassing that of earthly potentates. To doubt his royalty and power
+was a confession of ignorance or cowardice. This potent spirit, at the
+nod of our Prosperos, the cotton-planters, would arrest every loom and
+spindle in New England, destroy her wealth, and reduce her population to
+beggary. The power of Old England, the growth of eight hundred years,
+was to wither as the prophet's gourd unless she obeyed its behests. And
+a right "tricksy spirit" it proved indeed. There was a complete mental
+derangement on this subject. The Government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> undertook to own all cotton
+that could be exported. Four millions of bales, belonging to many
+thousands of individuals, could be disposed of to better advantage by
+the Government than by the proprietors; and this was enforced by our
+authorities, whose ancestors for generations had been resisting the
+intrusion of governments into private business. All cotton, as well as
+naval stores, that was in danger of falling into the enemy's possession,
+was, by orders based on legislative enactment, to be burned; and this
+policy continued to the end. It was fully believed that this destruction
+would appall our enemies and convince the world of our earnestness.
+Possibly there was a lurking idea that it was necessary to convince
+ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>In their long struggle for independence, the Dutch trafficked freely
+with the Spaniards, got rich by the trade, paid enormous taxes to
+support the war, and achieved their liberty. But the Dutch fought to rid
+themselves of a tyrant, while our first care was to set up one, Cotton,
+and worship it. Rules of common sense were not applicable to it. The
+Grand Monarque could not eat his dinners or take his emetics like
+ordinary mortals. Our people were much debauched by it. I write
+advisedly, for during the last two and a half years of the war I
+commanded in the State of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the great
+producing States. Out-post officers would violate the law, and trade. In
+vain were they removed; the temptation was too strong, and their
+successors did the same. The influence on the women was dreadful, and in
+many cases their appeals were heartrending. Mothers with suffering
+children, whose husbands were in the war or already fallen, would
+beseech me for permits to take cotton through the lines. It was useless
+to explain that it was against law and orders, and that I was without
+authority to act. This did not give food and clothing to their children,
+and they departed, believing me to be an unfeeling brute. In fact, the
+instincts of humanity revolted against this folly.</p>
+
+<p>It is with no pleasure that I have dwelt on the foregoing topics, but
+the world can not properly estimate the fortitude of the Southern people
+unless it understands and takes account of the difficulties under which
+they labored. Yet, great as were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> their sufferings during the war, they
+were as nothing compared to those inflicted upon them after its close.</p>
+
+<p>Extinction of slavery was expected by all and regretted by none,
+although loss of slaves destroyed the value of land. Existing since the
+earliest colonization of the Southern States, the institution was
+interwoven with the thoughts, habits, and daily lives of both races, and
+both suffered by the sudden disruption of the accustomed tie. Bank
+stocks, bonds, all personal property, all accumulated wealth, had
+disappeared. Thousands of houses, farm-buildings, work-animals, flocks
+and herds, had been wantonly burned, killed, or carried off. The land
+was filled with widows and orphans crying for aid, which the universal
+destitution prevented them from receiving. Humanitarians shuddered with
+horror and wept with grief for the imaginary woes of Africans; but their
+hearts were as adamant to people of their own race and blood. These had
+committed the unpardonable sin, had wickedly rebelled against the Lord's
+anointed, the majority. Blockaded during the war, and without journals
+to guide opinion and correct error, we were unceasingly slandered by our
+enemies, who held possession of every avenue to the world's ear.</p>
+
+<p>Famine and pestilence have ever followed war, as if our Mother Earth
+resented the defilement of her fair bosom by blood, and generated fatal
+diseases to punish humanity for its crimes. But there fell upon the
+South a calamity surpassing any recorded in the annals or traditions of
+man. An article in the "North American Review," from the pen of Judge
+Black, well describes this new curse, the carpet-baggers, as worse than
+Attila, scourge of God. He could only destroy existing fruits, while, by
+the modern invention of public credit, these caterans stole the labor of
+unborn generations. Divines, moralists, orators, and poets throughout
+the North commended their thefts and bade them God-speed in spoiling the
+Egyptians; and the reign of these harpies is not yet over. Driven from
+the outworks, they hold the citadel. The epithet of August, first
+applied to the mighty Julius and to his successor Octavius, was
+continued, by force of habit, to the slobbering Claudius; and so of the
+Sen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>ate of the United States, which august body contained in March last
+several of these freebooters. Honest men regarded them as monsters,
+generated in the foul ooze of a past era, that had escaped destruction
+to linger in a wholesomer age; and their speedy extinction was expected,
+when another, the most hideous of the species, was admitted. This
+specimen had been kept by force of bayonets for four years upon the
+necks of an unwilling people, had no title to a seat in the Senate, and
+was notoriously despised by every inhabitant of the State which he was
+seated to misrepresent. The Senators composing the majority by which
+this was done acted under solemn oaths to do the right; but the Jove of
+party laughs at vows of politicians. Twelve years of triumph have not
+served to abate the hate of the victors in the great war. The last
+presidential canvass was but a crusade of vengeance against the South.
+The favorite candidate of his party for the nomination, though in the
+prime of vigor, had not been in the field, to which his eloquent appeals
+sent thousands, but preferred the pleasanter occupation of making money
+at home. He had converted the power of his great place, that of Speaker
+of the House of Representatives, into lucre, and was exposed. By mingled
+chicanery and audacity he obtained possession of his own criminating
+letters, flourished them in the face of the House, and, in the Cambyses
+vein, called on his people to rally and save the luster of his loyalty
+from soil at the hands of rebels; and they came. From all the North
+ready acclaims went up, and women shed tears of joy, such as in King
+Arthur's day rewarded some peerless deed of Galahad. In truth, it was a
+manly thing to hide dishonorable plunder beneath the prostrate body of
+the South. The Emperor Commodus, in full panoply, met in the arena
+disabled and unarmed gladiators. The servile Romans applauded his easy
+victories. Ancient Pistol covers with patches the ignoble scabs of a
+corrupt life. The vulgar herd believes them to be wounds received in the
+Gallic wars, as it once believed in the virtue and patriotism of Marat
+and Barr&egrave;re.</p>
+
+<p>In the Sermon on the Mount, the Divine Moralist instructed his hearers
+to forgive those who had injured them; but He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> knew too well the malice
+of the human heart to expect them to forgive those whom they had
+injured. The leaders of the radical masses of the North have inflicted
+such countless and cruel wrongs on the Southern people as to forbid any
+hope of disposition or ability to forgive their victims; and the land
+will have no rest until the last of these persecutors has passed into
+oblivion.</p>
+
+<p>During all these years the conduct of the Southern people has been
+admirable. Submitting to the inevitable, they have shown fortitude and
+dignity, and rarely has one been found base enough to take wages of
+shame from the oppressor and maligner of his brethren. Accepting the
+harshest conditions and faithfully observing them, they have struggled
+in all honorable ways, and for what? For their slaves? Regret for their
+loss has neither been felt nor expressed. But they have striven for that
+which brought our forefathers to Runnymede, the privilege of exercising
+some influence in their own government. Yet we fought for nothing but
+slavery, says the world, and the late Vice-President of the Confederacy,
+Mr. Alexander Stephens, re&euml;choes the cry, declaring that it was the
+corner-stone of his Government.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON.</p>
+
+
+<p>The following considerations induced me to make a pilgrimage to
+Washington, where, by accident of fortune, I had a larger acquaintance
+with influential politicians than other Southern commanders. When the
+Whig party dissolved, most of its Northern members joined the
+Republicans, and now belonged to the reigning faction; and I had
+consorted with many of them while my father was President and afterward.</p>
+
+<p>Mention has been made of the imprisonment of Governors Clarke and Watts
+for adopting my advice, and it was but right for me to make an effort to
+have them released. Moreover, Jefferson Davis was a prisoner in irons,
+and it was known that his health was feeble. Lee, Johnston, and I, with
+our officers and men, were at large, protected by the terms of our
+surrenders&mdash;terms which General Grant had honorably prevented the civil
+authorities from violating. If Mr. Davis had sinned, we all were guilty,
+and I could not rest without making an attempt for his relief.</p>
+
+<p>At the time, it was understood that prisoners on parole should not
+change their residence without military permission, and leave to go to
+New York was asked and obtained of General Canby. By steamer I reached
+that place in a week, and found that General Dix had just been relieved
+by General Hooker, to whom I at once reported. He uttered a shout of
+welcome (we were old acquaintances), declared that he was more pleased
+to see me than to see a church (which was doubtless true), made
+hospitable suggestions of luncheon, champagne, etc., and gave me a
+permit to go to Washington, regretting that he could not keep me<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> with
+him. A warm-hearted fellow is "fighting Joe," who carried on war like a
+soldier.</p>
+
+<p>In Washington, at Willard's&mdash;a huge inn, filled from garret to cellar
+with a motley crowd&mdash;an acquaintance, whom I chanced to meet, informed
+me that a recent disturbance had induced the belief of the existence of
+a new plot for assassination, and an order had been published forbidding
+rebels to approach the capital without the permission of the War
+Secretary. Having been at sea for a week, I knew nothing of this, and
+Hooker had not mentioned it when he gave me the permit to come to
+Washington. My informant apprehended my arrest, and kindly undertook to
+protect me. Through his intervention I received from the President,
+Andrew Johnson, permission to stay or go where I chose, with an
+invitation to visit him at a stated time.</p>
+
+<p>Presenting myself at the "White House," I was ushered in to the
+President&mdash;a saturnine man, who made no return to my bow, but, after
+looking at me, asked me to take a seat. Upon succeeding to power Mr.
+Johnson breathed fire and hemp against the South, proclaimed that he
+would make treason odious by hanging traitors, and ordered the arrest of
+General Lee and others, when he was estopped by the action of General
+Grant. He had now somewhat abated his wolfish desire for vengeance, and
+asked many questions about the condition of the South, temper of the
+people, etc. I explained the conduct of Governors Clarke and Watts, how
+they were imprisoned for following my advice, submitted to and approved
+by General Canby, who would hardly have abetted a new rebellion; and he
+made memoranda of their cases, as well as of those of many other
+prisoners, confined in different forts from Boston to Savannah, all of
+whom were released within a short period. Fearing to trespass on his
+time, I left with a request that he would permit me to call again, as I
+had a matter of much interest to lay before him, and was told the hours
+at which I would be received.</p>
+
+<p>Thence to the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, who in former Whig times,
+as Senator from New York, had been a warm supporter of my father's
+administration. He greeted me cordially, and asked me to dine. A loin of
+veal was the <i>pi&egrave;ce de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> r&eacute;sistance</i> of his dinner, and he called
+attention to it as evidence that he had killed the fatted calf to
+welcome the returned prodigal. Though not entirely recovered from the
+injuries received in a fall from his carriage and the wounds inflicted
+by the knife of Payne, he was cheerful, and appeared to sympathize with
+the objects of my mission&mdash;at least, so far as I could gather his
+meaning under the cloud of words with which he was accustomed to cover
+the slightest thought. One or two other members of the Cabinet, to whom
+Mr. Seward presented me, were also favorably inclined. One, the War
+Secretary, I did not meet. A spy under Buchanan, a tyrant under Lincoln,
+and a traitor to Johnson, this man was as cruel and crafty as Domitian.
+I never saw him. In the end conscience, long dormant, came as Alecto,
+and he was not; and the temple of Justice, on whose threshold he stood,
+escaped profanation.</p>
+
+<p>In a second interview, President Johnson heard the wish I had so much at
+heart, permission to visit Jefferson Davis. He pondered for some time,
+then replied that I must wait and call again.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, an opportunity to look upon the amazing spectacle presented by
+the dwellers at the capital was afforded. The things seen by the
+Pilgrims in a dream were at this Vanity Fair visible in the flesh: "all
+such merchandise sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honors,
+preferments, states, lusts, pleasures; and delights of all sorts, as
+bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood,
+bodies, souls, greenbacks, pearls, precious stones, and what not." The
+eye of the inspired tinker had pierced the darkness of two hundred
+years, and seen what was to come. The martial tread of hundreds of
+volunteer generals, just disbanded, resounded in the streets. Gorged
+with loot, they spent it as lavishly as Morgan's buccaneers after the
+sack of Panama. Their women sat at meat or walked the highways,
+resplendent in jewels, spoil of Southern matrons. The camp-followers of
+the army were here in high carnival, and in character and numbers
+rivaled the attendants of Xerxes. Courtesans swarmed everywhere, about
+the inns, around the Capitol, in the antechambers of the "White House,"
+and were brokers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> for the transaction of all business. Of a tolerant
+disposition and with a wide experience of earthly wickedness, I did not
+feel called upon to cry aloud against these enormities, remembering the
+fate of Faithful; but I had some doubts concerning divine justice; for
+why were the "cities of the Plain" overthrown and this place suffered to
+exist?</p>
+
+<p>The officers of the army on duty at Washington were very civil to me,
+especially General Grant, whom I had known prior to and during the
+Mexican war, as a modest, amiable, but by no means promising lieutenant
+in a marching regiment. He came frequently to see me, was full of
+kindness, and anxious to promote my wishes. His action in preventing
+violation of the terms of surrender, and a subsequent report that he
+made of the condition of the South&mdash;a report not at all pleasing to the
+radicals&mdash;endeared him to all Southern men. Indeed, he was in a position
+to play a r&ocirc;le second only to that of Washington, who founded the
+republic; for he had the power to restore it. His bearing and conduct at
+this time were admirable, modest and generous; and I talked much with
+him of the noble and beneficent work before him. While his heart seemed
+to respond, he declared his ignorance of and distaste for politics and
+politicians, with which and whom he intended to have nothing to do, but
+confine himself to his duties of commander-in-chief of the army. Yet he
+expressed a desire for the speedy restoration of good feeling between
+the sections, and an intention to advance it in all proper ways. We
+shall see when and under what influences he adopted other views.</p>
+
+<p>The President put me off from day to day, receiving me to talk about
+Southern affairs, but declining to give an answer to my requests. I
+found that he always postponed action, and was of an obstinate,
+suspicious temper. Like a badger, one had to dig him out of his hole;
+and he was ever in one except when on the hustings, addressing the
+crowd. Of humble birth, a tailor by trade, nature gave him a strong
+intellect, and he had learned to read after his marriage. He had
+acquired much knowledge of the principles of government, and made
+himself a fluent speaker, but could not rise above the level of the
+class in which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> he was born and to which he always appealed. He well
+understood the few subjects laboriously studied, and affected to despise
+other knowledge, while suspicious that those possessing such would take
+advantage of him. Self-educated men, as they are called, deprived of the
+side light thrown on a particular subject by instruction in cognate
+matters, are narrow and dogmatic, and, with an uneasy consciousness of
+ignorance, soothe their own vanity by underrating the studies of others.
+To the vanity of this class he added that of the demagogue (I use the
+term in its better sense), and called the wise policy left him by his
+predecessor "my policy." Compelled to fight his way up from obscurity,
+he had contracted a dislike of those more favored of fortune, whom he
+was in the habit of calling "the slave-aristocracy," and became
+incapable of giving his confidence to any one, even to those on whose
+assistance he relied in a contest, just now beginning, with the
+Congress.</p>
+
+<p>President Johnson never made a dollar by public office, abstained from
+quartering a horde of connections on the Treasury, refused to uphold
+rogues in high places, and had too just a conception of the dignity of a
+chief magistrate to accept presents. It may be said that these are
+humble qualities for a citizen to boast the possession of by a President
+of the United States. As well claim respect for a woman of one's family
+on the ground that she has preserved her virtue. Yet all whose eyes were
+not blinded by partisanship, whose manhood was not emasculated by
+servility, would in these last years have welcomed the least of them as
+manna in the desert.</p>
+
+<p>The President, between whom and the Congressional leaders the seeds of
+discord were already sown, dallied with me from day to day, and at
+length said that it would spare him embarrassment if I could induce
+Stevens, Davis, and others of the House, and Sumner of the Senate, to
+recommend the permission to visit Jefferson Davis; and I immediately
+addressed myself to this unpleasant task.</p>
+
+<p>Thaddeus Stevens received me with as much civility as he was capable of.
+Deformed in body and temper like Caliban, this was the Lord Hategood of
+the fair; but he was frankness itself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> He wanted no restoration of the
+Union under the Constitution, which he called a worthless bit of old
+parchment. The white people of the South ought never again to be trusted
+with power, for they would inevitably unite with the Northern
+"Copperheads" and control the Government. The only sound policy was to
+confiscate the lands and divide them among the negroes, to whom, sooner
+or later, suffrage must be given. Touching the matter in hand, Johnson
+was a fool to have captured Davis, whom it would have been wiser to
+assist in escaping. Nothing would be done with him, as the executive had
+only pluck enough to hang two poor devils such as Wirtz and Mrs.
+Surratt. Had the leading traitors been promptly strung up, well; but the
+time for that had passed. (Here, I thought, he looked lovingly at my
+neck, as Petit Andr&eacute; was wont to do at those of his merry-go-rounds.) He
+concluded by saying that it was silly to refuse me permission to visit
+Jefferson Davis, but he would not say so publicly, as he had no desire
+to relieve Johnson of responsibility.</p>
+
+<p>There was no excuse for longer sporting with this radical Amaryllis
+either in shade or in sunshine; so I sought Henry Winter Davis. Like the
+fallen angel, Davis preferred to rule in hell rather than serve in
+heaven or on earth. With the head of Medusa and the eye of the Basilisk,
+he might have represented Siva in a Hindoo temple, and was even more
+inaccessible to sentiment than Thaddeus Stevens. Others, too numerous
+and too insignificant to particularize, were seen. These were the
+cuttle-fish of the party, whose appointed duty it was to obscure popular
+vision by clouds of loyal declamation. As Sicilian banditti prepare for
+robberies and murders by pious offerings on shrines of favorite saints,
+these brought out the altar of the "nation," and devoted themselves
+afresh, whenever "Cr&eacute;dits Mobiliers" and kindred enormities were afoot,
+and sharpened every question of administration, finance, law, taxation,
+on the grindstone of sectional hate. So sputtering tugs tow from her
+moorings the stately ship, to send her forth to winds and waves of
+ocean, caring naught for the cargo with which she is freighted, but,
+grimy in zeal to earn fees, return to seek another.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Hopeless of obtaining assistance from such statesmen, I visited Mr.
+Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts, who received me pleasantly.
+A rebel, a slave-driver, and, without the culture of Boston, ignorant, I
+was an admirable vessel into which he could pour the inexhaustible
+stream of his acquired eloquence. I was delighted to listen to beautiful
+passages from the classic as well as modern poets, dramatists,
+philosophers, and orators, and recalled the anecdote of the man sitting
+under a fluent divine, who could not refrain from muttering, "That is
+Jeremy Taylor; that, South; that, Barrow," etc. It was difficult to
+suppress the thought, while Mr. Sumner was talking, "That is Burke, or
+Howard, Wilberforce, Brougham, Macaulay, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Exeter
+Hall," etc.; but I failed to get down to the particular subject that
+interested me. The nearest approach to the practical was his
+disquisition on negro suffrage, which he thought should be accompanied
+by education. I ventured to suggest that negro education should precede
+suffrage, observing that some held the opinion that the capacity of the
+white race for government was limited, although accumulated and
+transmitted through many centuries. He replied that "the ignorance of
+the negro was due to the tyranny of the whites," which appeared in his
+view to dispose of the question of the former's incapacity. He seemed
+over-educated&mdash;had retained, not digested his learning; and beautiful
+flowers of literature were attached to him by filaments of memory, as
+lovely orchids to sapless sticks. Hence he failed to understand the
+force of language, and became the victim of his own metaphors, mistaking
+them for facts. He had the irritable vanity and weak nerves of a woman,
+and was bold to rashness in speculation, destitute as he was of the
+ordinary masculine sense of responsibility. Yet I hold him to have been
+the purest and most sincere man of his party. A lover, nay, a devotee of
+liberty, he thoroughly understood that it could only be preserved by
+upholding the supremacy of civil law, and would not sanction the
+garrison methods of President Grant. Without vindictiveness, he forgave
+his enemies as soon as they were overthrown, and one of the last efforts
+of his life was to remove<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> from the flag of a common country all records
+of victories that perpetuated the memory of civil strife.</p>
+
+<p>Foiled in this direction, I worried the President, as old Mustard would
+a stot, until he wrote the permission so long solicited. By steamer from
+Baltimore I went down Chesapeake Bay, and arrived at Fortress Monroe in
+the early morning. General Burton, the commander, whose civility was
+marked, and who bore himself like a gentleman and soldier, received me
+on the dock and took me to his quarters to breakfast, and to await the
+time to see Mr. Davis.</p>
+
+<p>It was with some emotion that I reached the casemate in which Mr. Davis
+was confined. There were two rooms, in the outer of which, near the
+entrance, stood a sentinel, and in the inner was Jefferson Davis. We met
+in silence, with grasp of hands. After an interval he said, "This is
+kind, but no more than I expected of you." Pallid, worn, gray, bent,
+feeble, suffering from inflammation of the eyes, he was a painful sight
+to a friend. He uttered no plaint, and made no allusion to the irons
+(which had been removed); said the light kept all night in his room hurt
+his eyes a little, and, added to the noise made every two hours by
+relieving the sentry, prevented much sleep; but matters had changed for
+the better since the arrival of General Burton, who was all kindness,
+and strained his orders to the utmost in his behalf. I told him of my
+reception at Washington by the President, Mr. Seward, and others, of the
+attentions of Generals Grant and Humphreys, who promoted my wish to see
+him, and that with such aid I was confident of obtaining permission for
+his wife to stay with him. I could solicit favors for him, having
+declined any for myself. Indeed, the very accident of position, that
+enabled me to get access to the governing authorities, made indecent
+even the supposition of my acceptance of anything personal while a
+single man remained under the ban for serving the Southern cause; and
+therefore I had no fear of misconstruction. Hope of meeting his family
+cheered him much, and he asked questions about the condition and
+prospects of the South, which I answered as favorably as possible,
+passing over things that would have grieved him. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> some way he had
+learned of attacks on his character and conduct, made by some Southern
+curs, thinking to ingratiate themselves with the ruling powers. I could
+not deny this, but remarked that the curse of unexpected defeat and
+suffering was to develop the basest passions of the human heart. Had he
+escaped out of the country, it was possible he might have been made a
+scapegoat by the Southern people, and, great as were the sufferings that
+he had endured, they were as nothing to coward stabs from beloved hands.
+The attacks mentioned were few, and too contemptible for notice; for now
+his calamities had served to endear him to all. I think that he derived
+consolation from this view.</p>
+
+<p>The day passed with much talk of a less disturbing character, and in the
+evening I returned to Baltimore and Washington. After some delay Mr.
+Davis's family was permitted to join him, and he speedily recovered
+strength. Later I made a journey or two to Richmond, Virginia, on
+business connected with his trial, then supposed to be impending.</p>
+
+<p>The slight service, if simple discharge of duty can be so called, I was
+enabled to render Mr. Davis, was repaid ten thousand fold. In the month
+of March, 1875, my devoted wife was released from suffering, long and
+patiently endured, originating in grief for the loss of her children and
+exposure during the war. Smitten by this calamity, to which all that had
+gone before seemed as blessings, I stood by her coffin, ere it was
+closed, to look for the last time upon features that death had respected
+and restored to their girlish beauty. Mr. Davis came to my side, and
+stooped reverently to touch the fair brow, when the tenderness of his
+heart overcame him and he burst into tears. His example completely
+unnerved me for the time, but was of service in the end. For many
+succeeding days he came to me, and was as gentle as a young mother with
+her suffering infant. Memory will ever recall Jefferson Davis as he
+stood with me by the coffin.</p>
+
+<p>Duty to imprisoned friends and associates discharged, I returned to New
+Orleans, and remained for some weeks, when an untoward event occurred,
+productive of grave consequences.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> The saints and martyrs who have
+attained worldly success have rarely declined to employ the temporal
+means of sinners. While calling on Hercules, they put their own
+shoulders to the wheel, and, in the midst of prayer, keep their powder
+dry. To prepare for the re&euml;lection of President Lincoln in 1864,
+pretended State governments had been set up by the Federal military in
+several Southern States, where fragments of territory were occupied. In
+the event of a close election in the North, the electoral votes in these
+manufactured States would be under the control of the executive
+authority, and serve to determine the result. For some years the
+Southern States were used as thimble-riggers use peas: now they were
+under the cup of the Union, and now they were out. During his reign in
+New Orleans the Federal General Banks had prepared a Louisiana pea for
+the above purpose.</p>
+
+<p>At this time negro suffrage, as yet an unaccomplished purpose, was in
+the air, and the objective point of radical effort. To aid the movement,
+surviving accomplices of the Banks fraud were instigated to call a
+"State Convention" in Louisiana, though with no more authority so to do
+than they had to call the British Parliament. The people of New Orleans
+regarded the enterprise as those of London did the proposed meeting of
+tailors in Tooley street; and just before this debating society was to
+assemble, the Federal commander, General Sheridan, selected especially
+to restrain the alleged turbulent population of the city, started on an
+excursion to Texas, proving that he attached no importance to the matter
+and anticipated no disturbance.</p>
+
+<p>Living in close retirement, I had forgotten all about the "Convention."
+Happening to go to the center of the town, from my residence in the
+upper suburb, the day on which it met, on descending from the carriage
+of the tramway I heard pistol shots and saw a crowd of roughs, Arabs,
+and negroes running across Canal Street. I walked in the direction of
+the noise to inquire the cause of excitement, as there was nothing
+visible to justify it. The crowd seemed largely composed of boys of from
+twelve to fifteen, and negroes. I met no acquaintance, and could obtain
+no information, when a negro came flying past,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> pursued by a white boy,
+certainly not above fifteen years of age, with a pistol in hand. I
+stopped the boy without difficulty, and made him tell what he was up to.
+He said the niggers were having a meeting at Mechanics' Institute to
+take away his vote. When asked how long he had enjoyed that inestimable
+right of a freeman, the boy gave it up, pocketed his "Derringer," and
+walked off.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the row appeared to be over, so I went on my way without
+seeing the building called Mechanics' Institute, as it was around the
+corner near which the boy was stopped. Speedily the town was filled with
+excitement, and Baird, the Federal commander in the absence of Sheridan,
+occupied the streets with troops and arrested the movements of citizens.
+Many poor negroes had been killed most wantonly, indignation ran high
+among decent people, and the perpetrators of the bloody deeds deserved
+and would have received swift, stern punishment had civil law been
+permitted to act. But this did not suit the purposes of the radicals,
+who rejoiced as Torquemada might have done when the discovery of a score
+of heretics furnished him an excuse to torment and destroy a province.
+Applying the theory of the detective police, that among the
+beneficiaries of crime must be sought the perpetrators, one would
+conclude that the radical leaders prompted the assassination of Lincoln
+and the murder of negroes; for they alone derived profit from these
+acts.</p>
+
+<p>From this time forth the entire white race of the South devoted itself
+to the killing of negroes. It appeared to be an inherent tendency in a
+slave-driver to murder a negro. It was a law of his being, as of the
+monkey's to steal nuts, and could not be resisted. Thousands upon
+thousands were slain. Favorite generals kept lists in their pockets,
+proving time, place, and numbers, even to the smallest piccaninny. Nay,
+such was the ferocity of the slave-drivers, that unborn infants were
+ripped from their mothers' wombs. Probably these sable Macduffs were
+invented to avenge the wrongs of their race on tyrants protected by
+Satanic devices from injury at the hands of Africans of natural birth.
+Individual effort could not suffice the rage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> for slaughter, and the
+ancient order of "assassins" was revived, with an "Old Man" of the
+swamps at its head. Thus "Ku-Klux" originated, and covered the land with
+a network of crime. Earnest, credulous women in New England had their
+feelings lacerated by these stories, in which they as fondly believed as
+their foremothers in Salem witches.</p>
+
+<p>As crocodiles conceal their prey until it becomes savory and tender and
+ripe for eating, so the Radicals kept these dark corpses to serve up to
+the public when important elections approached, or some especial
+villainy was to be enacted by the Congress. People who had never been
+south of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers knew all about this "Ku-Klux"; but
+I failed, after many inquiries, to find a single man in the South who
+ever heard of it, saving in newspapers. Doubtless there were many acts
+of violence. When ignorant negroes, instigated by pestilent emissaries,
+went beyond endurance, the whites killed them; and this was to be
+expected. The breed to which these whites belong has for eight centuries
+been the master of the earth wherever it has planted its foot. A handful
+conquered and holds in subjection the crowded millions of India. Another
+and smaller bridles the fierce Caffre tribes of South Africa. Place but
+a score of them on the middle course of the Congo, and they will rule
+unless exterminated; and all the armies and all the humanitarians can
+not change this, until the appointed time arrives for Ham to dominate
+Japhet.</p>
+
+<p>Two facts may here be stated. Just in proportion as the whites recovered
+control of their local governments, in that proportion negroes ceased to
+be killed; and when it was necessary to Radical success to multiply
+negro votes, though no census was taken, formal statistics were
+published to prove large immigration of negroes into the very districts
+of slaughter. Certainty of death could not restrain the colored lambs,
+impelled by an uncontrollable ardor to vote the radical ticket, from
+traveling to the wolves. Such devotion deserved the tenderest
+consideration of Christian men and women, and all means of protection
+and loving care were due to this innocent, credulous race. A great
+bureau, the Freedmen's, was established, and in connection with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> it, at
+the seat of government, a bank. It was of importance to teach the
+freedmen, unused to responsibility, industry and economy; and the bank
+was to encourage these virtues by affording a safe place of deposit for
+their small savings. To make assurance doubly sure, the "Christian
+soldier of the United States army" was especially selected to keep the
+money, and he did&mdash;so securely, in point of fact, that it is to be
+apprehended the unfortunate depositors will never see it more. After so
+brilliant an experience in banking, prudence might have suggested to
+this officer the wisdom of retiring from public view. Fortune is
+sometimes jealous of great reputations and fresh laurels. The success of
+his first speech prevented "Single-speech Hamilton" from rising again in
+the House of Commons; Frederick failed to repeat Rossbach, and Napoleon,
+Austerlitz; but the "Christian soldier" rushed on his fate, and met it
+at the hands of the Nez Perc&eacute;s. The profound strategy, the skillful
+tactics, the ready valor that had extinguished bank balances, all failed
+against this wily foe.</p>
+
+<p>While the excitement growing out of the untoward event mentioned was at
+its height, President Johnson summoned me to Washington, where I
+explained all the circumstances, as far as I knew them, of the recent
+murders, and urged him to send General Hancock to command in New
+Orleans. He was sent, and immediately restored order and confidence. A
+gentleman, one of the most distinguished and dashing officers of the
+United States army, General Hancock recognizes both the great duties of
+a soldier of the Republic&mdash;to defend its flag and obey its laws,
+discharging the last with a fidelity equal to his devotion to the first
+in front of battle.</p>
+
+<p>The contest between the Congress and the President now waxed fierce, and
+Thaddeus Stevens, from his place in the House, denounced "the man at the
+other end of the avenue." The President had gone back to wise, lawful
+methods, and desired to restore the Union under the Constitution; and in
+this he was but following the policy declared in his last public
+utterance by President Lincoln. Mr. Johnson could establish this fact by
+members of his predecessor's Cabinet whom he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> retained, and thus
+strengthen his position; but his vanity forbade him, so he called it "my
+policy," as if it were something new.</p>
+
+<p>At his instance, I had many interviews with him, and consulted
+influential men from different parts of the country. His Secretary of
+War was in close alliance with his enemies in the Congress, and
+constantly betraying him. This was susceptible of proof, and I so
+informed the President, and pointed out that, so far from assisting the
+people of the South, he was injuring them by inaction; for the Congress
+persecuted them to worry him. He was President and powerful; they were
+weak and helpless. In truth, President Johnson, slave to his own temper
+and appetites, was unfit to control others.</p>
+
+<p>General Grant yet appeared to agree with me about "reconstruction," as
+it was called; and I was anxious to preserve good feeling on his part
+toward the President. In the light of subsequent events, it is curious
+to recall the fact that he complained of Stanton's retention in the
+Cabinet, because the latter's greed of power prevented the
+Commander-in-Chief of the army from controlling the most minute details
+without interference. I urged this on the President as an additional
+motive for dismissing his War Secretary and replacing him by some one
+agreeable to General Grant; but all in vain. This official "old man of
+the sea" kept his seat on the Presidential neck, never closing crafty
+eye nor traitorous mouth, and holding on with the tenacity of an
+octopus.</p>
+
+<p>Many moderate and whilom influential Republicans determined to assemble
+in convention at Philadelphia, and invited delegates from all parts,
+North and South, to meet them. The object was to promote good feeling
+and an early restoration of the Union, and give aid to the President in
+his struggle with extremists. Averse to appearing before the public, I
+was reluctant to go to this Convention; but the President, who felt a
+deep interest in its success, insisted, and I went. It was largely
+attended, and by men who had founded and long led the Freesoil party.
+Ex-members of Lincoln's first Cabinet, Senators and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> members of the
+Congress, editors of Republican newspapers (among whom was Henry J.
+Raymond, the ablest political editor of the day and an eminent member of
+Congress as well), Southern men who had fought for the Confederacy, were
+there. Northern Republicans and Democrats, long estranged, buried the
+political hatchet and met for a common purpose, to restore the Union.
+Negro-worshipers from Massachusetts and slave-drivers from South
+Carolina entered the vast hall arm in arm. The great meeting rose to its
+feet, and walls and roof shook with applause. General John A. Dix of New
+York called the Convention to order, and, in an eloquent and felicitous
+speech, stated the objects of the assembly&mdash;to renew fraternal feeling
+between the sections, heal the wounds of war, obliterate bitter
+memories, and restore the Union of the fathers. Senator Doolittle of
+Wisconsin was chosen permanent president, and patriotic resolutions were
+adopted by acclamation. All this was of as little avail as the waving of
+a lady's fan against a typhoon. Radical wrath uprose and swept these
+Northern men out of political existence, and they were again taught the
+lesson that is ever forgotten, namely, that it is an easy task to
+inflame the passions of the multitude, an impossible one to arrest them.
+From selfish ambition, from thoughtless zeal, from reckless
+partisanship, from the low motives governing demagogues in a country of
+universal suffrage, men are ever sowing the wind, thinking they can
+control the whirlwind; and the story of the Gironde and the Mountain has
+been related in vain.</p>
+
+<p>The President was charmed with the Convention. Believing the people&mdash;his
+god&mdash;to be with him, his crest rose, and he felt every inch a President.
+Again I urged him to dismiss his War Secretary and replace Mr. Seward,
+Secretary of State, now in disfavor with his own creation, the Radical
+party, by General Dix, who was rewarded for his services at Philadelphia
+by the appointment of Naval Officer at New York. He was an exception to
+the rule above mentioned. A more cautious pilot than Palinurus, this
+respectable person is the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics; and like
+that eminent divine, his creeds sit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> so lightly as to permit him to take
+office under all circumstances. Secretary of the Treasury in the closing
+weeks of President Buchanan, he aroused the North by sending his
+immortal dispatch to the commander of a revenue cutter: "If any man
+attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." This
+bespoke the heart of the patriot, loving his country's banner, and the
+arm of the hero, ready to defend it; and, clad in this armor of proof,
+he has since been invulnerable. The President took kindly to the
+proposition concerning General Dix, and I flattered myself that it would
+come off, when suddenly the General was appointed Minister
+Plenipotentiary to France. I imagine that Mr. Seward had got wind of the
+project and hurried Dix out of the way. Thus, in a few days General Dix
+had the offer of the Netherlands, Naval Office, and France. "Glamis, and
+thane of Cawdor"; and his old age is yet so green, mayhap "the greatest
+is behind."</p>
+
+<p>To air his eloquence and enlighten the minds of his dear people, the
+President made a tour through the North and West, in which his conduct
+and declarations were so extraordinary as to defeat any hopes of success
+for "my policy."</p>
+
+<p>A circumstance connected with the Philadelphia Convention made an
+impression on me at the time. Mr. Raymond was editor of the "New York
+Times," the most powerful Republican journal in the North. Among many
+who had gained large wealth by speculations during the war was Mr.
+Leonard Jerome, a Republican in politics. This gentleman spent his
+fortune so lavishly that his acquaintances and the public shared its
+enjoyment. With other property, Mr. Jerome owned the controlling
+interest in the "Times," then very valuable. Dining in New York with him
+and Mr. Raymond, the latter told me it was useless to support the
+President, who was daily becoming more unpopular, and that the
+circulation and influence of his paper were rapidly diminishing in
+consequence of his adherence to "my policy." Whereupon Mr. Jerome
+replied: "I know but little about politics; but if you think it right to
+stand by the President, I will pay all losses that the 'Times' may
+suffer to the other proprietors." This was unselfish and patriotic; and
+I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> record it with the more pleasure, because Mr. Jerome has lost much of
+his wealth, and I fear, like many another Timon, some friends with it.</p>
+
+<p>After this period I saw little of President Johnson, who fought his
+fight in his own way, had his hands completely tied, and barely escaped
+impeachment; the Congress, meanwhile, making a whipping-post of the
+South, and inflicting upon it every humiliation that malignity could
+devise.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT.</p>
+
+
+<p>Before the conventions to nominate candidates for the Presidency met in
+1868, I had much intercourse with General Grant, and found him ever
+modest and determined to steer clear of politics, or at least not permit
+himself to be used by partisans; and I have no doubt that he was
+sincere. But the Radical Satan took him up to the high places and
+promised him dominion over all in view. Perhaps none but a divine being
+can resist such temptation. He accepted the nomination from the
+Radicals, and was elected; and though I received friendly messages from
+him, I did not see him until near the close of his first administration.
+As ignorant of civil government as of the characters on the Moabitish
+stone, President Grant begun badly, and went from bad to worse. The
+appointments to office that he made, the associates whom he gathered
+around him, were astounding. All his own relatives, all his wife's
+relatives, all the relatives of these relatives, to the remotest
+cousinhood, were quartered on the public treasury. Never, since King
+Jamie crossed the Tweed with the hungry Scotch nation at his heels, has
+the like been seen; and the soul of old Newcastle, greatest of English
+nepotists, must have turned green with envy. The influence of this on
+the public was most disastrous. Already shortened by the war, the
+standard of morality, honesty, and right was buried out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>For two or three years I was much in the North, and especially in New
+York, where I had dear friends. The war had afforded opportunity and
+stimulated appetite for reckless speculation. Vast fortunes had been
+acquired by new men, destitute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> of manners, taste, or principles. The
+vulgar insolence of wealth held complete possession of public places and
+carried by storm the citadels of society. Indeed, society disappeared.
+As in the middle ages, to escape pollution, honorable men and refined
+women (and there are many such in the North) fled to sanctuary and
+desert, or, like early Christians in the catacombs, met secretly and in
+fear. The masses sank into a condition that would disgrace Australian
+natives, and lost all power of discrimination.</p>
+
+<p>The Vice-President of the United States accepted bribes, and perjured
+himself in vain to escape exposure. President Grant wrote him a letter
+to assure him of his continued esteem and confidence, and this
+Vice-President has since lectured before "Young Men's Christian
+Associations." Plunderings by members of the Congress excited no
+attention so long as they were confined to individuals or corporations.
+It was only when they voted themselves money out of taxes paid by the
+people, that these last growled and frightened some of the statesmen
+into returning it. A banker, the pet of the Government, holding the same
+especial relation to it that the Bank of England held to William of
+Orange, discovered that "a great national debt was a blessing," and was
+commended and rewarded therefor. With a palace on the shores of the
+Delaware, this banker owned a summer retreat on a lovely isle amid the
+waters of Lake Erie. A pious man, he filled this with many divines, who
+blessed all his enterprises. He contributed largely, too, to the support
+of an influential Christian journal to aid in disseminating truth to
+Jew, Gentile, and heathen. The divines and the Christian journal were
+employed to persuade widows and weak men to purchase his rotten
+securities, as things too righteous to occasion loss.</p>
+
+<p>The most eloquent preacher in the land, of a race devoted to adoration
+of negroes, as Hannibal to hatred of Rome, compromised the wife of a
+member of his congregation. Discovered by the husband, he groveled
+before him in humiliation as before "his God" (his own expression).
+Brought before the public, he swore that he was innocent, and denied the
+meaning of his own written words. The scandal endured for months and
+gave an opportunity to the metropolitan journals to display<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> their
+enterprise by furnishing daily and minute reports of all details to
+their readers. The influence of the preacher was increased by this. His
+congregation flocked to him as the Anabaptists to John of Leyden, and
+shopkeepers profitably advertised their wares by doubling their
+subscriptions to augment his salary. Far from concealing this wound
+inflicted on his domestic honor, the injured husband proclaimed it from
+the housetops, clothed himself in it as in a robe of price, and has
+successfully used it to become a popular lecturer.</p>
+
+<p>To represent the country at the capital of an ancient monarchy, a man
+was selected whom, it is no abuse of language to declare, Titus Oates
+after his release from the pillory would have blushed to recognize. On
+the eve of his departure, as one may learn from the newspapers of the
+day, all that was richest and best in New York gathered around a banquet
+in his honor, congratulated the country to which he was accredited, and
+lamented the misfortune of their own that it would be deprived, even
+temporarily, of such virtue. Another was sent to an empire which is
+assured by our oft-succeeding envoys that it is the object of our
+particular affection. To the aristocracy of the realm this genial person
+taught the favorite game of the mighty West. A man of broad views,
+feeling that diplomatic attentions were due to commons as well as to
+crown and nobles, he occasionally withdrew himself from the social
+pleasures of the "West End" to inform the stags of Capel Court of the
+value of American mines. Benefactors are ever misjudged. Aristocracy and
+the many-antlered have since united to defame him; but Galileo in the
+dungeon, Pascal by his solitary lamp, More, Sidney, and Russell on the
+scaffold, will console him; and in the broad bosom of his native Ohio he
+has found the exception to the rule that prophets are not without honor
+but in their own country.</p>
+
+<p>The years of Methuselah and the pen of Juvenal would not suffice to
+exhaust the list, or depict the benighted state into which we had
+fallen; but it can be asserted of the popular idols of the day that
+unveiled, they resemble Mokanna, and can each exclaim:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span></p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 15em;">
+"Here, judge if hell, with all its power to damn,<br />
+Can add one curse to the foul thing I am!"<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The examples of thousands of pure and upright people in the North were
+as powerless to mitigate the general corruption as song of seraphim to
+purify the orgies of harlots and burglars; for they were not in harmony
+with the brutal passions of the masses.</p>
+
+<p>In Boston, July, 1872, as co-trustees of the fund left by the late Mr.
+Peabody for the education of the poor in the Southern States, President
+Grant and I met for the first time since he had accepted the nomination
+from the Radical party. He was a candidate for re&euml;lection, and much
+worshiped; and, though cordial with me, his general manner had something
+of "I am the State." Stopping at the same inn, he passed an evening in
+my room, to which he came alone; and there, avoiding public affairs, we
+smoked and chatted about the Nueces, Rio Grande, Palo Alto, etc.&mdash;things
+twenty-five years agone, when we were youngsters beginning life. He was
+re&euml;lected in November by a large majority of electoral votes; but the
+people of Louisiana elected a Democratic Governor and Assembly. When, in
+January following, the time of meeting of the Assembly arrived, the
+country, habituated as it was to violent methods, was startled by the
+succeeding occurrences.</p>
+
+<p>The night before the Assembly was to meet, the Federal Judge in the city
+of New Orleans, a drunken reprobate, obtained from the commander of the
+United States troops a portion of his force, and stationed it in the
+State House. In the morning the members elect were refused admittance,
+and others not elected, many not even candidates during the election,
+were allowed to enter. One Packard, Marshal of the Federal Court, a
+bitter partisan and worthy adjunct of such a judge, had provided for an
+Assembly to suit himself by giving tickets to his friends, whom the
+soldiers passed in, excluding the elected members. The ring-streaked,
+spotted, and speckled among the cattle and goats, and the brown among
+the sheep, were turned into the supplanters' folds, which were filled
+with lowing herds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> and bleating flocks, while Laban had neither horn nor
+hoof. There was not a solitary return produced in favor of this Packard
+body, nor of the Governor subsequently installed; but the Radicals
+asserted that their friends would have been elected had the people voted
+as they wished, for every negro and some whites in the State upheld
+their party. By this time the charming credulity of the negroes had
+abated, and they answered the statement that slave-drivers were
+murdering their race in adjacent regions by saying that slave-drivers,
+at least, did not tell them lies nor steal their money.</p>
+
+<p>All the whites and many of the blacks in Louisiana felt themselves
+cruelly wronged by the action of the Federal authorities. Two Assemblies
+were in session and two Governors claiming power in New Orleans.
+Excitement was intense, business arrested, and collision between the
+parties imminent. As the Packard faction was supported by Federal
+troops, the situation looked grave, and a number of worthy people urged
+me to go to Washington, where my personal relations with the President
+might secure me access to him. It was by no means a desirable mission,
+but duty seemed to require me to undertake it.</p>
+
+<p>Accompanied by Thomas F. Bayard, Senator from Delaware, my first step in
+Washington was to call on the leader of the Radicals in the Senate,
+Morton of Indiana, when a long conversation ensued, from which I derived
+no encouragement. Senator Morton was the Couthon of his party, and this
+single interview prepared me for one of his dying utterances to warn the
+country against the insidious efforts of slave-driving rebels to regain
+influence in the Government. The author of the natural history of
+Ireland would doubtless have welcomed one specimen, by describing which
+he could have filled out a chapter on snakes; and there is temptation to
+dwell on the character of Senator Morton as one of the few Radical
+leaders who kept his hands clean of plunder. But it may be observed that
+one absorbing passion excludes all others from the human heart; and the
+small portion of his being in which disease had left vitality was set on
+vengeance. Death has re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>cently clutched him, and would not be denied;
+and he is bewailed throughout the land as though he had possessed the
+knightly tenderness of Sir Philip Sidney and the lofty patriotism of
+Chatham.</p>
+
+<p>The President received me pleasantly, gave much time to the Louisiana
+difficulty, and, in order to afford himself opportunity for full
+information, asked me frequently to dine with his immediate family,
+composed of kindly, worthy people. I also received attention and
+hospitality from some members of his Cabinet, who with him seemed
+desirous to find a remedy for the wrong. More especially was this true
+of the Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, with whom and whose refined
+family I had an acquaintance. Of a distinguished Revolutionary race,
+possessor of a good estate, and with charming, cultivated surroundings,
+this gentleman seemed the Noah of the political world. Perhaps his
+retention in the Cabinet was due to a belief that, under the new and
+milder dispensation, the presence of one righteous man might avert the
+doom of Gomorrah. An exception existed in the person of the
+Attorney-General, a man, as eminent barristers declare, ignorant of law
+and self-willed and vulgar. For some reason he had much influence with
+the President, who later appointed him Chief Justice of the United
+States; but the Senatorial gorge, indelicate as it had proved, rose at
+this, as the easy-shaving barber's did at the coal-heaver, and rejected
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Weeks elapsed, during which I felt hopeful from the earnestness
+manifested in my mission by the President and several of his Cabinet.
+Parties were in hostile array in New Orleans, but my friends were
+restrained by daily reports of the situation at Washington. Only my
+opinion that there was some ground for hope could be forwarded.
+Conversations at dinner tables or in private interviews with the
+Executive and his advisers could not, then or since, be repeated; and
+this of necessity gave room for misconstruction, as will appear. At
+length, on the day before the Congress was by law to adjourn, the
+President sent a message to the Senate, informing that body that, in the
+event the Congress failed to take action on the Louisiana mat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>ter, he
+should esteem it his duty to uphold the Government created by the
+Federal Judge. I left Washington at once, and did not revisit it for
+nearly four years.</p>
+
+<p>I believe that President Grant was sincere with me, and went as far as
+he felt it safe. No doubt the Senatorial hyenas brought him to
+understand these unspoken words: "We have supported your acts, confirmed
+your appointments, protected and whitewashed your friends; but there are
+bones which we can not give up without showing our teeth, and Louisiana
+is one of them."</p>
+
+<p>The failure to obtain relief for the State of my birth, and whose soil
+covered the remains of all most dear, was sad enough, and the attempt
+had involved much unpleasant work; but I had my reward. Downfall of
+hope, long sustained, was bitter to the people, especially to the
+leaders expectant of office; and I became an object of distrust.
+"Nothing succeeds like success," and nothing fails like failure, and the
+world is quite right to denounce it. The British Ministry shot an
+admiral for failing to relieve Minorca&mdash;to encourage others, as Voltaire
+remarked. Byng died silent, without plaint, which was best. The drunken
+Federal Judge, author of the outrages, was universally condemned, with
+one exception, of which more anon. Both branches of the Congress,
+controlled by Radicals, pronounced his conduct to have been illegal and
+unjust, and he was driven from the bench with articles of impeachment
+hanging over him. Nevertheless, the Government evolved from his
+unjudicial consciousness was upheld by President Grant with Federal
+bayonets.</p>
+
+<p>Two years later the people of Louisiana elected an Assembly, a majority
+of whose members were opposed to the fraudulent Governor, Kellogg. The
+President sent United States soldiers into the halls of the Assembly to
+expel members at the point of the bayonet. Lieutenant-General Sheridan,
+the military maid of all (such) work, came especially to superintend
+this business, and it was now that he expressed the desire to
+exterminate "banditti." The destruction of buildings and food in the
+Valley of Virginia, to the confusion of the crows, was his Sala<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>manca;
+but this was his Waterloo, and great was the fame of the
+Lieutenant-General of the Radicals.</p>
+
+<p>This <i>Governor</i> Kellogg is the Senator recently seated, of whom mention
+has been made, and, if a lesser quantity than zero be conceivable, with
+a worse title to the office than he had to that of Governor of
+Louisiana. So far as known, he is a commonplace rogue; but his party has
+always rallied to his support, as the "Tenth Legion" to its eagles.
+Indeed, it is difficult to understand the qualities or objects that
+enlist the devotion and compel the worship of humanity. Travelers in the
+Orient tell of majestic fanes, whose mighty walls and countless columns
+are rich with elaborate carvings. Hall succeeds hall, each more
+beautifully wrought than the other, until the innermost, the holy of
+holies, is reached, and there is found enshrined&mdash;a shriveled ape.</p>
+
+<p>The sole exception referred to in the case of the drunken Federal Judge
+was a lawyer of small repute, who had been Democratic in his political
+tendencies. Languishing in obscurity, he saw and seized his opportunity,
+and rushed into print in defense of the Judge and in commendation of the
+President for upholding such judicial action. It is of record that this
+lawyer, in the society of some men of letters, declared Dante to be the
+author of the Decameron; but one may be ignorant of the Italian poets
+and thoroughly read in French memoirs. During the war of the Spanish
+succession, the Duke of Vend&ocirc;me, filthiest of generals, not excepting
+Suvaroff, commanded the French army in Italy. To negotiate protection
+for their States, the Italian princes sent agents to Vend&ocirc;me; but the
+agents sent by the Duke of Parma were so insulted by the bestialities of
+the French commander as to go back to their master without negotiating,
+and no decent man would consent to return. A starving little abb&eacute;
+volunteered for the service, and, possessing a special aptitude for
+baseness, succeeded in his mission. Thus Alberoni, afterward Cardinal
+and Prime Minister of Spain, got his foot on the first rung of the
+ladder of fame. The details of the story are too gross to repeat, and
+the Memoirs of the Duke of St. Simon must be consulted for them; but
+our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> lawyer assuredly had read them. Many may imitate Homer, however
+feebly; one genius originated his epics.</p>
+
+<p>Having entered on this lofty career, our Alberoni stuck to it with the
+tenacity of a ferret in pursuit of rabbits, and was rewarded, though not
+at the time nor to the extent he had reason to expect. The mission to
+England was promised him by the reigning powers, when, on the very eve
+of securing his prize, a stick was put in the wheels of his progress,
+and by a brother's hand. Another legal personage, practicing at the same
+bar, that of New York, and a friend, did the deed. "Chloe was false,
+Chloe was common, but constant while possessed"; but here Chloe was
+without the last quality. In 1868, General Grant's election pending,
+Chloe was affiliated with the Democratic party, and had been chosen one
+of the captains of its citadel, a sachem of Tammany. Scenting success
+for Grant, with the keenness of the vulture for his prey, he attended a
+Radical meeting and announced his intention to give twenty thousand
+dollars to the Radical election fund. This sum appears to have been the
+market value of a seat in the Cabinet, to which ultimately he was
+called. When the English mission became vacant by the resignation of the
+incumbent, disgusted by British ingratitude, Chloe quitted the Cabinet
+to take it, and Alberoni was left wearing weeds. Yet much allowance is
+due to family affection, the foundation of social organization.
+Descended from a noble stock, though under a somewhat different name,
+Chloe from mystic sources learned that his English relatives pined for
+his society, and devotion to family ties tempted him to betray his
+friend. Subsequently Alberoni was appointed to a more northern country,
+where he may find congenial society; for, in a despotism tempered only
+by assassination, the knees of all become pliant before power.</p>
+
+<p>It is pleasant to mark the early steps of nascent ambition. In the time
+of the great Napoleon every conscript carried the baton of a marshal in
+his knapsack; and in our happy land every rogue may be said to have an
+appointment to office in his pocket. This is also pleasant.</p>
+
+<p>Since the spring of 1873, when he gave himself up to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> worst elements
+of his party, I have not seen President Grant; but his career suggests
+some curious reflections to one who has known him for thirty-odd years.
+What the waiting-woman promised in jest, Dame Fortune has seriously
+bestowed on this Malvolio, and his political cross-garterings not only
+find favor with the Radical Olivia, but are admired by the Sir Tobys of
+the European world. Indeed, Fortune has conceits as quaint as those of
+Haroun al-Raschid. The beggar, from profound sleep, awoke in the
+Caliph's bed. Amazed and frightened by his surroundings, he slowly
+gained composure as courtier after courtier entered, bowing low, to
+proclaim him King of kings, Light of the World, Commander of the
+Faithful; and he speedily came to believe that the present had always
+existed, while the real past was an idle dream. Of a nature kindly and
+modest, President Grant was assured by all about him that he was the
+delight of the Radicals, greatest captain of the age, and saviour of the
+nation's life. It was inevitable that he should begin by believing some
+of this, and end by believing it all. Though he had wasted but little
+time on books since leaving West Point, where in his day the curriculum
+was limited, he had found out to the last shilling the various sums
+voted by Parliament to the Duke of Wellington, and spoke of them in a
+manner indicating his opinion that he was another example of the
+ingratitude of republics. The gentle temper and sense of justice of
+Othello resisted the insidious wiles of Iago; but ignorance and
+inexperience yielded in the end to malignity and craft. President Grant
+was brought not only to smother the Desdemona of his early preferences
+and intentions, but to feel no remorse for the deed, and take to his
+bosom the harridan of radicalism. As Phalaris did those of Agrigentum
+opposed to his rule, he finished by hating Southerners and Democrats.</p>
+
+<p>During the struggle for the Presidency in the autumn of 1876, he
+permitted a member of his Cabinet, the Secretary of the Interior, to
+become the manager of the Radicals and use all the power of his office,
+established for the public service, to promote the success of his
+party's candidate.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Fourtou, Minister of the Interior, removed pre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>fects and mayors
+to strengthen the power of De Broglie; whereupon all the newspapers in
+our land published long essays to show and lament the ignorance of the
+French and their want of experience in republican methods. One might
+suppose these articles to have been written by the "seven sleepers," so
+forgetful were they of yesterday's occurrences at home; but beams near
+at hand are ever blinked in our search of distant motes. The election
+over, but the result in dispute, President Grant, in Philadelphia,
+alarmed thoughtful people by declaring that "no man could take the great
+office of President upon whose title thereto the faintest shadow of
+doubt rested," and then, with all the power of the Government,
+successfully led the search for this non-existing person. To insure
+fairness in the count, so that none could carp, he requested eminent
+statesmen to visit South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, the electoral
+votes of which were claimed by both parties; but the statesmen were,
+without exception, the bitterest and most unscrupulous partisans,
+personally interested in securing victory for their candidate, and have
+since received their hire. Soldiers were quartered in the capitals of
+the three States to aid the equitable statesmen in reaching a correct
+result by applying the bayonet if the figures proved refractory. With
+equity and force at work, the country might confidently expect justice;
+and justice was done&mdash;that justice ever accorded by unscrupulous power
+to weakness.</p>
+
+<p>But one House of the Congress was controlled by the Democrats, and
+these, Herod-like, were seeking to slay the child, the Nation. To guard
+against this, President Grant ordered other troops to Washington and a
+ship of war to be anchored in the Potomac, and the child was preserved.
+Again, the 4th of March, appointed by law for the installation of
+Presidents, fell on Sunday. President Grant is of Scotch descent, and
+doubtless learned in the traditions of the land o' cakes. The example of
+Kirkpatrick at Dumfries taught him that it was wise to "mak sicker"; so
+the incoming man and the Chief Justice were smuggled into the White
+House on the sabbath day, and the oath of office was administered. If
+the chair of George Wash<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>ington was to be filched, it were best done
+under cover. The value of the loot inspired caution.</p>
+
+<p>In Paris, at a banquet, Ma&icirc;tre Gambetta recently toasted our
+ex-President "as the great commander who had sacredly obeyed and
+preserved his country's laws." Whether this was said in irony or
+ignorance, had General Grant taken with him to Paris his late Secretary
+of the Interior, the accomplished Z. Chandler, the pair might have
+furnished suggestions to Marshal MacMahon and Fourtou that would have
+changed the dulcet strains of Ma&icirc;tre Gambetta into dismal howls.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<p class='center'>CONCLUSION.</p>
+
+
+<p>Dismissing hope of making my small voice heard in mitigation of the woes
+of my State, in May, 1873, I went to Europe and remained many months.
+Returned to New York, I found that the characters on the wall, so long
+invisible, had blazed forth, and the vast factitious wealth, like the
+gold of the dervish, withered and faded in a night. The scenes depicted
+of Paris and London, after the collapse of Mississippi schemes and South
+Sea bubbles, were here repeated on a greater scale and in more
+aggravated form. To most, the loss of wealth was loss of ancestry,
+repute, respectability, decency, recognition of their fellows&mdash;all.
+Small wonder that their withers were fearfully wrung, and their wails
+piteous. Enterprise and prosperity were frozen as in a sea of
+everlasting ice, and guardians of trusts, like Ugolino, plunged their
+robber fangs into the scalps and entrails of the property confided to
+them.</p>
+
+<p>A public journal has recently published a detailed list, showing that
+there has been plundered by fiduciaries since 1873 the amazing amount of
+thirty millions of money; and the work goes on. Scarce a newspaper is
+printed in whose columns may not be found some fresh instance of breach
+of trust. As poisoning in the time of Brinvilliers, stealing is
+epidemic, and the watch-dogs of the flocks are transformed into wolves.</p>
+
+<p>Since the tocsin sounded we have gone from bad to worse. During the past
+summer (1877) laborers, striking for increased wages or to resist
+diminution thereof, seized and held for many days the railway lines
+between East and West, stopping all traffic. Aided by mobs, they took
+possession of great towns and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> destroyed vast property. At Pittsburgh,
+in Pennsylvania, State troops attempting to restore order were attacked
+and driven off. Police and State authorities in most cases proved
+impotent, and the arm of Federal power was invoked to stay the evil.</p>
+
+<p>Thousands of the people are without employment, which they seek in vain;
+and from our cities issue heartrending appeals in behalf of the
+suffering poor. From the Atlantic as far to the west as the young State
+of Nebraska, there has fallen upon the land a calamity like that
+afflicting Germany after the Thirty Years' War. Hordes of idle, vicious
+tramps penetrate rural districts in all directions, rendering property
+and even life unsafe; and no remedy for this new disease has been
+discovered. Let us remember that these things are occurring in a country
+of millions upon millions of acres of vacant lands, to be had almost for
+the asking, and where, even in the parts first colonized, density of
+population bears but a small relation to that of western Europe. Yet we
+daily assure ourselves and the world that we have the best government
+under the canopy of heaven, and the happiest land, hope and refuge of
+humanity.</p>
+
+<p>Purified by fire and sword, the South has escaped many of these evils;
+but her enemies have sown the seeds of a pestilence more deadly than
+that rising from Pontine marshes. Now that Federal bayonets have been
+turned from her bosom, this poison, the influence of three fourths of a
+million of negro voters, will speedily ascend and sap her vigor and
+intelligence. Greed of office, curse of democracies, will impel
+demagogues to grovel deeper and deeper in the mire in pursuit of
+ignorant votes. Her old breed of statesmen has largely passed away
+during and since the civil war, and the few survivors are naturally
+distrusted, as responsible for past errors. Numbers of her gentry fell
+in battle, and the men now on the stage were youths at the outbreak of
+strife, which arrested their education. This last is also measurably
+true of the North. Throughout the land the experience of the active
+portion of the present generation only comprises conditions of discord
+and violence. The story of the six centuries of sturdy effort by which
+our English forefathers wrought out their liberties is unknown,
+certainly unappreciated.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> Even the struggles of our grandfathers are
+forgotten, and the names of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jay, Marshall,
+Madison, and Story awaken no fresher memories in our minds, no deeper
+emotions in our hearts, than do those of Solon, Leonidas, and Pericles.
+But respect for the memories and deeds of our ancestors is security for
+the present, seed-corn for the future; and, in the language of Burke,
+"Those will not look forward to their posterity who never look backward
+to their ancestors."</p>
+
+<p>Traditions are mighty influences in restraining peoples. The light that
+reaches us from above takes countless ages to traverse the awful chasm
+separating us from its parent star; yet it comes straight and true to
+our eyes, because each tender wavelet is linked to the other, receiving
+and transmitting the luminous ray. Once break the continuity of the
+stream, and men will deny its heavenly origin, and seek its source in
+the feeble glimmer of earthly corruption.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>INDEX.</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+Acadian exiles in Attakapas, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their descendants, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</span><br />
+
+Alabama delegates retire from Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+
+Alberoni, Abb&eacute;, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.<br />
+
+Andersonville Prison, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.<br />
+
+Antietam a drawn battle, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br />
+
+Antipathy to the South, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.<br />
+
+Anti-slavery agitation, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.<br />
+
+Army, Confederate, of Virginia moved to Gordonsville, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.<br />
+
+Ashby, General Turner, during march to Harrisonburg, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">no disciplinarian, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</span><br />
+
+Attakapas, home of the Acadians, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Bank of Tennessee, its treasure restored, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br />
+
+Banks, General N.P., his ignorance and arrogance, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">retreats to Alexandria, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his army demoralized, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his misleading dispatches, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</span><br />
+
+Baton Rouge, Confederates repulsed, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br />
+
+Bayou des Allemands surprised, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br />
+
+Beauregard, General P.G.T., his coolness and courage at Manassas, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+
+Berwick's Bay captured by Confederates, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the prisoners and spoil, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</span><br />
+
+Bisland attacked by Federals, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Blunders of Confederates in first Richmond campaign, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br />
+
+Bourbeau Bayou, Confederate success there, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br />
+
+Boyd, Belle, Confederate spy, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
+
+Bragg, General B., occupies Pensacola, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">services in United States army, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a strong disciplinarian, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">invades Kentucky, <a href="#Page_100"><i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his petulance, <a href="#Page_100"><i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+Brent, Major J.L., Taylor's chief of artillery, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his fertility of resource, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span><br />
+
+Brown, Joseph, Governor of Georgia, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.<br />
+
+Bugeaud's "Maxims," <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br />
+
+Burton, General, commandant of Fortress Monroe, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.<br />
+
+Butler, General B.F., in the Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>:<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">puts a stop to marauding, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br />
+
+<br />
+Canby, General E.R.S., invests the Mobile forts, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the city occupied, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</span><br />
+
+Carpet-baggers, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.<br />
+
+Cavalry, Confederate, its indiscipline, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br />
+
+Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.<br />
+
+Civil War, causes of the, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br />
+
+Cobb, Howell, and the defenses of Macon, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</span><br />
+
+Cold Harbor, battle of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br />
+
+Collapse of the Confederacy, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.<br />
+
+Confederate government at Montgomery, its vacillation, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+
+Conventions called to repeal secession ordinances, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">this action punished as rebellion, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</span><br />
+
+Corruption, political and social, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.<br />
+
+Cotton, Confederate gunboat, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br />
+
+Courtesy to a wounded prisoner, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.<br />
+
+Creoles of Louisiana not an effete race, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.<br />
+
+Cushing, Caleb, in the Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Davis, Henry Winter, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.<br />
+
+Davis, Jefferson, his amiability, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a prisoner in Fortress Monroe, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</span><br />
+
+Disease in the Confederate Army of Virginia, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br />
+
+Diana, gunboat, captured by Confederates, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+
+"District of Louisiana," its military resources, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>
+Dix, General John A., in the Philadelphia Convention, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</span><br />
+
+
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Embezzlement and breach of trust, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</span><br />
+
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Engineer service unfits for command, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Ewell, Lieutenant-General R.S., his services in the United States army, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his manner and personal appearance, <a href="#Page_37"><i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his absence of mind, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</span><br />
+
+<br />
+Farragut, Admiral D.G., opens the Mississippi to Vicksburg, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br />
+
+Fessenden, General, his account of the Pleasant Hill battle, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br />
+
+Fish, Hamilton, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.<br />
+
+Forrest, General, by nature a great soldier, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">secret of his success, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his kindly disposition,<a href="#Page_200"> <i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+Fort Butler unsuccessfully attacked, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br />
+
+Fort de Russy captured, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br />
+
+Frazier's Farm, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br />
+
+Freedmen's Bureau and Bank, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.<br />
+
+Fremont routed at Strasburg, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">beaten at Cross Keys, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</span><br />
+
+Front Royal captured by Taylor, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br />
+
+Fuller, Captain, improvises a gunboat, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">delays Federal advance up the Teche, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</span><br />
+
+Fusilier, Leclerc, his gallantry and munificence, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Gettysburg battle, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.<br />
+
+Gibson, General R.L., his defense of Spanish Fort, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.<br />
+
+Governments set up by the military in Southern States, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.<br />
+
+Grant, General, opposed to advance on Richmond by land, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">testimony concerning this point, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>,<a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor"> <i>note</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">begins operations against Vicksburg, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">classed with Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his error at Vicksburg, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his modesty and generosity, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposed to reconstruction at first, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his part in the election of 1876, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</span><br />
+
+Green, Major-General Thomas, killed, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br />
+
+Gunboats, the terror they at first inspired, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Hancock, Major-General W.S., restores order at New Orleans, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.<br />
+
+Hardee, Major-General, his modesty, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.<br />
+
+Hood, Lieutenant-General, his losses at Franklin, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">superseded by Taylor, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his army after defeat, <a href="#Page_217"> <i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+Horsemen strapped to their steeds, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Ignorance claims its victims, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+
+Immigration, how it determined the events of 1860, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.<br />
+
+Indianola, iron-clad, passes Vicksburg, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sunk by the Confederates, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</span><br />
+
+"Initiative" and "defensive," <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br />
+
+Irishmen as soldiers, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Jackson, General T.J. (Stonewall), his appearance and manner, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his care for the ammunition trains, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">routs Banks at Winchester, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his inner nature, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ranked with Nelson and Havelock, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</span><br />
+
+Jerome, Leonard, and the New York "Times," <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.<br />
+
+Johnson, Andrew, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.<br />
+
+Johnston, General Albert Sidney, his services in the United States<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Army, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">character, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death an irreparable loss, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</span><br />
+
+Johnston, General Joseph E., his estrangement from Jefferson Davis, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">moves his army to Orange Court House, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">services in United States army,<a href="#Page_35"> <i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a master of logistics, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his neglect of opportunity,<a href="#Page_43"> <i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+<br />
+Kellogg, William Pitt, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.<br />
+
+Kentucky, invasion of, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.<br />
+
+"King Cotton" a tyrant, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.<br />
+
+Ku-Klux assassinations, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Labor troubles in the North, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.<br />
+
+Lee, General R.E., his force at opening of first Richmond campaign, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his strategy commended, <a href="#Page_86"><i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">place in Southern history, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mistakes, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his tactics inferior to his strategy,<a href="#Page_97"> <i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his surrender proclaimed to Taylor's army, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</span><br />
+
+Lee, General A.L., his account of the battle of Pleasant Hill, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br />
+
+Louisiana secedes from the Union, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">temper of the people, <a href="#Page_13"><i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+Louisiana Brigade, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its losses at Cold Harbor, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</span><br />
+
+Louisiana, the State government overturned, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-<a href="#Page_262">262</a>.<br />
+
+Louisiana, Western, its topography and river systems, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Malvern Hill battle, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br />
+
+Manassas, first battle of, encourages the Confederates, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect at the North, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</span><br />
+
+Mansfield, battle of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br />
+
+Mechanical resources wanting to the South, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>
+Missouri compromise, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br />
+
+Mobile, its defenses, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">occupied by General Canby, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</span><br />
+
+Moore, Thomas O., Governor of Louisiana, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br />
+
+Morton, Senator, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.<br />
+
+Mouton, Alexander, president of Louisiana Convention, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his zeal for the Southern cause, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</span><br />
+
+McClellan, General George B., assumes command of Potomac army, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his work as an organizer, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his strategy, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his force at beginning of Richmond campaign, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in battle of Cold Harbor, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his topographical knowledge, <a href="#Page_87"><i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">as a commander, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lacked audacity, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</span><br />
+
+McDowell, Major-General Irvin, his plan of battle at Manassas, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+
+Magruder, General, as a commander, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+
+Malvern Hill, battle of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Negro slaves, their fidelity, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Office-seeking, the curse of democracies, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Pemberton, General, his services in the United States army, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unfitness for independent command, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his blunder at Vicksburg, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</span><br />
+
+Philadelphia Convention, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.<br />
+
+Pleasant Hill, battle of, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.<br />
+
+Polignac, Prince Charles, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.<br />
+
+Pope, General, his incapacity, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br />
+
+Port Hudson taken by Federals, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.<br />
+
+Port Republic, Federal repulse, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br />
+
+Porter, Admiral D.D., ascends Red River, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assists in taking Fort de Russy,<a href="#Page_155"> <i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his report on battle of Pleasant Hill, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his losses in descending Red River, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">report on Banks's retreat to Alexandria, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</span><br />
+
+Presidential election of 1876, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.<br />
+
+Provost-marshals, their exactions, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Queen of the West, gunboat, runs the Vicksburg batteries, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captured by Confederates, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</span><br />
+
+<br />
+Railroads, inefficiency of the Southern, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.<br />
+
+Red River opened by the Federals, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br />
+
+Richmond, Dean, in the Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+
+River systems of Western Louisiana, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Salt mines at Petit Anse, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br />
+
+Selma taken by Federals, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.<br />
+
+Seward, W.H., <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.<br />
+
+Seymour, Colonel, killed at Cold Harbor, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br />
+
+Sheridan, General P.H., in New Orleans, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his course approved by a renegade Democrat, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</span><br />
+
+Sherman, General W.T., his way of making war, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.<br />
+
+Shiloh, battle of, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.<br />
+
+Slavery not the cause of the civil war, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.<br />
+
+Smith, Lieutenant-General E. Kirby, in command of the "Trans-Mississippi
+Department," <a href="#Page_126">126</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his military record, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">orders re&euml;nforcement of Pemberton, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his administration, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his anxiety about safety of Shreveport, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">allows Banks and Porter to escape, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">compared to Quintilius Varus, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</span><br />
+
+South Carolina delegates in Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+
+Southern leaders after Lee's surrender, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.<br />
+
+"Southern Outrages," <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br />
+
+Southrons have no aptitude for marching, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.<br />
+
+Stanton, E.M., <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.<br />
+
+Statesmanship lacking to the Confederacy, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.<br />
+
+Stephens, Alexander H., his character, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his views concerning military matters,<a href="#Page_29"> <i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his tergiversation, <a href="#Page_29"><i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">neglect of Jefferson Davis, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</span><br />
+
+Stevens, Thaddeus, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.<br />
+
+Straggling in the Southern army, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.<br />
+
+Strasburg, affair at, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br />
+
+Sufferings of the people after the war, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.<br />
+
+Sumner, Charles, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Tactical mistakes of Confederate generals, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Taylor, R. (the author), a delegate to Charleston, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his efforts to promote harmony, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sees war to be inevitable, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commissioned colonel, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brigadier, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habit of noting topography and resources of districts, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disposition for meeting or making an attack,<a href="#Page_40"> <i>ib.</i></a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Louisiana brigade, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">major-general, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in command of District of Louisiana, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lieutenant-general, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">supersedes Hood, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his army sent into North Carolina, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>;</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">his surrender, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">return home, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits Jeff. Davis in Fortress Monroe, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</span><br />
+
+Teche country, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">military operations in, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</span><br />
+
+Tents, useless <i>impedimenta</i>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.<br />
+
+Toombs, General Robert, takes Georgia "home-guards" out of their
+State, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.<br />
+
+Topography, ignorance of, among Confederates, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br />
+
+"Trans-Mississippi Department," its last hours, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br />
+
+Troopers strapped to their horses, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">protected by breastplates,<a href="#Page_55"> <i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+Truce concluded between Generals Canby and Taylor, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br />
+
+Turenne, anecdote of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Universal suffrage, its effects on a people, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Valley of Virginia, its opulence, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">laid waste by General Sheridan, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</span><br />
+
+Vicksburg, attempts to relieve it, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Vicksburg and Fort Hudson, importance of, to the Confederates, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Walker, General W.H.T., his services in the United States army, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins forces with Taylor, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</span><br />
+
+War, its demoralizing effects on the North, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.<br />
+
+Washington City after the war, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.<br />
+
+Weitzel, General, ascends the Teche, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his successes, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</span><br />
+Louisiana, its topography, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+
+Wheat, Major, his turbulent battalion, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his checkered career, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</span><br />
+
+Wilson, General, captures Selma, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.<br />
+
+Winchester, battle of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+
+Winder, General Charles, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Winston, ex-Governor, his conservatism, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his change of views, <a href="#Page_12"><i>ib.</i></a></span><br />
+
+Wirtz, his efforts to better the condition of prisoners, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.<br />
+
+Wyndham, Colonel Percy, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br />
+
+<br />
+Yancey, William L., his influence in the Charleston Convention, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p class='center' style="margin-bottom: 25em;">THE END.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h4>
+RECENT</h4>
+<h4>American History and Biography.
+</h4>
+
+<p class='center'>I.</p>
+
+<p><i>Four Years with General Lee:</i></p>
+
+<p>Being a Summary of the more Important Events touching the Career of
+General Robert E. Lee, in the War between the States; together with an
+Authoritative Statement of the Strength of the Army which he commanded
+in the Field. By <span class="smcap">William H. Taylor</span>, of his Staff, and late
+Adjutant-General of the Army of Northern Virginia. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>II.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston.</i></p>
+
+<p>By his Son, Colonel <span class="smcap">William Preston Johnston</span>. One large octavo volume,
+774 pages. With Maps, a fine Portrait on Steel, and 8 full-page
+Illustrations. Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half turkey, $7.00.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>III.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Autobiography of William H. Seward. (1801-1834).</i></p>
+
+<p>With a later Memoir by his Son, <span class="smcap">Frederick W. Seward</span>, late Assistant
+Secretary of State. Per volume, over 800 pages, cloth, $4.25; sheep,
+$5.25; half turkey, $6.25; full turkey, $8.25.</p>
+
+<p class='center'>IV.</p>
+
+<p><i>Military History of General U.S. Grant.</i></p>
+
+<p>from April, 1861, to April, 1865. By <span class="smcap">Adam Badeau</span>, Colonel and
+Aide-de-Camp to the General-in-Chief, Brevet Brigadier-General U.S.A.
+With Portrait, and numerous Maps. Vol. I. 8vo. Cloth, $4.00; half calf,
+extra, $6.50.</p>
+
+<p class='center' >V.</p>
+
+<p><i>Memoirs of W.T. Sherman.</i></p>
+
+<p>By Himself. (With a Military Map showing the Marches of the United
+States Forces under General Sherman's command.) Two handsome vols., 8vo.
+Blue cloth, $5.50; sheep, $7.00; half morocco, $8.50; full morocco,
+$12.00.</p>
+
+<p>Cheap edition. 1 vol. Cloth, $3.50.</p>
+
+
+<p><small><span class="smcap">D. APPLETON &amp; CO., Publishers, 549 &amp; 551 Broadway, New York.</span></small></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h4>
+AMERICAN PAINTERS:</h4>
+<p class='center'><i>Biographical Sketches of Fifty American Artists.</i><br />
+WITH EIGHTY-THREE EXAMPLES OF THEIR WORKS,<br />
+<span class="smcap">Engraved on Wood in a perfect manner</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class='center'>Quarto; cloth, extra gilt       Price, $7.00; full morocco, $13.00.</p>
+
+<p class='center'><i>The painters represented in this work are as follows:</i></p>
+
+<p class='center'>
+CHURCH,<br />
+INNES,<br />
+HUNTINGTON,<br />
+PAGE,<br />
+SANFORD GIFFORD,<br />
+SWAIN GIFFORD,<br />
+DURAND,<br />
+R.W. WEIR,<br />
+W.T. RICHARDS,<br />
+T. MORAN,<br />
+P. MORAN,<br />
+PERRY,<br />
+BELLOWS,<br />
+SHATTUCK,<br />
+MILLER,<br />
+J.F. WEIR,<br />
+HUNT,<br />
+WHITTREDGE,<br />
+W. HART,<br />
+J.M. HART,<br />
+McENTEE,<br />
+COLMAN,<br />
+HICKS,<br />
+WINSLOW HOMER,<br />
+DE HAAS,<br />
+J.G. BROWN,<br />
+WYANT,<br />
+WOOD,<br />
+BRISTOL,<br />
+REINHART,<br />
+BRIDGMAN,<br />
+BIERSTADT,<br />
+J.H. BEARD,<br />
+W.H. BEARD,<br />
+PORTER,<br />
+G.L. BROWN,<br />
+APPLETON BROWN,<br />
+CROPSEY,<br />
+CASILEAR,<br />
+E. JOHNSON,<br />
+SHIRLAW,<br />
+CHASE,<br />
+BRICHER,<br />
+ROBBINS,<br />
+WILMARTH,<br />
+EATON,<br />
+GUY,<br />
+QUARTLEY,<br />
+HOPKINSON SMITH,<br />
+MEEKER.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The publishers feel justified in saying that the contemporaneous art of
+no country has ever been so adequately represented in a single volume as
+our American Painters are in this work, while the engravings are equal
+in execution to the finest examples of wood-engraving produced here or
+abroad.</p>
+
+<p>OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.</p>
+
+<p>"The richest and in many ways the most notable of fine art books is
+'American Painters,' just published, with unstinted liberality in the
+making. Eighty-three examples of the work of American artists,
+reproduced in the very best style of wood-engraving, and printed with
+rare skill, constitute the chief purpose of the book; while the text
+which accompanies them, the work of Mr. George W. Sheldon, is a series
+of bright and entertaining biographical sketches of the artists, with a
+running commentary&mdash;critical, but not too critical&mdash;upon the peculiarities
+of their several methods, purposes, and conceptions."&mdash;<i>New York
+Evening Post.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The volume gives good evidence of the progress of American art. It
+shows that we have deft hands and imaginative brains among painters of
+the country, and it shows, moreover, that we have publishers who are
+liberal and cultured enough to present their works in a handsome and
+luxurious form that will make them acceptable. 'American Painters' will
+adorn the table of many a drawing-room where art is loved, and where it
+is made still dearer from the fact that it is native."&mdash;<i>New York
+Express.</i></p>
+
+<p>"It is at once a biographical dictionary of artists, a gallery of pen
+portraits and of beautiful scenes, sketched by the painters and
+multiplied by the engraver. It is in all respects a work of art, and
+will meet the wants of a large class whose tastes are in that
+direction."&mdash;<i>New York Observer.</i></p>
+
+<p>"One of the most delightful volumes issued from the press of this
+country."&mdash;<i>New York Daily Graphic.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Outside and inside it is a thing of beauty. The text is in large, clear
+type, the paper is of the finest, the margins broad, and the
+illustrations printed with artistic care. The volume contains brief
+sketches of fifty prominent American artists, with examples from their
+works. Some idea of the time and labor expended in bringing out the work
+may be gathered from the fact that to bring it before the public in its
+present form cost the publishers over $12,000."&mdash;<i>Boston Evening
+Transcript.</i></p>
+
+<p>"This book is a notable one, and among the many fine art books it will
+rank as one of the choicest, and one of the most elegant, considered as
+an ornament or parlor decoration. The engravings are in the highest
+style known to art. Mr. Sheldon has accompanied the illustrations with a
+series of very entertaining biographical sketches. As far as possible,
+he has made the artists their own interpreters, giving their own
+commentaries upon art and upon their purposes in its practice instead of
+his own."&mdash;<i>Boston Post.</i></p>
+
+<p>"'American Painters' consists of biographical sketches of fifty leading
+American artists, with eighty-three examples of their works, engraved on
+wood with consummate skill, delicacy of touch, and appreciation of
+distinctive manner. It is a gallery of contemporary American
+art."&mdash;<i>Philadelphia Press.</i></p>
+
+<p>"This work is one of surpassing interest, and of marvelous typographical
+and illustrative beauty."&mdash;<i>Philadelphia Item.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The whole undertaking is a noble one, illustrative of the best period
+of American art, and as such deserves the attention and support of the
+public."&mdash;<i>Chicago Tribune.</i></p>
+
+
+<p><small><i>D. APPLETON &amp; CO., Publishers, 549 &amp; 551 Broadway, New York.</i></small></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class='center'>
+THE<br />
+FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY EPOCH.<br />
+Being a History of France from the Beginning of the First French<br />
+Revolution to the End of the Second Empire.
+<br />
+BY<br />
+HENRI VAN LAUN,<br />
+Author of "History of French Literature," etc.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>In 2 vols., 12mo.            Cloth, $3.50.</p>
+
+<p>"As a history for readers who are not disposed to make an exhaustive
+study of the subject treated, the book impresses us as eminently
+good."&mdash;<i>N.Y. Evening Post.</i></p>
+
+<p>"This work throws a flood of light on the problems which are now
+perplexing the politicians and statesmen of Europe."&mdash;<i>N.Y. Daily
+Graphic.</i></p>
+
+<p>"This is a work for which there is no substitute at present in the
+English language. For American readers it may be said to have secured a
+temporary monopoly of a most interesting topic. Educated persons can
+scarcely afford to neglect it."&mdash;<i>N.Y. Sun.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The opinion is here advanced and tolerably well fortified that Napoleon
+would have been beaten at Waterloo if Bl&uuml;cher had not come up. The book
+is a compendium of the events between 1789 and 1871: it is a popular
+treatment of the subject for students and family reading."&mdash;<i>Chicago
+Tribune.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Nothing can surpass the clearness of the narrative, and it may be truly
+said that this history is as interesting as a romance."&mdash;<i>Philadelphia
+Press.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The general reader will get, as he goes along with it, a more distinct
+idea of the salient features which marked the course of events than he
+might from some of the thousand and one more picturesque and more
+dramatic, but less truthful, histories of the same epoch."&mdash;<i>N.Y.
+Express.</i></p>
+
+<p>"We heartily commend it to our readers as one of the most compact,
+attractive, trustworthy, and instructive historical works in
+existence."&mdash;<i>Utica Daily Observer.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The author shows judgment and skill in culling from the large materials
+at command that which is of value, and also a masterly ability in
+presenting them tersely, and at the same time throwing in enough of
+incident and the lighter thought to make the volumes wholly
+enjoyable."&mdash;<i>Chicago Inter-Ocean.</i></p>
+
+<p>"If you desire to read facts and not theories, events and not
+imaginings, in chaste though vigorous language, peruse these
+volumes."&mdash;<i>Providence Press.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The author has accomplished a difficult and much-needed undertaking in
+a very satisfactory way."&mdash;<i>Boston Journal.</i></p>
+
+<p>"No student of American history can afford to be without this
+book."&mdash;<i>St. Louis Times-Journal.</i></p>
+
+
+<p><small><span class="smcap">D. APPLETON &amp; CO., Publishers, 549 &amp; 551 Broadway,
+ New York.</span></small></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class='center'>
+WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT'S<br />
+POETICAL WORKS.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Illustrated 8vo Edition of Bryant's Poetical Works. 100 Engravings by
+Birket Foster, Harry Fenn, Alfred Fredericks, and other Artists. 1 vol.,
+8vo. Cloth, gilt side and edge, $4.00; half calf, marble edge, $6.00;
+full morocco, antique, $8.00; tree calf, $10.00.</p>
+
+<p>Household Edition. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.00; half calf, $4.00;
+morocco, $5.00; tree calf, $5.00.</p>
+
+<p>Red-Line Edition. With 24 Illustrations, and Portrait of Bryant on
+Steel. Printed on tinted paper, with red line. Square 12mo. Cloth,
+extra, $3.00; half calf, $5.00; morocco, $7.00; tree calf, $8.00.</p>
+
+<p>Blue-and-Gold Edition. 18mo. Cloth, gilt edge, $1.50; half calf, marble
+edge, $3.00; morocco, gilt edge, $4.00.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The Song of the Sower. Illustrated with 42 Engravings on Wood, from
+Original Designs by Hennessy, Fenn, Winslow Homer, Hows, Griswold,
+Nehlig, and Perkins; engraved in the most perfect manner by our best
+Artists. Elegantly printed and bound. Cloth, extra gilt $5.00; morocco,
+antique, $9.00.</p>
+
+
+<p>The Story of the Fountain. With 42 Illustrations by Harry Fenn, Alfred
+Fredericks, John A. Hows, Winslow Homer, and others. In one handsome
+quarto volume. Printed in the most perfect manner, on heavy calendered
+paper. Uniform with "The Song of the Sower." 8vo. Square cloth, extra
+gilt, $5.00; morocco, antique, $9.00.</p>
+
+
+<p>The Little People of the Snow. Illustrated with exquisite Engravings,
+printed in Tints, from Designs by Alfred Fredericks. Cloth, $5.00;
+morocco, $9.00.</p>
+
+
+<p><small><span class="smcap">D. APPLETON &amp; CO., Publishers, 549 &amp; 551
+ Broadway, New York.</span></small></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class='center'>
+The Poet and Painter;<br />
+OR, GEMS OF ART AND SONG.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>An imperial 8vo volume, containing Choice Selections from the English
+Poets. Superbly illustrated with Ninety-nine Steel Engravings. Printed
+in the best manner on the page with the text. New edition: cloth, extra,
+$12.00; morocco, antique, or extra, $20.00.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class='center'>
+The Household Book of Poetry.<br />
+BY CHARLES A. DANA.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>New edition, enlarged, with Additions from recent Authors. Illustrated
+with Steel Engravings by celebrated Artists. 1 vol., royal 8vo. Cloth,
+extra, gilt edges, $5.00; morocco, antique, $10.00; crushed levant,
+$15.00.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Household Book of Poetry.</b> New cheap edition. Cloth, extra, red
+edges, $3.50; morocco, gilt edges, $7.00.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class='center'>
+Fitz-Greene Halleck's Poetical Works.<br />
+EDITED BY JAMES GRANT WILSON.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Complete Poetical Works. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.50; half calf, extra,
+$4.50; morocco, antique, $6.00.</p>
+
+<p>Large-paper copy of the same. 8vo. Cloth, $10.00; morocco, antique,
+$15.00.</p>
+
+<p>Complete Poetical Works. 1 vol., 18mo. In blue-and-gold, $1.00; morocco,
+antique, $8.00.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class='center'>
+Appletons' Library of the British Poets<br />
+<span class="smcap">From Chaucer to Tennyson and the Later Poets.</span><br />
+EDITED BY ROSSITER JOHNSON.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Complete in three large 8vo volumes. Illustrated with Portraits and
+Views on Steel. Price, per volume, cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half
+turkey, $7.00; half russia, $8.00; full russia or full turkey, $10.00.</p>
+
+
+<p><small><span class="smcap">D. APPLETON &amp; CO., Publishers, 549 &amp; 551
+ Broadway, New York.</span></small></p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 23747-h.txt or 23747-h.zip *******</p>
+<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br />
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/7/4/23747">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/7/4/23747</a></p>
+<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.</p>
+
+<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.</p>
+
+
+
+<pre>
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license)</a>.
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's
+eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII,
+compressed (zipped), HTML and others.
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over
+the old filename and etext number.  The replaced older file is renamed.
+VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving
+new filenames and etext numbers.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a>
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000,
+are filed in directories based on their release date.  If you want to
+download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular
+search system you may utilize the following addresses and just
+download by the etext year.
+
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/</a>
+
+    (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99,
+     98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90)
+
+EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are
+filed in a different way.  The year of a release date is no longer part
+of the directory path.  The path is based on the etext number (which is
+identical to the filename).  The path to the file is made up of single
+digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename.  For
+example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at:
+
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234
+
+or filename 24689 would be found at:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689
+
+An alternative method of locating eBooks:
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a>
+
+*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
+</pre>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f001.png b/23747-page-images/f001.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..576c049
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f001.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f002.png b/23747-page-images/f002.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..23df8a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f002.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f003.png b/23747-page-images/f003.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cffcc8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f003.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f004.png b/23747-page-images/f004.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de1eab0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f004.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f005.png b/23747-page-images/f005.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c85172
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f005.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f006.png b/23747-page-images/f006.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..291099d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f006.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/f007.png b/23747-page-images/f007.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ecbde1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/f007.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p009.png b/23747-page-images/p009.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bac8d7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p009.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p010.png b/23747-page-images/p010.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83662c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p010.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p011.png b/23747-page-images/p011.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe710b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p011.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p012.png b/23747-page-images/p012.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a038d81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p012.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p013.png b/23747-page-images/p013.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d94df68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p013.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p014.png b/23747-page-images/p014.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f6c633d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p014.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p015.png b/23747-page-images/p015.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea893a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p015.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p016.png b/23747-page-images/p016.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f44e835
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p016.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p017.png b/23747-page-images/p017.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18d8ab2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p017.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p018.png b/23747-page-images/p018.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1fb3ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p018.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p019.png b/23747-page-images/p019.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..865b2c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p019.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p020.png b/23747-page-images/p020.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54f51c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p020.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p021.png b/23747-page-images/p021.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1533d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p021.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p022.png b/23747-page-images/p022.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..104f3f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p022.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p023.png b/23747-page-images/p023.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ea1494
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p023.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p024.png b/23747-page-images/p024.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb862de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p024.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p025.png b/23747-page-images/p025.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89d860a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p025.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p026.png b/23747-page-images/p026.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31eef6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p026.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p027.png b/23747-page-images/p027.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc5f014
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p027.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p028.png b/23747-page-images/p028.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd8ae69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p028.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p029.png b/23747-page-images/p029.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..946b328
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p029.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p030.png b/23747-page-images/p030.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b865e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p030.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p031.png b/23747-page-images/p031.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b22fcf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p031.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p032.png b/23747-page-images/p032.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41a1aba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p032.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p033.png b/23747-page-images/p033.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b219a64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p033.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p034.png b/23747-page-images/p034.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad0c10f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p034.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p035.png b/23747-page-images/p035.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07c0086
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p035.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p036.png b/23747-page-images/p036.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c635f28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p036.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p037.png b/23747-page-images/p037.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3357f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p037.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p038.png b/23747-page-images/p038.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e4951d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p038.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p039.png b/23747-page-images/p039.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1817549
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p039.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p040.png b/23747-page-images/p040.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ebcd2cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p040.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p041.png b/23747-page-images/p041.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e13f754
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p041.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p042.png b/23747-page-images/p042.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..212157e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p042.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p043.png b/23747-page-images/p043.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c239317
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p043.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p044.png b/23747-page-images/p044.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ccb6e58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p044.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p045.png b/23747-page-images/p045.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..daac7b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p045.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p046.png b/23747-page-images/p046.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65b2c53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p046.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p047.png b/23747-page-images/p047.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..840eb9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p047.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p048.png b/23747-page-images/p048.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..467b774
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p048.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p049.png b/23747-page-images/p049.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2ab20d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p049.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p050.png b/23747-page-images/p050.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a2ab8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p050.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p051.png b/23747-page-images/p051.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..476f6a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p051.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p052.png b/23747-page-images/p052.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..916ae60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p052.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p053.png b/23747-page-images/p053.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..77d52c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p053.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p054.png b/23747-page-images/p054.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed1c278
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p054.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p055.png b/23747-page-images/p055.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06fb215
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p055.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p056.png b/23747-page-images/p056.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42b85c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p056.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p057.png b/23747-page-images/p057.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de6f53f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p057.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p058.png b/23747-page-images/p058.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..455451b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p058.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p059.png b/23747-page-images/p059.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17f798d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p059.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p060.png b/23747-page-images/p060.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f049ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p060.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p061.png b/23747-page-images/p061.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..971bdac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p061.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p062.png b/23747-page-images/p062.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e0840d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p062.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p063.png b/23747-page-images/p063.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f05df8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p063.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p064.png b/23747-page-images/p064.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb3810a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p064.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p065.png b/23747-page-images/p065.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da19493
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p065.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p066.png b/23747-page-images/p066.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ba559a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p066.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p067.png b/23747-page-images/p067.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a0e033
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p067.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p068.png b/23747-page-images/p068.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f64aeb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p068.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p069.png b/23747-page-images/p069.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6068c0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p069.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p070.png b/23747-page-images/p070.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b38ce20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p070.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p071.png b/23747-page-images/p071.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4801a6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p071.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p072.png b/23747-page-images/p072.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9908f94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p072.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p073.png b/23747-page-images/p073.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44055ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p073.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p074.png b/23747-page-images/p074.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8b42a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p074.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p075.png b/23747-page-images/p075.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4297a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p075.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p076.png b/23747-page-images/p076.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45c2ac8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p076.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p077.png b/23747-page-images/p077.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a04d994
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p077.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p078.png b/23747-page-images/p078.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..521d6c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p078.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p079.png b/23747-page-images/p079.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b61050c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p079.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p080.png b/23747-page-images/p080.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2f84c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p080.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p081.png b/23747-page-images/p081.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2a81b85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p081.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p082.png b/23747-page-images/p082.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37f51e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p082.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p083.png b/23747-page-images/p083.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c11fd56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p083.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p084.png b/23747-page-images/p084.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b699756
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p084.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p085.png b/23747-page-images/p085.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..388d094
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p085.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p086.png b/23747-page-images/p086.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d81c86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p086.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p087.png b/23747-page-images/p087.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d15c621
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p087.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p088.png b/23747-page-images/p088.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a8988e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p088.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p089.png b/23747-page-images/p089.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e02bafa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p089.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p090.png b/23747-page-images/p090.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b27e252
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p090.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p091.png b/23747-page-images/p091.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2093dcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p091.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p092.png b/23747-page-images/p092.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..76a5732
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p092.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p093.png b/23747-page-images/p093.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..85772b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p093.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p094.png b/23747-page-images/p094.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15f1fbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p094.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p095.png b/23747-page-images/p095.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc7171a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p095.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p096.png b/23747-page-images/p096.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63ad73f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p096.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p097.png b/23747-page-images/p097.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..594e3c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p097.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p098.png b/23747-page-images/p098.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7adf0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p098.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p099.png b/23747-page-images/p099.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e994b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p099.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p100.png b/23747-page-images/p100.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6499096
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p100.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p101.png b/23747-page-images/p101.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..25af2ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p101.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p102.png b/23747-page-images/p102.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e6593ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p102.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p103.png b/23747-page-images/p103.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f29d71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p103.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p104.png b/23747-page-images/p104.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c431392
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p104.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p105.png b/23747-page-images/p105.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c84b57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p105.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p106.png b/23747-page-images/p106.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b043a4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p106.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p107.png b/23747-page-images/p107.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..92f2f0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p107.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p108.png b/23747-page-images/p108.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a94e1e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p108.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p109.png b/23747-page-images/p109.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a87455
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p109.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p110.png b/23747-page-images/p110.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3055867
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p110.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p111.png b/23747-page-images/p111.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..257837e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p111.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p112.png b/23747-page-images/p112.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db941c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p112.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p113.png b/23747-page-images/p113.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9842bd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p113.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p114.png b/23747-page-images/p114.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..779ba73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p114.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p115.png b/23747-page-images/p115.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4eddf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p115.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p116.png b/23747-page-images/p116.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b85cdac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p116.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p117.png b/23747-page-images/p117.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..830ecd0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p117.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p118.png b/23747-page-images/p118.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84eba35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p118.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p119.png b/23747-page-images/p119.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd2a49f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p119.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p120.png b/23747-page-images/p120.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f6d79f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p120.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p121.png b/23747-page-images/p121.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ba79a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p121.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p122.png b/23747-page-images/p122.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89920a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p122.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p123.png b/23747-page-images/p123.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8cf253a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p123.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p124.png b/23747-page-images/p124.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3940903
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p124.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p125.png b/23747-page-images/p125.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4207d7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p125.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p126.png b/23747-page-images/p126.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50259a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p126.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p127.png b/23747-page-images/p127.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a19b3a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p127.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p128.png b/23747-page-images/p128.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d1feb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p128.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p129.png b/23747-page-images/p129.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3880bdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p129.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p130.png b/23747-page-images/p130.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6808f95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p130.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p131.png b/23747-page-images/p131.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3959dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p131.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p132.png b/23747-page-images/p132.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..62fec52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p132.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p133.png b/23747-page-images/p133.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0e7a77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p133.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p134.png b/23747-page-images/p134.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2a5670
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p134.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p135.png b/23747-page-images/p135.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb49a90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p135.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p136.png b/23747-page-images/p136.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b2ba2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p136.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p137.png b/23747-page-images/p137.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f47162
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p137.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p138.png b/23747-page-images/p138.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..20ec233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p138.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p139.png b/23747-page-images/p139.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9159bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p139.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p140.png b/23747-page-images/p140.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..46a8063
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p140.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p141.png b/23747-page-images/p141.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a624c82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p141.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p142.png b/23747-page-images/p142.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e16ce2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p142.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p143.png b/23747-page-images/p143.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f7f3db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p143.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p144.png b/23747-page-images/p144.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e827657
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p144.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p145.png b/23747-page-images/p145.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d21bcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p145.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p146.png b/23747-page-images/p146.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..23601b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p146.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p147.png b/23747-page-images/p147.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4f0785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p147.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p148.png b/23747-page-images/p148.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..88ceae0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p148.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p149.png b/23747-page-images/p149.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f627805
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p149.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p150.png b/23747-page-images/p150.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07e185c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p150.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p151.png b/23747-page-images/p151.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..840fe2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p151.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p152.png b/23747-page-images/p152.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f22aa19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p152.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p153.png b/23747-page-images/p153.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c8b225d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p153.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p154.png b/23747-page-images/p154.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de24629
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p154.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p155.png b/23747-page-images/p155.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7b4227
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p155.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p156.png b/23747-page-images/p156.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c0ad507
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p156.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p157.png b/23747-page-images/p157.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e6765b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p157.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p158.png b/23747-page-images/p158.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41510a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p158.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p159.png b/23747-page-images/p159.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecae1ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p159.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p160.png b/23747-page-images/p160.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b1e5e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p160.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p161.png b/23747-page-images/p161.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..844a0da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p161.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p162.png b/23747-page-images/p162.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ebeaeb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p162.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p163.png b/23747-page-images/p163.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..14bd5dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p163.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p164.png b/23747-page-images/p164.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6a090bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p164.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p165.png b/23747-page-images/p165.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc1496b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p165.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p166.png b/23747-page-images/p166.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4fc8e45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p166.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p167.png b/23747-page-images/p167.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b9a9e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p167.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p168.png b/23747-page-images/p168.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9cd6c00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p168.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p169.png b/23747-page-images/p169.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5ad4e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p169.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p170.png b/23747-page-images/p170.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e681f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p170.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p171.png b/23747-page-images/p171.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3625b34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p171.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p172.png b/23747-page-images/p172.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a7aef98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p172.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p173.png b/23747-page-images/p173.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8679e9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p173.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p174.png b/23747-page-images/p174.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8988e11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p174.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p175.png b/23747-page-images/p175.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f16674e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p175.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p176.png b/23747-page-images/p176.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50cac59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p176.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p177.png b/23747-page-images/p177.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a39677
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p177.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p178.png b/23747-page-images/p178.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cfa99a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p178.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p179.png b/23747-page-images/p179.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c31882
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p179.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p180.png b/23747-page-images/p180.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aca6fbf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p180.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p181.png b/23747-page-images/p181.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41eb218
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p181.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p182.png b/23747-page-images/p182.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1876ede
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p182.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p183.png b/23747-page-images/p183.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..26ace27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p183.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p184.png b/23747-page-images/p184.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f77e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p184.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p185.png b/23747-page-images/p185.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7cfbeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p185.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p186.png b/23747-page-images/p186.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63f105f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p186.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p187.png b/23747-page-images/p187.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f06f08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p187.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p188.png b/23747-page-images/p188.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d69805
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p188.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p189.png b/23747-page-images/p189.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d9b929
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p189.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p190.png b/23747-page-images/p190.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..500eeec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p190.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p191.png b/23747-page-images/p191.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..66bd8b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p191.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p192.png b/23747-page-images/p192.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c51203a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p192.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p193.png b/23747-page-images/p193.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22aa28b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p193.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p194.png b/23747-page-images/p194.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..783b844
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p194.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p195.png b/23747-page-images/p195.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9fe8dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p195.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p196.png b/23747-page-images/p196.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..351bab6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p196.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p197.png b/23747-page-images/p197.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6776340
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p197.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p198.png b/23747-page-images/p198.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8dce02b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p198.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p199.png b/23747-page-images/p199.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..448c361
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p199.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p200.png b/23747-page-images/p200.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b294a4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p200.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p201.png b/23747-page-images/p201.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..64eb90e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p201.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p202.png b/23747-page-images/p202.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eda6148
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p202.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p203.png b/23747-page-images/p203.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58046c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p203.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p204.png b/23747-page-images/p204.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db70a0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p204.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p205.png b/23747-page-images/p205.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c54abd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p205.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p206.png b/23747-page-images/p206.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..578cedf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p206.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p207.png b/23747-page-images/p207.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f32f4fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p207.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p208.png b/23747-page-images/p208.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..782f327
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p208.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p209.png b/23747-page-images/p209.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ae0e33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p209.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p210.png b/23747-page-images/p210.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d63eb8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p210.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p211.png b/23747-page-images/p211.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7fb35d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p211.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p212.png b/23747-page-images/p212.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..674128f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p212.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p213.png b/23747-page-images/p213.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4265894
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p213.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p214.png b/23747-page-images/p214.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ac22f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p214.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p215.png b/23747-page-images/p215.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5661a9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p215.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p216.png b/23747-page-images/p216.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f546146
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p216.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p217.png b/23747-page-images/p217.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a68c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p217.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p218.png b/23747-page-images/p218.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f46f189
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p218.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p219.png b/23747-page-images/p219.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..010f664
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p219.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p220.png b/23747-page-images/p220.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f184306
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p220.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p221.png b/23747-page-images/p221.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9a0609
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p221.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p222.png b/23747-page-images/p222.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc83908
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p222.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p223.png b/23747-page-images/p223.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d10f1b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p223.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p224.png b/23747-page-images/p224.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5365731
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p224.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p225.png b/23747-page-images/p225.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bdafcf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p225.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p226.png b/23747-page-images/p226.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60be65f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p226.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p227.png b/23747-page-images/p227.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..353c85c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p227.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p228.png b/23747-page-images/p228.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22eb969
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p228.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p229.png b/23747-page-images/p229.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bb6684
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p229.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p230.png b/23747-page-images/p230.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8fc352a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p230.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p231.png b/23747-page-images/p231.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df53ba9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p231.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p232.png b/23747-page-images/p232.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cad18b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p232.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p233.png b/23747-page-images/p233.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8391d51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p233.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p234.png b/23747-page-images/p234.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bb154a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p234.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p235.png b/23747-page-images/p235.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59a9025
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p235.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p236.png b/23747-page-images/p236.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3cdd0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p236.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p237.png b/23747-page-images/p237.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3614ac9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p237.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p238.png b/23747-page-images/p238.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4ac02a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p238.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p239.png b/23747-page-images/p239.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50a4850
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p239.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p240.png b/23747-page-images/p240.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b62ad3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p240.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p241.png b/23747-page-images/p241.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a85634a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p241.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p242.png b/23747-page-images/p242.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b4d4ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p242.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p243.png b/23747-page-images/p243.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c30c20d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p243.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p244.png b/23747-page-images/p244.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0da5e8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p244.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p245.png b/23747-page-images/p245.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..183849a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p245.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p246.png b/23747-page-images/p246.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69ce1a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p246.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p247.png b/23747-page-images/p247.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c24219
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p247.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p248.png b/23747-page-images/p248.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9e50ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p248.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p249.png b/23747-page-images/p249.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a84a960
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p249.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p250.png b/23747-page-images/p250.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c2c06a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p250.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p251.png b/23747-page-images/p251.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0dbbc10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p251.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p252.png b/23747-page-images/p252.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d3157f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p252.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p253.png b/23747-page-images/p253.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd35619
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p253.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p254.png b/23747-page-images/p254.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..119f0ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p254.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p255.png b/23747-page-images/p255.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f10be0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p255.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p256.png b/23747-page-images/p256.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b31066
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p256.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p257.png b/23747-page-images/p257.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ddf046
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p257.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p258.png b/23747-page-images/p258.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..749a8b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p258.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p259.png b/23747-page-images/p259.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3c6cb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p259.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p260.png b/23747-page-images/p260.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db207b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p260.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p261.png b/23747-page-images/p261.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dcbecc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p261.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p262.png b/23747-page-images/p262.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5cac8cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p262.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p263.png b/23747-page-images/p263.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9207a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p263.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p264.png b/23747-page-images/p264.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a68145
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p264.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p265.png b/23747-page-images/p265.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5272a0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p265.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p266.png b/23747-page-images/p266.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5ddd16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p266.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p267.png b/23747-page-images/p267.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7fb3284
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p267.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p268.png b/23747-page-images/p268.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17628af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p268.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p269.png b/23747-page-images/p269.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d803509
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p269.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p270.png b/23747-page-images/p270.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ebbbe9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p270.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p271.png b/23747-page-images/p271.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9fea9e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p271.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p272.png b/23747-page-images/p272.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9309b18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p272.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p273.png b/23747-page-images/p273.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8a15ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p273.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p274.png b/23747-page-images/p274.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54b75e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p274.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p275.png b/23747-page-images/p275.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f13476c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p275.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p276.png b/23747-page-images/p276.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16b0392
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p276.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p277.png b/23747-page-images/p277.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a377daa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p277.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p278.png b/23747-page-images/p278.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..291ab3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p278.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p279.png b/23747-page-images/p279.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1474c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p279.png
diff --git a/23747-page-images/p280.png b/23747-page-images/p280.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69776a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747-page-images/p280.png
diff --git a/23747.txt b/23747.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4bed3a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10219 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Destruction and Reconstruction:, by Richard
+Taylor
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Destruction and Reconstruction:
+       Personal Experiences of the Late War
+
+
+Author: Richard Taylor
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2007  [eBook #23747]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Graeme Mackreth, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:
+
+Personal Experiences of the Late War.
+
+by
+
+RICHARD TAYLOR,
+
+Lieutenant-General in the Confederate Army.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York:
+D. Appleton and Company,
+549 and 551 Broadway.
+1879.
+
+Copyright by
+D. Appleton and Company,
+1879.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+These reminiscences of Secession, War, and Reconstruction it has seemed
+to me a duty to record. An actor therein, accident of fortune afforded
+me exceptional advantages for an interior view.
+
+The opinions expressed are sincerely entertained, but of their
+correctness such readers as I may find must judge. I have in most cases
+been a witness to the facts alleged, or have obtained them from the best
+sources. Where statements are made upon less authority, I have carefully
+endeavored to indicate it by the language employed.
+
+R. TAYLOR.
+
+
+_December, 1877._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                       PAGE
+
+PREFACE                                                                  3
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+SECESSION.                                                               9
+
+Causes of the Civil War--The Charleston Convention--Convention
+of Louisiana--Temper of the People.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR.                                                15
+
+Blindness of the Confederate Government--General Bragg occupies
+Pensacola--Battle of Manassas--Its Effects on the North and the
+South--"Initiative" and "Defensive" in War.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AFTER MANASSAS.                                                         22
+
+General W.H.T. Walker--The Louisiana Brigade--The "Tigers"--Major
+Wheat--General Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis--Alexander
+H. Stephens.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.                                     31
+
+McClellan as an Organizer--The James River Route to
+Richmond--Army of Northern Virginia moved to Orange Court
+House--Straggling--General Ewell--Bugeaud's "Maxims"--Uselessness
+of Tents--Counsels to Young Officers.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN.                                                    42
+
+The Army moved to Gordonsville--Joseph E. Johnston as a
+Commander--Valley of Virginia--Stonewall Jackson--Belle
+Boyd--Federals routed at Front Royal--Cuirassiers strapped to their
+Horses--Battle of Winchester--A "Walk Over" at Strasburg--General
+Ashby--Battle of Port Republic.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND."                                       83
+
+Clever Strategy--The Valley Army summoned to the Defense of
+Richmond--Battles of Cold Harbor, Frazier's Farm, Malvern
+Hill--Ignorance of the Topography--McClellan as a Commander--General
+R.E. Lee--His magnificent Strategy--His Mistakes.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.                                              99
+
+General Bragg--Invasion of Kentucky--Western Louisiana--Its
+Topography and River Systems--The Attakapas, Home of the
+Acadians--The Creole Population.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI.                        111
+
+Federal Post at Bayou Des Allemands Surprised--Marauding by
+the Federals--Salt Mines at Petit Anse--General Pemberton--Major
+Brent Chief of Artillery--Federal Operations on the Lafourche--Gunboat
+Cotton--General Weitzel Advances up the Teche--Capture of Federal
+Gunboats--General Kirby Smith.
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTURE
+OF BERWICK'S BAY.                                                      129
+
+Federal Advance against Bisland--Retreat of the
+Confederates--Banks's Dispatches--Relief of Vicksburg
+impracticable--Capture of Federal Post at Berwick's Bay--Attack
+on Fort Butler--Fall of Vicksburg and of Port Hudson.
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER--CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS.                     148
+
+The Confederate Losses at Vicksburg and Port Hudson--Federals
+beaten at Bayou Bourbeau--Trans-Mississippi Department, its Bureaux
+and Staff--A Federal Fleet and Army ascend Red River--Battle of
+Pleasant Hill--Success of the Confederates--Perilous Situation
+of Banks's Army and the Fleet.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER.                                            176
+
+The Fleet descends Red River to Grand Ecore--Banks concentrates
+his Army there--Taylor's Force weakened by General Kirby
+Smith--Confederates harass Rear of Federal Column--The Federals
+cross the River at Monette's Ferry and reach Alexandria--Retreat
+of the Fleet harassed--It passes over the Falls at Alexandria.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.                                               196
+
+The Mississippi controlled by the Federals--Taylor assigned
+to the Command of Alabama, Mississippi, etc.--Forrest's
+Operations--General Sherman in Georgia--Desperate Situation
+of Hood--Remnant of his Army sent to North Carolina.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR--SURRENDER.                              221
+
+Fall of Mobile--Last Engagement of the War--Johnston-Sherman
+Convention--Taylor surrenders to General Canby--Last Hours of the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS.                                            230
+
+Gettysburg--Shiloh--Albert Sidney Johnston--Lack of
+Statesmanship in the Confederacy--"King Cotton"--Carpet-Baggers.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON.                                          239
+
+Interceding for Prisoners--Debauchery and Corruption in
+Washington--General Grant--Andrew Johnson--Stevens, Winter
+Davis, Sumner--Setting up and pulling down State Governments--The
+"Ku-Klux"--Philadelphia Convention.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT.                                            256
+
+Demoralization at the North--a Corrupt Vice-President--a
+Hypocritical Banker--a Great Preacher profiting by his own
+Evil Reputation--Knaves made Plenipotentiaries--A Spurious
+Legislature installed in the Louisiana State House--General
+Sheridan in New Orleans--An American Alberoni--Presidential
+Election of 1876--Congress over-awed by a Display of Military
+Force.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+CONCLUSION.                                                            268
+
+The Financial Crisis--Breaches of Trust--Labor
+Troubles--Destitution--Negro Suffrage fatal to the South.
+
+
+
+
+DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+SECESSION.
+
+
+The history of the United States, as yet unwritten, will show the causes
+of the "Civil War" to have been in existence during the Colonial era,
+and to have cropped out into full view in the debates of the several
+State Assemblies on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in which
+instrument Luther Martin, Patrick Henry, and others, insisted that they
+were implanted. African slavery at the time was universal, and its
+extinction in the North, as well as its extension in the South, was due
+to economic reasons alone.
+
+The first serious difficulty of the Federal Government arose from the
+attempt to lay an excise on distilled spirits. The second arose from the
+hostility of New England traders to the policy of the Government in the
+war of 1812, by which their special interests were menaced; and there is
+now evidence to prove that, but for the unexpected peace, an attempt to
+disrupt the Union would then have been made.
+
+The "Missouri Compromise" of 1820 was in reality a truce between
+antagonistic revenue systems, each seeking to gain the balance of power.
+For many years subsequently, slaves--as domestic servants--were taken to
+the Territories without exciting remark, and the "Nullification"
+movement in South Carolina was entirely directed against the tariff.
+
+Anti-slavery was agitated from an early period, but failed to attract
+public attention for many years. At length, by unwearied industry, by
+ingeniously attaching itself to exciting questions of the day, with
+which it had no natural connection, it succeeded in making a lodgment in
+the public mind, which, like a subject exhausted by long effort, is
+exposed to the attack of some malignant fever, that in a normal
+condition of vigor would have been resisted. The common belief that
+slavery was the cause of civil war is incorrect, and Abolitionists are
+not justified in claiming the glory and spoils of the conflict and in
+pluming themselves as "choosers of the slain."
+
+The vast immigration that poured into the country between the years 1840
+and 1860 had a very important influence in directing the events of the
+latter year. The numbers were too great to be absorbed and assimilated
+by the native population. States in the West were controlled by German
+and Scandinavian voters, while the Irish took possession of the seaboard
+towns. Although the balance of party strength was not much affected by
+these naturalized voters, the modes of political thought were seriously
+disturbed, and a tendency was manifested to transfer exciting topics
+from the domain of argument to that of violence.
+
+The aged and feeble President, Mr. Buchanan, unfitted for troublous
+times, was driven to and fro by ambitious leaders of his own party, as
+was the last weak Hapsburg who reigned in Spain by the rival factions of
+France and Austria.
+
+Under these conditions the National Democratic Convention met at
+Charleston, South Carolina, in the spring of 1860, to declare the
+principles on which the ensuing presidential campaign was to be
+conducted, and select candidates for the offices of President and
+Vice-President. Appointed a delegate by the Democracy of my State,
+Louisiana, in company with others I reached Charleston two days in
+advance of the time. We were at once met by an invitation to join in
+council delegates from the Gulf States, to agree upon some common ground
+of action in the Convention, but declined for the reason that we were
+accredited to the National Convention, and had no authority to
+participate in other deliberations. This invitation and the terms in
+which it was conveyed argued badly for the harmony of the Convention
+itself, and for the preservation of the unity of the Democracy, then the
+only organization supported in all quarters of the country.
+
+It may be interesting to recall the impression created at the time by
+the tone and temper of different delegations. New England adhered to the
+old tenets of the Jefferson school. Two leaders from Massachusetts,
+Messrs. Caleb Cushing and Benjamin F. Butler, of whom the former was
+chosen President of the Convention, warmly supported the candidacy of
+Mr. Jefferson Davis. New York, under the direction of Mr. Dean Richmond,
+gave its influence to Mr. Douglas. Of a combative temperament, Mr.
+Richmond was impressed with a belief that "secession" was but a bugbear
+to frighten the northern wing of the party. Thus he failed to appreciate
+the gravity of the situation, and impaired the value of unusual common
+sense and unselfish patriotism, qualities he possessed to an eminent
+degree. The anxieties of Pennsylvania as to candidates were accompanied
+by a philosophic indifference as to principles. The Northwest was ardent
+for Douglas, who divided with Guthrie Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
+
+Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana held moderate
+opinions, and were ready to adopt any honorable means to preserve the
+unity of the party and country. The conduct of the South Carolina
+delegates was admirable. Representing the most advanced constituency in
+the Convention, they were singularly reticent, and abstained from adding
+fuel to the flames. They limited their role to that of dignified,
+courteous hosts, and played it as Carolina gentlemen are wont to do.
+From Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas came the fiery
+spirits, led by Mr. William L. Yancey of Alabama, an able rhetorician.
+This gentleman had persuaded his State Convention to pass a resolution,
+directing its delegates to withdraw from Charleston if the Democracy
+there assembled refused to adopt the extreme Southern view as to the
+rights of citizens in the territories. In this he was opposed by
+ex-Governor Winston, a man of conservative tendencies, and long the
+rival of Mr. Yancey in State politics. Both gentlemen were sent to
+Charleston, but the majority of their co-delegates sustained Mr. Yancey.
+
+Several days after its organization the National Convention reached a
+point which made the withdrawal of Alabama imminent. Filled with anxious
+forebodings, I sought after nightfall the lodgings of Messrs. Slidell,
+Bayard, and Bright, United States senators, who had come to Charleston,
+not as delegates, but under the impulse of hostility to the principles
+and candidacy of Mr. Douglas. There, after pointing out the certain
+consequences of Alabama's impending action, I made an earnest appeal for
+peace and harmony, and with success. Mr. Yancey was sent for, came into
+our views after some discussion, and undertook to call his people
+together at that late hour, and secure their consent to disregard
+instructions. We waited until near dawn for Yancey's return, but his
+efforts failed of success. Governor Winston, originally opposed to
+instructions as unwise and dangerous, now insisted that they should be
+obeyed to the letter, and carried a majority of the Alabama delegates
+with him. Thus the last hope of preserving the unity of the National
+Democracy was destroyed, and by one who was its earnest advocate.
+
+The withdrawal of Alabama, followed by other Southern States, the
+adjournment of a part of the Convention to Baltimore and of another part
+to Richmond, and the election of Lincoln by votes of Northern States,
+require no further mention.
+
+In January, 1861, the General Assembly of Louisiana met. A member of the
+upper branch, and chairman of its Committee on Federal Relations, I
+reported, and assisted in passing, an act to call a Convention of the
+people of the State to consider of matters beyond the competency of the
+Assembly. The Convention met in March, and was presided over by
+ex-Governor and ex-United States Senator Alexander Mouton, a man of high
+character. I represented my own parish, St. Charles, and was appointed
+chairman of the Military and Defense Committee, on behalf of which two
+ordinances were reported and passed: one, to raise two regiments; the
+other, to authorize the Governor to expend a million of dollars in the
+purchase of arms and munitions. The officers of the two regiments were
+to be appointed by the Governor, and the men to be enlisted for five
+years, unless sooner discharged. More would have been desirable in the
+way of raising troops, but the temper of men's minds did not then
+justify the effort. The Governor declined to use his authority to
+purchase arms, assured as he was on all sides that there was no danger
+of war, and that the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge, completely in
+our power, would furnish more than we could need. It was vainly urged in
+reply that the stores of the arsenal were almost valueless, the arms
+being altered flintlock muskets, and the accouterments out of date. The
+current was too strong to stem.
+
+The Convention, by an immense majority of votes, adopted an ordinance
+declaring that Louisiana ceased to be a State within the Union. Indeed,
+similar action having already been taken by her neighbors, Louisiana of
+necessity followed. At the time and since, I marveled at the joyous and
+careless temper in which men, much my superiors in sagacity and
+experience, consummated these acts. There appeared the same general
+_gaite de coeur_ that M. Ollivier claimed for the Imperial Ministry
+when war was declared against Prussia. The attachment of northern and
+western people to the Union; their superiority in numbers, in wealth,
+and especially in mechanical resources; the command of the sea; the lust
+of rule and territory always felt by democracies, and nowhere to a
+greater degree than in the South--all these facts were laughed to scorn,
+or their mention was ascribed to timidity and treachery.
+
+As soon as the Convention adjourned, finding myself out of harmony with
+prevailing opinion as to the certainty of war and necessity for
+preparation, I retired to my estate, determined to accept such
+responsibility only as came to me unsought.
+
+The inauguration of President Lincoln; the confederation of South
+Carolina, Georgia, and the five Gulf States; the attitude of the border
+slave States, hoping to mediate; the assembling of Confederate forces
+at Pensacola, Charleston, and other points; the seizure of United States
+forts and arsenals; the attack on "Sumter"; war--these followed with
+bewildering rapidity, and the human agencies concerned seemed as
+unconscious as scene-shifters in some awful tragedy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR.
+
+
+I was drawn from my retreat by an invitation from General Bragg, a
+particular friend, to visit Pensacola, where he commanded the southern
+forces, composed of volunteers from the adjacent States. Full of
+enthusiasm for their cause, and of the best material, officers and men
+were, with few exceptions, without instruction, and the number of
+educated officers was, as in all the southern armies, too limited to
+satisfy the imperious demands of the staff, much less those of the
+drill-master. Besides, the vicious system of election of officers struck
+at the very root of that stern discipline without which raw men cannot
+be converted into soldiers.
+
+The Confederate Government, then seated at Montgomery, weakly receded
+from its determination to accept no volunteers for short terms of
+service, and took regiments for twelve months. The same blindness smote
+the question of finance. Instead of laying taxes, which the general
+enthusiasm would have cheerfully endured, the Confederate authorities
+pledged their credit, and that too for an amount which might have
+implied a pact with Mr. Seward that, should war unhappily break out, its
+duration was to be strictly limited to sixty days. The effect of these
+errors was felt throughout the struggle.
+
+General Bragg occupied Pensacola, the United States navy yard, and Fort
+Barrancas on the mainland; while Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa island, was
+held by Federal troops, with several war vessels anchored outside the
+harbor. There was an understanding that no hostile movement would be
+made by either side without notice. Consequently, Bragg worked at his
+batteries bearing on Pickens, while Major Brown, the Federal commander,
+strengthened with sand bags and earth the weak landward curtain of his
+fort; and time was pleasantly passed by both parties in watching each
+other's occupation.
+
+Some months before this period, when Florida enforced her assumed right
+to control all points within her limits, a small company of United
+States artillery, under Lieutenant Slemmer, was stationed at Barrancas,
+where it was helpless. After much manoeuvring, the State forces of
+Florida induced Slemmer to retire from Barrancas to Pickens, then
+_garrisoned_ by one ordnance sergeant, and at the mercy of a corporal's
+guard in a rowboat. Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, was in a similar
+condition before Anderson retired to it with his company. The early
+seizure of these two fortresses would have spared the Confederates many
+serious embarrassments; but such small details were neglected at that
+time.
+
+My visit to Pensacola was brought to a close by information from the
+Governor of Louisiana of my appointment to the colonelcy of the 9th
+Louisiana infantry, a regiment just formed at camp on the railway some
+miles north of New Orleans, and under orders for Richmond. Accepting the
+appointment, I hastened to the camp, inspected the command, ordered the
+Lieutenant Colonel--Randolph, a well-instructed officer for the time--to
+move by rail to Richmond as rapidly as transportation was furnished, and
+went on to New Orleans, as well to procure equipment, in which the
+regiment was deficient, as to give some hours to private affairs. It was
+known that there was a scarcity of small-arm ammunition in Virginia,
+owing to the rapid concentration of troops; and I was fortunate in
+obtaining from the Louisiana authorities a hundred thousand rounds, with
+which, together with some field equipment, I proceeded by express to
+Richmond, where I found my command, about a thousand strong, just
+arrived and preparing to go into camp. The town was filled with rumor of
+battle away north at Manassas, where Beauregard commanded the
+Confederate forces. A multitude of wild reports, all equally inflamed,
+reached my ears while looking after the transportation of my ammunition,
+of which I did not wish to lose sight. Reaching camp, I paraded the
+regiment, and stated the necessity for prompt action, and my purpose to
+make application to be sent to the front immediately. Officers and men
+were delighted with the prospect of active service, and largely supplied
+want of experience by zeal. Ammunition was served out, three days'
+rations were ordered for haversacks, and all camp equipage not
+absolutely essential was stored.
+
+These details attended to, at 5 P.M. I visited the war office, presided
+over by General Pope Walker of Alabama. When the object of my visit was
+stated, the Secretary expressed much pleasure, as he was anxious to send
+troops forward, but had few in readiness to move, owing to the lack of
+ammunition, etc. As I had been in Richmond but a few hours, my desire to
+move and adequate state of preparation gained me some "red-letter" marks
+at the war office. The Secretary thought that a train would be in
+readiness at 9 o'clock that night. Accordingly, the regiment was marched
+to the station, where we remained several weary hours. At length, long
+after midnight, our train made its appearance. As the usual time to
+Manassas was some six hours, we confidently expected to arrive in the
+early forenoon; but this expectation our engine brought to grief. It
+proved a machine of the most wheezy and helpless character, creeping
+snail-like on levels, and requiring the men to leave the carriages to
+help it up grades. As the morning wore on, the sound of guns, reechoed
+from the Blue Ridge mountains on our left, became loud and constant. At
+every halt of the wretched engine the noise of battle grew more and more
+intense, as did our impatience. I hope the attention of the recording
+angel was engrossed that day in other directions. Later we met men,
+single or in squads, some with arms and some without, moving south, in
+which quarter they all appeared to have pressing engagements.
+
+At dusk we gained Manassas Junction, near the field where, on that day,
+the battle of first "Manassas" had been fought and won. Bivouacking the
+men by the roadside, I sought through the darkness the headquarters of
+General Beauregard, to whom I was instructed to report. With much
+difficulty and delay the place was found, and a staff officer told me
+that orders would be sent the following morning. By these I was directed
+to select a suitable camp, thus indicating that no immediate movement
+was contemplated.
+
+The confusion that reigned about our camps for the next few days was
+extreme. Regiments seemed to have lost their colonels, colonels their
+regiments. Men of all arms and all commands were mixed in the wildest
+way. A constant fusillade of small arms and singing of bullets were kept
+up, indicative of a superfluity of disorder, if not of ammunition. One
+of my men was severely wounded in camp by a "stray," and derived no
+consolation from my suggestion that it was a delicate attention of our
+comrades to mitigate the disappointment of missing the battle. The
+elation of our people at their success was natural. They had achieved
+all, and more than all, that could have been expected of raw troops; and
+some commands had emulated veterans by their steadiness under fire.
+Settled to the routine of camp duty, I found many opportunities to go
+over the adjacent battle field with those who had shared the action,
+then fresh in their memories. Once I had the privilege of so doing in
+company with Generals Johnston and Beauregard; and I will now give my
+opinion of this, as I purpose doing of such subsequent actions, and
+commanders therein, as came within the range of my personal experience
+during the war.
+
+Although since the days of Nimrod war has been the constant occupation
+of men, the fingers of one hand suffice to number the great commanders.
+The "unlearned" hardly think of usurping Tyndall's place in the lecture
+room, or of taking his cuneiform bricks from Rawlinson; yet the world
+has been much more prolific of learned scientists and philologers than
+of able generals. Notwithstanding, the average American (and, judging
+from the dictatorship of Maitre Gambetta, the Frenchman) would not have
+hesitated to supersede Napoleon at Austerlitz or Nelson at Trafalgar.
+True, Cleon captured the Spartan garrison, and Narses gained victories,
+and Bunyan wrote the "Pilgrim's Progress;" but pestilent demagogues and
+mutilated guardians of Eastern zenanas have not always been successful
+in war, nor the great and useful profession of tinkers written allegory.
+As men without knowledge have at all times usurped the right to
+criticise campaigns and commanders, they will doubtless continue to do
+so despite the protests of professional soldiers, who discharge this
+duty in a reverent spirit, knowing that the greatest is he who commits
+the fewest blunders.
+
+General McDowell, the Federal commander at Manassas, and a trained
+soldier of unusual acquirement, was so hounded and worried by ignorant,
+impatient politicians and newspapers as to be scarcely responsible for
+his acts. This may be said of all the commanders in the beginning of the
+war, and notably of Albert Sidney Johnston, whose early fall on the
+field of Shiloh was irreparable, and mayhap determined the fate of the
+South. McDowell's plan of battle was excellent, and its execution by his
+mob no worse than might have been confidently expected. The late
+Governor Andrew of Massachusetts observed that his men thought they were
+going to a town meeting, and this is exhaustive criticism. With soldiers
+at his disposal, McDowell would have succeeded in turning and
+overwhelming Beauregard's left, driving him from his rail communications
+with Richmond, and preventing the junction of Johnston from the valley.
+It appears that Beauregard was to some extent surprised by the attack,
+contemplating movements by his own centre and right. His exposed and
+weak left stubbornly resisted the shock of attacking masses, while he,
+with coolness and personal daring most inspiriting to his men, brought
+up assistance from centre and right; and the ground was held until
+Johnston, who had skillfully eluded Patterson, arrived and began feeding
+our line, when the affair was soon decided.
+
+There can be little question that with a strong brigade of soldiers
+Johnston could have gone to Washington and Baltimore. Whether, with his
+means, he should have advanced, has been too much and angrily discussed
+already. Napoleon held that, no matter how great the confusion and
+exhaustion of a victorious army might be, a defeated one must be a
+hundred-fold worse, and action should be based on this. Assuredly, if
+there be justification in disregarding an axiom of Napoleon, the wild
+confusion of the Confederates after Manassas afforded it.
+
+The first skirmishes and actions of the war proved that the Southron,
+untrained, was a better fighter than the Northerner--not because of more
+courage, but of the social and economic conditions by which he was
+surrounded. Devoted to agriculture in a sparsely populated country, the
+Southron was self-reliant, a practiced horseman, and skilled in the use
+of arms. The dense population of the North, the habit of association for
+commercial and manufacturing purposes, weakened individuality of
+character, and horsemanship and the use of arms were exceptional
+accomplishments. The rapid development of railways and manufactures in
+the West had assimilated the people of that region to their eastern
+neighbors, and the old race of frontier riflemen had wandered to the far
+interior of the continent. Instruction and discipline soon equalized
+differences, and battles were decided by generalship and numbers; and
+this was the experience of our kinsmen in their great civil war. The
+country squires who followed the banners of Newcastle and Rupert at
+first swept the eastern-counties yeomanry and the London train-bands
+from the field; but fiery and impetuous valor was at last overmatched by
+the disciplined purpose and stubborn constancy of Cromwell's Ironsides.
+
+The value of the "initiative" in war cannot be overstated. It surpasses
+in power mere accession of numbers, as it requires neither transport nor
+commissariat. Holding it, a commander lays his plans deliberately, and
+executes them at his own appointed time and in his own way. The
+"defensive" is weak, lowering the morale of the army reduced to it,
+enforcing constant watchfulness lest threatened attacks become real, and
+keeping commander and troops in a state of anxious tension. These
+truisms would not deserve mention did not the public mind ignore the
+fact that their application is limited to trained soldiers, and often
+become impatient for the employment of proved ability to sustain sieges
+and hold lines in offensive movements. A collection of untrained men is
+neither more nor less than a mob, in which individual courage goes for
+nothing. In movement each person finds his liberty of action merged in a
+crowd, ignorant and incapable of direction. Every obstacle creates
+confusion, speedily converted into panic by opposition. The heroic
+defenders of Saragossa could not for a moment have faced a battalion of
+French infantry in the open field. Osman's solitary attempt to operate
+outside of Plevna met with no success; and the recent defeat of Moukhtar
+may be ascribed to incaution in taking position too far from his line of
+defense, where, when attacked, manoeuvres of which his people were
+incapable became necessary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AFTER MANASSAS.
+
+
+After the action at Manassas, the summer and winter of 1861 wore away
+without movements of special note in our quarter, excepting the defeat
+of the Federals at Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac, by a detached brigade
+of Confederates, commanded by General Evans of South Carolina, a
+West-Pointer enjoying the sobriquet of _Shanks_ from the thinness of his
+legs.
+
+In the organization of our army, my regiment was brigaded with the 6th,
+7th, and 8th regiments of the Louisiana infantry, and placed under
+General William H.T. Walker of Georgia. Graduated from West Point in the
+summer of 1837, this officer joined the 6th United States infantry
+operating against the Seminoles in Florida. On Christmas day following
+was fought the battle of Okeechobee, the severest fight of that Indian
+war. The savages were posted on a thickly jungled island in the lake,
+through the waters of which, breast-high, the troops advanced several
+hundred yards to the attack. The loss on our side was heavy, but the
+Indians were so completely routed as to break their spirit. Colonel
+Zachary Taylor commanded, and there won his yellow sash and grade.
+Walker was desperately wounded, and the medical people gave him up; but
+he laughed at their predictions and recovered. In the war with Mexico,
+assaulting Molino del Rey, he received several wounds, all pronounced
+fatal, and science thought itself avenged. Again he got well, as he
+said, to spite the doctors. Always a martyr to asthma, he rarely enjoyed
+sleep but in a sitting posture; yet he was as cheerful and full of
+restless activity as the celebrated Earl of Peterborough. Peace with
+Mexico established, Walker became commandant of cadets at West Point.
+His ability as an instructor, and his lofty, martial bearing, deeply
+impressed his new brigade and prepared it for stern work. Subsequently
+Walker died on the field near Atlanta, defending the soil of his native
+State--a death of all others he would have chosen. I have dwelt somewhat
+on his character, because it was one of the strangest I have met. No
+enterprise was too rash to awaken his ardor, if it necessitated daring
+courage and self-devotion. Truly, he might have come forth from the
+pages of old Froissart. It is with unaffected feeling that I recall his
+memory and hang before it my humble wreath of immortelles.
+
+In camp our army experienced much suffering and loss of strength. Drawn
+almost exclusively from rural districts, where families lived isolated,
+the men were scourged with mumps, whooping-cough, and measles, diseases
+readily overcome by childhood in urban populations. Measles proved as
+virulent as smallpox or cholera. Sudden changes of temperature drove the
+eruption from the surface to the internal organs, and fevers, lung and
+typhoid, and dysenteries followed. My regiment was fearfully smitten,
+and I passed days in hospital, nursing the sick and trying to comfort
+the last moments of many poor lads, dying so far from home and friends.
+Time and frequent changes of camp brought improvement, but my own health
+gave way. A persistent low fever sapped my strength and impaired the use
+of my limbs. General Johnston kindly ordered me off to the Fauquier
+springs, sulphur waters, some twenty miles to the south. There I was
+joined and carefully nursed by a devoted sister, and after some weeks
+slowly regained health.
+
+On the eve of returning to the army, I learned of my promotion to
+brigadier, to relieve General Walker, transferred to a brigade of
+Georgians. This promotion seriously embarrassed me. Of the four colonels
+whose regiments constituted the brigade, I was the junior in commission,
+and the other three had been present and "won their spurs" at the recent
+battle, so far the only important one of the war. Besides, my known
+friendship for President Davis, with whom I was connected by his first
+marriage with my elder sister, would justify the opinion that my
+promotion was due to favoritism. Arrived at headquarters, I obtained
+leave to go to Richmond, where, after an affectionate reception, the
+President listened to the story of my feelings, the reasons on which
+they were based, and the request that the promotion should be revoked.
+He replied that he would take a day for reflection before deciding the
+matter. The following day I was told that the answer to my appeal would
+be forwarded to the army, to which I immediately returned. The President
+had employed the delay in writing a letter to the senior officers of the
+brigade, in which he began by stating that promotions to the grade of
+general officer were by law intrusted to him, and were made for
+considerations of public good, of which he alone was judge. He then, out
+of abundant kindness for me, went on to soothe the feelings of these
+officers with a tenderness and delicacy of touch worthy a woman's hand,
+and so effectually as to secure me their hearty support. No wonder that
+all who enjoy the friendship of Jefferson Davis love him as Jonathan did
+David.
+
+Several weeks without notable incident were devoted to instruction,
+especially in marching, the only military quality for which Southern
+troops had no aptitude. Owing to the good traditions left by my
+predecessor, Walker, and the zeal of officers and men, the brigade made
+great progress.
+
+With the army at this time was a battalion of three companies from
+Louisiana, commanded by Major Wheat. These detached companies had been
+thrown together previous to the fight at Manassas, where Wheat was
+severely wounded. The strongest of the three, and giving character to
+all, was called the "Tigers." Recruited on the levee and in the alleys
+of New Orleans, the men might have come out of "Alsatia," where they
+would have been worthy subjects of that illustrious potentate, "Duke
+Hildebrod." The captain, who had succeeded to the immediate command of
+these worthies on the advancement of Wheat, enjoying the luxury of many
+aliases, called himself White, perhaps out of respect for the purity of
+the patriotic garb lately assumed. So villainous was the reputation of
+this battalion that every commander desired to be rid of it; and
+General Johnston assigned it to me, despite my efforts to decline the
+honor of such society. He promised, however, to sustain me in any
+measures to enforce discipline, and but a few hours elapsed before the
+fulfillment of the promise was exacted. For some disorder after tattoo,
+several "Tigers" were arrested and placed in charge of the brigade
+guard. Their comrades attempted to force the guard and release them. The
+attempt failed, and two ringleaders were captured and put in irons for
+the night. On the ensuing morning an order for a general court-martial
+was obtained from army headquarters, and the court met at 10 A.M. The
+prisoners were found guilty, and sentenced to be shot at sunset. I
+ordered the "firing party" to be detailed from their own company; but
+Wheat and his officers begged to be spared this hard duty, fearing that
+the "Tigers" would refuse to fire on their comrades. I insisted for the
+sake of the example, and pointed out the serious consequences of
+disobedience by their men. The brigade, under arms, was marched out; and
+as the news had spread, many thousands from other commands flocked to
+witness the scene. The firing party, ten "Tigers," was drawn up fifteen
+paces from the prisoners, the brigade provost gave the command to fire,
+and the unhappy men fell dead without a struggle. This account is given
+because it was the first military execution in the Army of Northern
+Virginia; and punishment, so closely following offense, produced a
+marked effect. But Major "Bob" Wheat deserves an extended notice.
+
+In the early summer of 1846, after the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca
+de la Palma, the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor lay
+near the town of Matamoros. Visiting the hospital of a recently joined
+volunteer corps from the States, I remarked a bright-eyed youth of some
+nineteen years, wan with disease, but cheery withal. The interest he
+inspired led to his removal to army headquarters, where he soon
+recovered health and became a pet. This was Bob Wheat, son of an
+Episcopal clergyman, who had left school to come to the war. He next
+went to Cuba with Lopez, was wounded and captured, but escaped the
+garrote to follow Walker to Nicaragua. Exhausting the capacities of
+South American patriots to _pronounce_, he quitted their society in
+disgust, and joined Garibaldi in Italy, whence his keen scent of combat
+summoned him home in convenient time to receive a bullet at Manassas.
+The most complete Dugald Dalgetty possible, he had "all the defects of
+the good qualities" of that doughty warrior.
+
+Some months after the time of which I am writing, a body of Federal
+horse was captured in the valley of Virginia. The colonel commanding,
+who had been dismounted in the fray, approached me. A stalwart man, with
+huge mustaches, cavalry boots adorned with spurs worthy of a
+_caballero_, slouched hat, and plume, he strode along with the
+nonchalant air of one who had wooed Dame Fortune too long to be cast
+down by her frowns. Suddenly Major Wheat, near by, sprang from his horse
+with a cry of "Percy! old boy!" "Why, Bob!" was echoed back, and a warm
+embrace was exchanged. Colonel Percy Wyndham, an Englishman in the
+Federal service, had last parted from Wheat in Italy, or some other
+country where the pleasant business of killing was going on, and now
+fraternized with his friend in the manner described.
+
+Poor Wheat! A month later, and he slept his last sleep on the bloody
+field of Cold Harbor. He lies there in a soldier's grave. Gallant
+spirit! let us hope that his readiness to die for his cause has made
+"the scarlet of his sins like unto wool."
+
+As the autumn of the year 1861 passed away, the question of army
+organization pressed for solution, while divergent opinions were held by
+the Government at Richmond and General Johnston. The latter sent me to
+President Davis to explain his views and urge their adoption. My mission
+met with no success; but in discharging it, I was made aware of the
+estrangement growing up between these eminent persons, which
+subsequently became "the spring of woes unnumbered." An earnest effort
+made by me to remove the cloud, then "no greater than a man's hand,"
+failed; though the elevation of character of the two men, which made
+them listen patiently to my appeals, justified hope. Time but served to
+widen the breach. Without the knowledge and despite the wishes of
+General Johnston, the descendants of the ancient dwellers in the cave
+of Adullam gathered themselves behind his shield, and shot their arrows
+at President Davis and his advisers, weakening the influence of the head
+of the cause for which all were struggling.
+
+Immediately after the birth of the Confederacy, a resolution was adopted
+by the "Provisional Congress" declaring that military and naval
+officers, resigning the service of the United States Government to enter
+that of the Confederate, would preserve their relative rank. Later on,
+the President was authorized to make five appointments to the grade of
+general. These appointments were announced after the battle of Manassas,
+and in the following order of seniority: Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney
+Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and G.T. Beauregard.
+
+Near the close of President Buchanan's administration, in 1860, died
+General Jesup, Quartermaster-General of the United States army; and
+Joseph E. Johnston, then lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, was appointed to
+the vacancy. Now the Quartermaster-General had the rank, pay, and
+emoluments of a brigadier-general; but the rank was staff, and by law
+this officer could not exercise command over troops unless by special
+assignment. When, in the spring of 1861, the officers in question
+entered the service of the Confederacy, Cooper had been Adjutant-General
+of the United States Army, with the rank of colonel; Albert Sidney
+Johnston, colonel and brigadier-general by brevet, and on duty as such;
+Lee, lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, senior to Joseph E. Johnston in the
+line before the latter's appointment above mentioned; Beauregard, major
+of engineers. In arranging the order of seniority of generals, President
+Davis held to the superiority of line to staff rank, while Joseph E.
+Johnston took the opposite view, and sincerely believed that injustice
+was done him.
+
+After the grave and wondrous scenes through which we have passed, all
+this seems like "a tempest in a tea-pot;" but it had much influence and
+deserves attention.
+
+General Beauregard, who about this time was transferred to the army in
+the West, commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston, was also known to have
+grievances. Whatever their source, it could not have been _rank_; but it
+is due to this General--a gentleman of taste--to say that no utterances
+came from him. Indiscreet persons at Richmond, claiming the privilege
+and discharging the duty of friendship, gave tongue to loud and frequent
+plaints, and increased the confusion of the hour.
+
+As the year 1862 opened, and the time for active movements drew near,
+weighty cares attended the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
+The folly of accepting regiments for the short period of twelve months,
+to which allusion has been made, was now apparent. Having taken service
+in the spring of 1861, the time of many of the troops would expire just
+as the Federal host in their front might be expected to advance. A large
+majority of the men were willing to reenlist, provided that they could
+first go home to arrange private affairs; and fortunately, the fearful
+condition of the country permitted the granting of furloughs on a large
+scale. Except on a few pikes, movements were impossible, and an army
+could no more have marched across country than across Chesapeake bay.
+Closet warriors in cozy studies, with smooth macadamized roadways before
+their doors, sneer at the idea of military movements being arrested by
+mud. I apprehend that these gentlemen have never served in a bad country
+during the rainy season, and are ignorant of the fact that, in his
+Russian campaign, the elements proved too strong for the genius of
+Napoleon.
+
+General Johnston met the difficulties of his position with great
+coolness, tact, and judgment; but his burden was by no means lightened
+by the interference of certain politicians at Richmond. These were
+perhaps inflamed by the success that had attended the tactical efforts
+of their Washington peers. At all events, they now threw themselves upon
+military questions with much ardor. Their leader was Alexander H.
+Stephens of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confederacy, who is entitled
+to a place by himself.
+
+Like the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke, Mr. Stephens has an acute
+intellect attached to a frail and meagre body. As was said by the witty
+Canon of St. Paul's of Francis Jeffrey, his mind is in a state of
+indecent exposure. A trained and skillful politician, he was for many
+years before the war returned to the United States House of
+Representatives from the district in which he resides, and his "device"
+seems always to have been, "Fiat justitia, ruat coelum." When, in
+December, 1849, the Congress assembled, there was a Whig administration,
+and the same party had a small majority in the lower House, of which Mr.
+Stephens, an ardent Whig, was a member; but he could not see his way to
+support his party's candidate for Speaker, and this inability to find a
+road, plain mayhap to weaker organs, secured the control of the House to
+his political adversaries. During the exciting period preceding
+"secession" Mr. Stephens held and avowed moderate opinions; but, swept
+along by the resistless torrent surrounding him, he discovered and
+proclaimed that "slavery was the corner-stone of the confederacy." In
+the strong vernacular of the West, this was "rather piling the agony" on
+the humanitarians, whose sympathies were not much quickened toward us
+thereby. As the struggle progressed, Mr. Stephens, with all the
+impartiality of an equity judge, marked many of the virtues of the
+Government north of the Potomac, and all the vices of that on his own
+side of the river. Regarding the military questions in hand he
+entertained and publicly expressed original opinions, which I will
+attempt to convey as accurately as possible. The war was for principles
+and rights, and it was in defense of these, as well as of their
+property, that the people had taken up arms. They could always be relied
+on when a battle was imminent; but, when no fighting was to be done,
+they had best be at home attending to their families and interests. As
+their intelligence was equal to their patriotism, they were as capable
+of judging of the necessity of their presence with the colors as the
+commanders of armies, who were but professional soldiers fighting for
+rank and pay, and most of them without property in the South. It may be
+observed that such opinions are more comfortably cherished by political
+gentlemen, two hundred miles away, than by commanders immediately in
+front of the enemy.
+
+In July, 1865, two months after the close of the great war, I visited
+Washington in the hope of effecting some change in the condition of
+Jefferson Davis, then ill and a prisoner at Fortress Monroe; and this
+visit was protracted to November before its object was accomplished. In
+the latter part of October of the same year Mr. Stephens came to
+Washington, where he was the object of much attention on the part of
+people controlling the Congress and the country. Desiring his
+cooeperation in behalf of Mr. Davis, I sought and found him sitting near
+a fire (for he is of a chilly nature), smoking his pipe. He heard me in
+severe politeness, and, without unnecessary expenditure of enthusiasm,
+promised his assistance. Since the war Mr. Stephens has again found a
+seat in the Congress, where, unlike the rebel brigadiers, his presence
+is not a rock of offense to the loyal mind.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The foregoing sketch of Mr. Stephens appeared substantially
+in the "North American Review," but the date of the interview in
+Washington was not stated. Thereupon Mr. Stephens, in print, seized on
+July, and declared that, as he was a prisoner in Fort Warren during that
+month, the interview was a "Munchausenism." He also disputes the
+correctness of the opinions concerning military matters ascribed to him,
+although scores of his associates at Richmond will attest it. Again, he
+assumes the non-existence of twelve-months' regiments because some took
+service for the war, etc.
+
+Like other ills, feeble health has its compensations, especially for
+those who unite restless vanity and ambition to a feminine desire for
+sympathy. It has been much the habit of Mr. Stephens to date
+controversial epistles from "a sick chamber," as do ladies in a delicate
+situation. A diplomatist of the last century, the Chevalier D'Eon, by
+usurping the privileges of the opposite sex, inspired grave doubts
+concerning his own.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.
+
+
+Pursuing "the even tenor of his way," Johnston rapidly increased the
+efficiency of his army. Furloughed men returned in large numbers before
+their leaves had terminated, many bringing new recruits with them.
+Divisions were formed, and officers selected to command them. Some
+islands of dry land appeared amid the sea of mud, when the movement of
+the Federal forces in our front changed the theatre of war and opened
+the important campaign of 1862.
+
+When overtaken by unexpected calamity African tribes destroy the fetich
+previously worshiped, and with much noise seek some new idol in which
+they can incarnate their vanities and hopes. Stunned by the rout at
+Manassas, the North pulled down an old veteran, Scott, and his
+lieutenant, McDowell, and set up McClellan, who caught the public eye at
+the moment by reason of some minor successes in Western Virginia, where
+the Confederate General, Robert Garnett, was killed. It is but fair to
+admit that the South had not emulated the wisdom of Solomon nor the
+modesty of Godolphin. The capture of Fort Sumter, with its garrison of
+less than a hundred men, was hardly Gibraltar; yet it would put the
+grandiloquent hidalgoes of Spain on their mettle to make more clatter
+over the downfall of the cross of St. George from that historic rock.
+McClellan was the young Napoleon, the very god of war in his latest
+avatar. While this was absurd, and in the end injurious to McClellan, it
+was of service to his Government; for it strengthened his loins to the
+task before him--a task demanding the highest order of ability and the
+influence of a demigod. A great war was to be carried on, and a great
+army, the most complex of machines, was necessary.
+
+The cardinal principles on which the art of war is based are few and
+unchangeable, resembling in this the code of morality; but their
+application varies as the theatre of the war, the genius and temper of
+the people engaged, and the kind of arms employed. The United States had
+never possessed a great army. The entire force engaged in the war
+against Mexico would scarcely have made a respectable _corps d'armee_,
+and to study the organization of great armies and campaigns a recurrence
+to the Napoleonic era was necessary. The Governments of Europe for a
+half century had been improving armaments, and changing the tactical
+unit of formation and manoeuvre to correspond to such improvement. The
+Italian campaign of Louis Napoleon established some advance in field
+artillery, but the supreme importance of breech-loaders was not admitted
+until Sadowa, in 1866. All this must be considered in determining the
+value of McClellan's work. Taking the raw material intrusted to him, he
+converted it into a great military machine, complete in all its parts,
+fitted for its intended purpose. Moreover, he resisted the natural
+impatience of his Government and people, and the follies of politicians
+and newspapers, and for months refused to put his machine at work before
+all its delicate adjustments were perfected. Thus, much in its own
+despite, the North obtained armies and the foundation of success. The
+correctness of the system adopted by McClellan proved equal to all
+emergencies, and remained unchanged until the close of the war.
+Disappointed in his hands, and suffering painful defeats in those of his
+immediate successors, the "Army of the Potomac" always recovered, showed
+itself a vital organism, and finally triumphed. McClellan organized
+victory for his section, and those who deem the preservation of the
+"Union" the first of earthly duties should not cease to do him
+reverence.
+
+I have here written of McClellan, not as a leader, but an organizer of
+armies; and as such he deserves to rank with the Von Moltkes,
+Scharnhorsts, and Louvois of history.
+
+Constant struggle against the fatal interference of politicians with his
+military plans and duties separated McClellan from the civil department
+of his Government, and led him to adopt a policy of his own. The
+military road to Richmond, and the only one as events proved, was by the
+peninsula and the James river, and it was his duty so to advise. He
+insisted, and had his way; but not for long. A little of that
+selfishness which serves lower intelligences as an instinct of
+self-preservation would have shown him that his most dangerous enemies
+were not in his front. The Administration at Washington had to deal with
+a people blind with rage, an ignorant and meddlesome Congress, and a
+wolfish horde of place-hunters. A sudden dash of the Confederates on the
+capital might change the attitude of foreign powers. These political
+considerations weighed heavily at the seat of government, but were of
+small moment to the military commander. In a conflict between civil
+policy and military strategy, the latter must yield. The jealousy
+manifested by the Venetian and Dutch republics toward their commanders
+has often been criticised; but it should be remembered that they kept
+the military in strict subjection to the civil power; and when they were
+overthrown, it was by foreign invasion, not by military usurpation.
+Their annals afford no example of the declaration by their generals that
+the special purpose of republican armies is to preserve civil order and
+enforce civil law.
+
+After the battle of Chickamauga, in 1863, General Grant was promoted to
+the command of the armies of the United States, and called to
+Washington. In a conference between him, President Lincoln, and
+Secretary Stanton, the approaching campaign in Virginia was discussed.
+Grant said that the advance on Richmond should be made by the James
+river. It was replied that the Government required the interposition of
+an army between Lee and Washington, and could not consent at that late
+day to the adoption of a plan which would be taken by the public as a
+confession of previous error. Grant observed that he was indifferent as
+to routes; but if the Government preferred its own, so often tried, to
+the one he suggested, it must be prepared for the additional loss of a
+hundred thousand men. The men were promised, Grant accepted the
+governmental plan of campaign, and was supported to the end. The above
+came to me well authenticated, and I have no doubt of its
+correctness.[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: Some of the early pages of this work were published in the
+number of the "North American Review" for January, 1878, including the
+above account of a conference at Washington between President Lincoln,
+Secretary Stanton, and General Grant. In the "New York Herald" of May
+27, 1878, appears an interview with General Grant, in which the latter
+says, "The whole story is a fabrication, and whoever vouched for it to
+General Taylor vouched for a fiction." General Halleck, who was at the
+time in question Chief of Staff at the war office, related the story of
+this conference to me in New Orleans, where he was on a visit from
+Louisville, Ky., then his headquarters. Several years later General
+Joseph E. Johnston gave me the same account, which he had from another
+officer of the United States Army, also at the time in the war office. A
+letter from General Johnston, confirming the accuracy of my relation,
+has been published. Since, I have received a letter, dated New York,
+June 6, 1878, wherein the writer states that in Washington, in 1868 or
+1869, he had an account of this conference, as I give it, from General
+John A. Logan of Illinois. When calling for reenforcements, after his
+losses in the Wilderness, General Grant reminded Stanton of his
+opposition to the land route in their conference, but added that "he
+would now fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." The writer
+of this communication is quite unknown to me, but manifests his
+sincerity by suggesting that I should write to General Logan, who, he
+doubts not, will confirm his statement. I have not so written, because I
+have no acquaintance with General Logan, and no desire to press the
+matter further. From many sources comes evidence that _a conference_ was
+held, which General Grant seems to deny. Moreover, I cannot forget that
+in one notable instance a question of fact was raised against General
+Grant, with much burden of evidence; and while declaiming any wish or
+intent of entering on another, one may hold in all charity that General
+Grant's memory may be as treacherous about _facts_ as mine proved about
+a _date_, when, in a letter to the "Herald," I stupidly gave two years
+after General Halleck's death as the time of his conversation with me.
+These considerations have determined me to let the account of the
+conference stand as originally written.]
+
+During his operations on the peninsula and near Richmond, McClellan
+complained much of want of support; but the constancy with which
+President Lincoln adhered to him was, under the circumstances,
+surprising. He had drifted away from the dominant Washington sentiment,
+and alienated the sympathies of his Government. His fall was inevitable;
+the affection of the army but hastened it; even victory could not save
+him. He adopted the habit of saying, "My army," "My soldiers." Such
+phraseology may be employed by a Frederick or Napoleon, sovereigns as
+well as generals; but officers command the armies of their governments.
+General McClellan is an upright, patriotic man, incapable of
+wrong-doing, and has a high standard of morality, to which he lives more
+closely than most men do to a lower one; but it is to be remembered that
+the examples of the good are temptations and opportunities to the
+unscrupulous. The habit of thought underlying such language, or soon
+engendered by its use, has made Mexico and the South American republics
+the wonder and scorn of civilization.
+
+The foregoing account of McClellan's downfall is deemed pertinent
+because he was the central figure in the Northern field, and laid the
+foundation of Northern success. Above all, he and a gallant band of
+officers supporting him impressed a generous, chivalric spirit on the
+war, which soon faded away; and the future historian, in recounting some
+later operations, will doubt if he is dealing with campaigns of generals
+or expeditions of brigands.
+
+The intention of McClellan to transfer his base from Washington to some
+point farther south was known to Johnston, but there was doubt whether
+Fredericksburg or the Peninsula would be selected. To meet either
+contingency, Johnston in the spring of 1862 moved his army from Manassas
+to the vicinity of Orange Court House, where he was within easy reach of
+both Fredericksburg and Richmond. The movement was executed with the
+quiet precision characteristic of Johnston, unrivaled as a master of
+logistics.
+
+I was ordered to withdraw the infantry pickets from the lower Bull Run
+after nightfall, and move on a road through the county of Prince
+William, east of the line of railway from Manassas to Orange. This road
+was tough and heavy, and crossed by frequent streams, affluents of the
+neighboring Potomac. These furnished occupation and instruction to a
+small body of pioneers, recently organized, while the difficulties of
+the road drew heavily on the marching capacity--or rather incapacity--of
+the men. Straggling was then, and continued throughout to be, the vice
+of Southern armies. The climate of the South was not favorable to
+pedestrian exercise, and, centaur-like, its inhabitants, from infancy to
+old age, passed their lives on horseback, seldom walking the most
+insignificant distance. When brought into the field, the men were as
+ignorant of the art of marching as babes, and required for their
+instruction the same patient, unwearied attention. On this and
+subsequent marches frequent halts were made, to enable stragglers to
+close up; and I set the example to mounted officers of riding to the
+rear of the column, to encourage the weary by relieving them of their
+arms, and occasionally giving a footsore fellow a cast on my horse. The
+men appreciated this care and attention, followed advice as to the
+fitting of their shoes, cold bathing of feet, and healing of abrasions,
+and soon held it a disgrace to fall out of ranks. Before a month had
+passed the brigade learned how to march, and, in the Valley with
+Jackson, covered long distances without leaving a straggler behind.
+Indeed, in several instances it emulated the achievement of Crauford's
+"Light Brigade," whose wonderful march to join Wellington at Talavera
+remains the stoutest feat of modern soldiership.
+
+Arrived at the Rappahannock, I found the railway bridge floored for the
+passage of troops and trains. The army, with the exception of Ewell's
+division, composed of Elzey's, Trimball's, and my brigades, had passed
+the Rapidan, and was lying around Orange Court House, where General
+Johnston had his headquarters. Some horse, under Stuart, remained north
+of the Rappahannock, toward Manassas.
+
+For the first time Ewell had his division together and under his
+immediate command; and as we remained for many days between the rivers,
+I had abundant opportunities for studying the original character of
+"Dick Ewell." We had known each other for many years, but now our
+friendship and intercourse became close and constant. Graduated from
+West Point in 1840, Ewell joined the 1st regiment of United States
+dragoons, and, saving the Mexican war, in which he served with such
+distinction as a young cavalryman could gain, his whole military life
+had been passed on the plains, where, as he often asserted, he had
+learned all about commanding fifty United States dragoons, and forgotten
+everything else. In this he did himself injustice, as his career proves;
+but he was of a singular modesty. Bright, prominent eyes, a bomb-shaped,
+bald head, and a nose like that of Francis of Valois, gave him a
+striking resemblance to a woodcock; and this was increased by a
+bird-like habit of putting his head on one side to utter his quaint
+speeches. He fancied that he had some mysterious internal malady, and
+would eat nothing but frumenty, a preparation of wheat; and his
+plaintive way of talking of his disease, as if he were some one else,
+was droll in the extreme. His nervousness prevented him from taking
+regular sleep, and he passed nights curled around a camp-stool, in
+positions to dislocate an ordinary person's joints and drive the
+"caoutchouc man" to despair. On such occasions, after long silence, he
+would suddenly direct his eyes and nose toward me with "General Taylor!
+What do you suppose President Davis made me a major-general
+for?"--beginning with a sharp accent and ending with a gentle lisp.
+Superbly mounted, he was the boldest of horsemen, invariably leaving the
+roads to take timber and water. No follower of the "Pytchley" or "Quorn"
+could have lived with him across country. With a fine tactical eye on
+the battle field, he was never content with his own plan until he had
+secured the approval of another's judgment, and chafed under the
+restraint of command, preparing to fight with the skirmish line. On two
+occasions in the Valley, during the temporary absence of Jackson from
+the front, Ewell summoned me to his side, and immediately rushed forward
+among the skirmishers, where some sharp work was going on. Having
+refreshed himself, he returned with the hope that "old Jackson would not
+catch him at it." He always spoke of Jackson, several years his junior,
+as "old," and told me in confidence that he admired his genius, but was
+certain of his lunacy, and that he never saw one of Jackson's couriers
+approach without expecting an order to assault the north pole.
+
+Later, after he had heard Jackson seriously declare that he never ate
+pepper because it produced a weakness in his left leg, he was confirmed
+in this opinion. With all his oddities, perhaps in some measure because
+of them, Ewell was adored by officers and men.
+
+Orders from headquarters directed all surplus provisions, in the country
+between the Rappahannock and Rapidan, to be sent south of the latter
+stream. Executing these orders strictly, as we daily expected to rejoin
+the army, the division began to be straitened for supplies. The
+commissary of my brigade, Major Davis, was the very pearl of
+commissaries. Indefatigable in discharge of duty, he had as fine a nose
+for bullocks and bacon as Major Monsoon for sherry. The commissaries of
+the other brigades were less efficient, and for some days drew rations
+from Davis; but it soon became my duty to take care of my own command,
+and General Ewell's attention was called to the subject. The General
+thought that it was impossible so rich a country could be exhausted, and
+sallied forth on a cattle hunt himself. Late in the day he returned with
+a bull, jaded as was he of Ballyraggan after he had been goaded to the
+summit of that classic pass, and venerable enough to have fertilized the
+milky mothers of the herds of our early Presidents, whose former estates
+lie in this vicinity. With a triumphant air Ewell showed me his plunder.
+I observed that the bull was a most respectable animal, but would hardly
+afford much subsistence to eight thousand men. "Ah! I was thinking of my
+fifty dragoons," replied the General. The joke spread, and doubtless
+furnished sauce for the happy few to whose lot the bull fell.
+
+Meantime, the cavalry force in our front had been withdrawn, and the
+Federal pickets made their appearance on the north bank of the
+Rappahannock, occasionally exchanging a shot with ours across the
+stream. This served to enliven us for a day or two, and kept Ewell
+busy, as he always feared lest some one would get under fire before him.
+At length a fire of artillery and small arms was opened from the north
+end of the bridge, near the south end of which my brigade was camped.
+Ordering the command to move out, I galloped down to the river, where I
+found Ewell assisting with his own hands to place some guns in position.
+The affair was over in a few minutes. The enemy had quietly run up two
+pieces of artillery, supported by dismounted horsemen, and opened fire
+on my camp; but the promptness with which the men had moved prevented
+loss, saving one or two brush huts, and a few mess pans.
+
+The bridge had previously been prepared for burning, Ewell's orders
+being to destroy all railway bridges behind him, to prevent the use of
+the rails by the Federals. During the little _alerte_ mentioned, I saw
+smoke rising from the bridge, which was soon a mass of flame. Now, this
+was the only bridge for some miles up or down; and though the river was
+fordable at many points, the fords were deep and impassable after rains.
+Its premature destruction not only prevented us from scouting and
+foraging on the north bank, but gave notice to the enemy of our purpose
+to abandon the country. Annoyed, and doubtless expressing the feeling in
+my countenance, as I watched the flames, Ewell, after a long silence,
+said, "You don't like it." Whereupon I related the following from
+Bugeaud's "Maxims": At the close of the Napoleonic wars, Bugeaud, a
+young colonel, commanded a French regiment on the Swiss frontier. A
+stream spanned by a bridge, but fordable above and below, separated him
+from an Austrian force of four times his strength. He first determined
+to destroy the bridge, but reflected that if left it might tempt the
+enemy, whenever he moved, to neglect the fords. Accordingly, he masked
+his regiment as near his end of the bridge as the topography of the
+ground permitted, and waited. The Austrians moved by the bridge, and
+Bugeaud, seizing the moment, fell upon them in the act of crossing and
+destroyed the entire force. Moral: 'Tis easier to watch and defend one
+bridge than many miles of fordable water. "Why did you keep the story
+until the bridge was burnt?" exclaimed Ewell. Subsequently, alleging
+that he had small opportunity for study after leaving West Point, he
+drew from me whatever some reading and a good memory could supply; but
+his shrewd remarks changed many erroneous opinions I had formed, and our
+"talks" were of more value to me than to him.
+
+As our next move, hourly expected, would take us beyond the reach of
+railways, I here reduced the brigade to light marching order. My own
+kit, consisting of a change of underwear and a tent "fly," could be
+carried on my horse. A fly can be put up in a moment, and by stopping
+the weather end with boughs a comfortable hut is made. The men carried
+each his blanket, an extra shirt and drawers, two pairs of socks
+(woolen), and a pair of extra shoes. These, with his arm and ammunition,
+were a sufficient load for strong marching. Tents, especially in a
+wooded country, are not only a nuisance, involving much transportation,
+the bane of armies, but are detrimental to health. In cool weather they
+are certain to be tightly closed, and the number of men occupying them
+breeds a foul atmosphere. The rapidity with which men learn to shelter
+themselves, and their ingenuity in accomplishing it under unfavorable
+conditions, are surprising. My people grumbled no little at being
+"stripped", but soon admitted that they were better for it, and came to
+despise useless _impedimenta_.
+
+I early adopted two customs, and adhered to them throughout the war. The
+first was to examine at every halt the adjacent roads and paths, their
+direction and condition; distances of nearest towns and cross-roads; the
+country, its capacity to furnish supplies, as well as general
+topography, etc., all of which was embodied in a rude sketch, with notes
+to impress it on memory. The second was to imagine while on the march an
+enemy before me to be attacked, or to be received in my position, and
+make the necessary dispositions for either contingency. My imaginary
+manoeuvres were sad blunders, but I corrected them by experience drawn
+from actual battles, and can safely affirm that such slight success as I
+had in command was due to these customs. Assuredly, a knowledge of
+details will not make a great general; but there can be no greatness in
+war without such knowledge, for genius is but a capacity to grasp and
+apply details.
+
+These observations are not for the "heaven-born," who from their closets
+scan with eagle glance fields of battle, whose mighty pens slay their
+thousands and their tens of thousands, and in whose "Serbonian"
+inkstands "armies whole" disappear; but it is hoped that they may prove
+useful to the young adopting the profession of arms, who may feel
+assured that the details of the art of war afford "scope and verge" for
+the employment of all their faculties. Conscientious study will not
+perhaps make them great, but it will make them respectable; and when the
+responsibility of command comes, they will not disgrace their flag,
+injure their cause, nor murder their men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN.
+
+
+At length the expected order to march came, and we moved south to
+Gordonsville. In one of his letters to Madame du Deffand, Horace Walpole
+writes of the English spring as "coming in with its accustomed
+severity," and such was our experience of a Virginian spring; or rather,
+it may be said that winter returned with renewed energy, and we had for
+several days snow, sleet, rain, and all possible abominations in the way
+of weather. Arrived at Gordonsville, whence the army had departed for
+the Peninsula, we met orders to join Jackson in the Valley, and marched
+thither by Swift Run "Gap"--the local name for mountain passes. Swift
+Run, an affluent of the Rapidan, has its source in this gap. The orders
+mentioned were the last received from General Joseph E. Johnston, from
+whom subsequent events separated me until the close of the war; and
+occasion is thus furnished for the expression of opinion of his
+character and services.
+
+In the full vigor of mature manhood, erect, alert, quick, and decisive of
+speech, General Johnston was the beau ideal of a soldier. Without the least
+proneness to blandishments, he gained and held the affection and confidence
+of his men. Brave and impetuous in action, he had been often wounded, and
+no officer of the general staff of the old United States army had seen so
+much actual service with troops. During the Mexican war he was permitted to
+take command of a voltigeur regiment, and rendered brilliant service. In
+1854 he resigned from the engineers to accept the lieutenant-colonelcy of
+a cavalry regiment. When the civil war became certain, a Virginian by
+birth, he left the position of Quartermaster-General of the United States,
+and offered his sword to the Confederacy. To the East, as his great
+namesake Albert Sidney to the West, he was "the rose and fair expectancy"
+of our cause; and his timely march from Patterson's front in the Valley
+to assist Beauregard at Manassas confirmed public opinion of his capacity.
+Yet he cannot be said to have proved a fortunate commander. Leaving out
+of view Bentonville and the closing scenes in North Carolina, which were
+rather the spasmodic efforts of despair than regular military movements,
+General Johnston's "offensive" must be limited to Seven Pines or Fair Oaks.
+Here his plan was well considered and singularly favored of fortune. Some
+two corps of McClellan's army were posted on the southwest or Richmond side
+of the Chickahominy, and a sudden rise of that stream swept away bridges
+and overflowed the adjacent lowlands, cutting off these corps from their
+supports. They ought to have been crushed, but Johnston fell, severely
+wounded; upon which confusion ensued, and no results of importance were
+attained. Official reports fail, most unwisely, to fix the responsibility
+of the failure, and I do not desire to add to the gossip prevailing then
+and since.
+
+From his own account of the war we can gather that Johnston regrets he
+did not fight on the Oostenaula, after Polk had joined him. It appears
+that in a council two of his three corps commanders, Polk, Hardee, and
+Hood, were opposed to fighting there; but to call a council at all was a
+weakness not to be expected of a general of Johnston's ability and
+self-reliant nature.
+
+I have written of him as a master of logistics, and his skill in
+handling troops was great. As a retreat, the precision and coolness of
+his movements during the Georgia campaign would have enhanced the
+reputation of Moreau; but it never seems to have occurred to him to
+assume the offensive during the many turning movements of his flanks,
+movements involving time and distance. Dispassionate reflection would
+have brought him to the conclusion that Lee was even more overweighted
+in Virginia than he in Georgia; that his Government had given him every
+available man, only leaving small garrisons at Wilmington, Charleston,
+Savannah, and Mobile; that Forrest's command in Mississippi, operating
+on Sherman's communications, was virtually doing his work, while it was
+idle to expect assistance from the trans-Mississippi region. Certainly,
+no more egregious blunder was possible than that of relieving him from
+command in front of Atlanta. If he intended to fight there, he was
+entitled to execute his plan. Had he abandoned Atlanta without a
+struggle, his removal would have met the approval of the army and
+public, an approval which, under the circumstances of its action, the
+Richmond Government failed to receive.
+
+I am persuaded that General Johnston's mind was so jaundiced by the
+unfortunate disagreement with President Davis, to which allusion has
+been made in an earlier part of these reminiscences, as to seriously
+cloud his judgment and impair his usefulness. He sincerely believed
+himself the Esau of the Government, grudgingly fed on bitter herbs,
+while a favored Jacob enjoyed the flesh-pots. Having known him
+intimately for many years, having served under his command and studied
+his methods, I feel confident that his great abilities under happier
+conditions would have distinctly modified, if not changed, the current
+of events. Destiny willed that Davis and Johnston should be brought into
+collision, and the breach, once made, was never repaired. Each misjudged
+the other to the end.
+
+Ewell's division reached the western base of Swift Run Gap on a lovely
+spring evening, April 30, 1862, and in crossing the Blue Ridge seemed to
+have left winter and its rigors behind. Jackson, whom we moved to join,
+had suddenly that morning marched toward McDowell, some eighty miles
+west, where, after uniting with a force under General Edward Johnson, he
+defeated the Federal general Milroy. Some days later he as suddenly
+returned. Meanwhile we were ordered to remain in camp on the Shenandoah
+near Conrad's store, at which place a bridge spanned the stream.
+
+The great Valley of Virginia was before us in all its beauty. Fields of
+wheat spread far and wide, interspersed with woodlands, bright in their
+robes of tender green. Wherever appropriate sites existed, quaint old
+mills, with turning wheels, were busily grinding the previous year's
+harvest; and grove and eminence showed comfortable homesteads. The soft
+vernal influence shed a languid grace over the scene. The theatre of war
+in this region was from Staunton to the Potomac, one hundred and twenty
+miles, with an average width of some twenty-five miles; and the Blue
+Ridge and Alleghanies bounded it east and west. Drained by the
+Shenandoah with its numerous affluents, the surface was nowhere flat,
+but a succession of graceful swells, occasionally rising into abrupt
+hills. Resting on limestone, the soil was productive, especially of
+wheat, and the underlying rock furnished abundant metal for the
+construction of roads. Railway communication was limited to the Virginia
+Central, which entered the Valley by a tunnel east of Staunton and
+passed westward through that town; to the Manassas Gap, which traversed
+the Blue Ridge at the pass of that name and ended at Strasburg; and to
+the Winchester and Harper's Ferry, thirty miles long. The first extended
+to Richmond by Charlottesville and Gordonsville, crossing at the former
+place the line from Washington and Alexandria to Lynchburg; the second
+connected Strasburg and Front Royal, in the Valley, with the same line
+at Manassas Junction; and the last united with the Baltimore and Ohio at
+Harper's Ferry. Frequent passes or gaps in the mountains, through which
+wagon roads had been constructed, afforded easy access from east and
+west; and pikes were excellent, though unmetaled roads became heavy
+after rains.
+
+But the glory of the Valley is Massanutten. Rising abruptly from the
+plain near Harrisonburg, twenty-five miles north of Staunton, this
+lovely mountain extends fifty miles, and as suddenly ends near
+Strasburg. Parallel with the Blue Ridge, and of equal height, its sharp
+peaks have a bolder and more picturesque aspect, while the abruptness of
+its slopes gives the appearance of greater altitude. Midway of
+Massanutten, a gap with good road affords communication between
+Newmarket and Luray. The eastern or Luray valley, much narrower than the
+one west of Massanutten, is drained by the east branch of the
+Shenandoah, which is joined at Front Royal, near the northern end of the
+mountain, by its western affluent, whence the united waters flow north,
+at the base of the Blue Ridge, to meet the Potomac at Harper's Ferry.
+
+The inhabitants of this favored region were worthy of their inheritance.
+The north and south were peopled by scions of old colonial families, and
+the proud names of the "Old Dominion" abounded. In the central counties
+of Rockingham and Shenandoah were many descendants of German settlers.
+These were thrifty, substantial farmers, and, like their kinsmen of
+Pennsylvania, expressed their opulence in huge barns and fat cattle. The
+devotion of all to the Southern cause was wonderful. Jackson, a Valley
+man by reason of his residence at Lexington, south of Staunton, was
+their hero and idol. The women sent husbands, sons, lovers, to battle as
+cheerfully as to marriage feasts. No oppression, no destitution could
+abate their zeal. Upon a march I was accosted by two elderly sisters,
+who told me they had secreted a large quantity of bacon in a well on
+their estate, hard by. Federals had been in possession of the country,
+and, fearing the indiscretion of their slaves, they had done the work at
+night with their own hands, and now desired to _give_ the meat to their
+people. Wives and daughters of millers, whose husbands and brothers were
+in arms, worked the mills night and day to furnish flour to their
+soldiers. To the last, women would go distances to carry the modicum of
+food between themselves and starvation to a suffering Confederate.
+Should the sons of Virginia ever commit dishonorable acts, grim indeed
+will be their reception on the further shores of Styx. They can expect
+no recognition from the mothers who bore them.
+
+Ere the war closed, the Valley was ravaged with a cruelty surpassing
+that inflicted on the Palatinate two hundred years ago. That foul deed
+smirched the fame of Louvois and Turenne, and public opinion, in what
+has been deemed a ruder age, forced an apology from the "Grand
+Monarque." Yet we have seen the official report of a Federal general
+wherein are recounted the many barns, mills, and other buildings
+destroyed, concluding with the assertion that "a crow flying over the
+Valley must take rations with him." In the opinion of the admirers of
+the officer making this report, the achievement on which it is based
+ranks with Marengo. Moreover, this same officer, General Sheridan, many
+years after the close of the war, denounced several hundred thousands of
+his fellow citizens as "banditti," and solicited permission of his
+Government to deal with them as such. May we not well ask whether
+religion, education, science and art combined have lessened the
+brutality of man since the days of Wallenstein and Tilly?
+
+While in camp near Conrad's store, the 7th Louisiana, Colonel Hays, a
+crack regiment, on picket down stream, had a spirited affair, in which
+the enemy was driven with the loss of a score of prisoners. Shortly
+after, for convenience of supplies, I was directed to cross the river
+and camp some miles to the southwest. The command was in superb
+condition, and a four-gun battery from Bedford county, Virginia, Captain
+Bowyer, had recently been added to it. The four regiments, 6th, 7th,
+8th, and 9th Louisiana, would average above eight hundred bayonets. Of
+Wheat's battalion of "Tigers" and the 7th I have written. The 6th,
+Colonel Seymour, recruited in New Orleans, was composed of Irishmen,
+stout, hardy fellows, turbulent in camp and requiring a strong hand, but
+responding to kindness and justice, and ready to follow their officers
+to the death. The 9th, Colonel Stafford, was from North Louisiana.
+Planters or sons of planters, many of them men of fortune, soldiering
+was a hard task to which they only became reconciled by reflecting that
+it was "niddering" in gentlemen to assume voluntarily the discharge of
+duties and then shirk. The 8th, Colonel Kelly, was from the
+Attakapas--"Acadians," the race of which Longfellow sings in
+"Evangeline." A home-loving, simple people, few spoke English, fewer
+still had ever before moved ten miles from their natal _cabanas_; and
+the war to them was "a liberal education," as was the society of the
+lady of quality to honest Dick Steele. They had all the light gayety of
+the Gaul, and, after the manner of their ancestors, were born cooks. A
+capital regimental band accompanied them, and whenever weather and
+ground permitted, even after long marches, they would waltz and "polk"
+in couples with as much zest as if their arms encircled the supple
+waists of the Celestines and Melazies of their native Teche. The Valley
+soldiers were largely of the Presbyterian faith, and of a solemn, pious
+demeanor, and looked askant at the caperings of my Creoles, holding them
+to be "devices and snares."
+
+The brigade adjutant, Captain (afterward Colonel) Eustace Surget, who
+remained with me until the war closed, was from Mississippi, where he
+had large estates. Without the slightest military training, by study and
+zeal, he soon made himself an accomplished staff officer. Of singular
+coolness in battle, he never blundered, and, though much exposed, pulled
+through without a scratch. My aide, Lieutenant Hamilton, grandson of
+General Hamilton of South Carolina, was a cadet in his second year at
+West Point when war was declared, upon which he returned to his State--a
+gay, cheery lad, with all the pluck of his race.
+
+At nightfall of the second day in this camp, an order came from General
+Jackson to join him at Newmarket, twenty odd miles north; and it was
+stated that my division commander, Ewell, had been apprised of the
+order. Our position was near a pike leading south of west to
+Harrisonburg, whence, to gain Newmarket, the great Valley pike ran due
+north. All roads near our camp had been examined and sketched, and among
+them was a road running northwest over the southern foot-hills of
+Massanutten, and joining the Valley pike some distance to the north of
+Harrisonburg. It was called the Keazletown road, from a little German
+village on the flank of Massanutten; and as it was the hypothenuse of
+the triangle, and reported good except at two points, I decided to take
+it. That night a pioneer party was sent forward to light fires and
+repair the road for artillery and trains. Early dawn saw us in motion,
+with lovely weather, a fairish road, and men in high health and spirits.
+
+Later in the day a mounted officer was dispatched to report our approach
+and select a camp, which proved to be beyond Jackson's forces, then
+lying in the fields on both sides of the pike. Over three thousand
+strong, neat in fresh clothing of gray with white gaiters, bands playing
+at the head of their regiments, not a straggler, but every man in his
+place, stepping jauntily as on parade, though it had marched twenty
+miles and more, in open column with arms at "right shoulder shift," and
+rays of the declining sun flaming on polished bayonets, the brigade
+moved down the broad, smooth pike, and wheeled on to its camping ground.
+Jackson's men, by thousands, had gathered on either side of the road to
+see us pass. Indeed, it was a martial sight, and no man with a spark of
+sacred fire in his heart but would have striven hard to prove worthy of
+such a command.
+
+After attending to necessary camp details, I sought Jackson, whom I had
+never met. And here it may be remarked that he then by no means held the
+place in public estimation which he subsequently attained. His Manassas
+reputation was much impaired by operations in the Valley, to which he
+had been sent after that action. The winter march on Romney had resulted
+in little except to freeze and discontent his troops; which discontent
+was shared and expressed by the authorities at Richmond, and Jackson
+resigned. The influence of Colonel Alek Boteler, seconded by that of the
+Governor of Virginia, induced him to withdraw the resignation. At
+Kernstown, three miles south of Winchester, he was roughly handled by
+the Federal General Shields, and only saved from serious disaster by the
+failure of that officer to push his advantage, though Shields was
+usually energetic.
+
+The mounted officer who had been sent on in advance pointed out a figure
+perched on the topmost rail of a fence overlooking the road and field,
+and said it was Jackson. Approaching, I saluted and declared my name and
+rank, then waited for a response. Before this came I had time to see a
+pair of cavalry boots covering feet of gigantic size, a mangy cap with
+visor drawn low, a heavy, dark beard, and weary eyes--eyes I afterward
+saw filled with intense but never brilliant light. A low, gentle voice
+inquired the road and distance marched that day. "Keazletown road, six
+and twenty miles." "You seem to have no stragglers." "Never allow
+straggling." "You must teach my people; they straggle badly." A bow in
+reply. Just then my creoles started their band and a waltz. After a
+contemplative suck at a lemon, "Thoughtless fellows for serious work"
+came forth. I expressed a hope that the work would not be less well done
+because of the gayety. A return to the lemon gave me the opportunity to
+retire. Where Jackson got his lemons "no fellow could find out," but he
+was rarely without one. To have lived twelve miles from that fruit would
+have disturbed him as much as it did the witty Dean.
+
+Quite late that night General Jackson came to my camp fire, where he
+stayed some hours. He said we would move at dawn, asked a few questions
+about the marching of my men, which seemed to have impressed him, and
+then remained silent. If silence be golden, he was a "bonanza." He
+sucked lemons, ate hard-tack, and drank water, and praying and fighting
+appeared to be his idea of the "whole duty of man."
+
+In the gray of the morning, as I was forming my column on the pike,
+Jackson appeared and gave the route--north--which, from the situation of
+its camp, put my brigade in advance of the army. After moving a short
+distance in this direction, the head of the column was turned to the
+east and took the road over Massanutten gap to Luray. Scarce a word was
+spoken on the march, as Jackson rode with me. From time to time a
+courier would gallop up, report, and return toward Luray. An ungraceful
+horseman, mounted on a sorry chestnut with a shambling gait, his huge
+feet with outturned toes thrust into his stirrups, and such parts of his
+countenance as the low visor of his shocking cap failed to conceal
+wearing a wooden look, our new commander was not prepossessing. That
+night we crossed the east branch of the Shenandoah by a bridge, and
+camped on the stream, near Luray. Here, after three long marches, we
+were but a short distance below Conrad's store, a point we had left
+several days before. I began to think that Jackson was an unconscious
+poet, and, as an ardent lover of nature, desired to give strangers an
+opportunity to admire the beauties of his Valley. It seemed hard lines
+to be wandering like sentimental travelers about the country, instead
+of gaining "kudos" on the Peninsula.
+
+Off the next morning, my command still in advance, and Jackson riding
+with me. The road led north between the east bank of the river and the
+western base of the Blue Ridge. Rain had fallen and softened it, so as
+to delay the wagon trains in rear. Past midday we reached a wood
+extending from the mountain to the river, when a mounted officer from
+the rear called Jackson's attention, who rode back with him. A moment
+later, there rushed out of the wood to meet us a young, rather
+well-looking woman, afterward widely known as Belle Boyd. Breathless
+with speed and agitation, some time elapsed before she found her voice.
+Then, with much volubility, she said we were near Front Royal, beyond
+the wood; that the town was filled with Federals, whose camp was on the
+west side of the river, where they had guns in position to cover the
+wagon bridge, but none bearing on the railway bridge below the former;
+that they believed Jackson to be west of Massanutten, near Harrisonburg;
+that General Banks, the Federal commander, was at Winchester, twenty
+miles northwest of Front Royal, where he was slowly concentrating his
+widely scattered forces to meet Jackson's advance, which was expected
+some days later. All this she told with the precision of a staff officer
+making a report, and it was true to the letter. Jackson was possessed of
+these facts before he left Newmarket, and based his movements upon them;
+but, as he never told anything, it was news to me, and gave me an idea
+of the strategic value of Massanutten--pointed out, indeed, by
+Washington before the Revolution. There also dawned on me quite another
+view of our leader than the one from which I had been regarding him for
+two days past.
+
+Convinced of the correctness of the woman's statements, I hurried
+forward at "a double," hoping to surprise the enemy's idlers in the
+town, or swarm over the wagon bridge with them and secure it. Doubtless
+this was rash, but I felt immensely "cocky" about my brigade, and
+believed that it would prove equal to any demand. Before we had cleared
+the wood Jackson came galloping from the rear, followed by a company of
+horse. He ordered me to deploy my leading regiment as skirmishers on
+both sides of the road and continue the advance, then passed on. We
+speedily came in sight of Front Royal, but the enemy had taken the
+alarm, and his men were scurrying over the bridge to their camp, where
+troops could be seen forming. The situation of the village is
+surpassingly beautiful. It lies near the east bank of the Shenandoah,
+which just below unites all its waters, and looks directly on the
+northern peaks of Massanutten. The Blue Ridge, with Manassas Gap,
+through which passes the railway, overhangs it on the east; distant
+Alleghany bounds the horizon to the west; and down the Shenandoah, the
+eye ranges over a fertile, well-farmed country. Two bridges spanned the
+river--a wagon bridge above, a railway bridge some yards lower. A good
+pike led to Winchester, twenty miles, and another followed the river
+north, whence many cross-roads united with the Valley pike near
+Winchester. The river, swollen by rain, was deep and turbulent, with a
+strong current. The Federals were posted on the west bank, here somewhat
+higher than the opposite, and a short distance above the junction of
+waters, with batteries bearing more especially on the upper bridge.
+
+Under instructions, my brigade was drawn up in line, a little retired
+from the river, but overlooking it--the Federals and their guns in full
+view. So far, not a shot had been fired. I rode down to the river's
+brink to get a better look at the enemy through a field-glass, when my
+horse, heated by the march, stepped into the water to drink. Instantly a
+brisk fire was opened on me, bullets striking all around and raising a
+little shower-bath. Like many a foolish fellow, I found it easier to get
+into than out of a difficulty. I had not yet led my command into action,
+and, remembering that one must "strut" one's little part to the best
+advantage, sat my horse with all the composure I could muster. A
+provident camel, on the eve of a desert journey, would not have laid in
+a greater supply of water than did my thoughtless beast. At last he
+raised his head, looked placidly around, turned, and walked up the bank.
+
+This little incident was not without value, for my men welcomed me with
+a cheer; upon which, as if in response, the enemy's guns opened, and,
+having the range, inflicted some loss on my line. We had no guns up to
+reply, and, in advance as has been mentioned, had outmarched the troops
+behind us. Motionless as a statue, Jackson sat his horse some few yards
+away, and seemed lost in thought. Perhaps the circumstances mentioned
+some pages back had obscured his star; but if so, a few short hours
+swept away the cloud, and it blazed, Sirius-like, over the land. I
+approached him with the suggestion that the railway bridge might be
+passed by stepping on the cross-ties, as the enemy's guns bore less
+directly on it than on the upper bridge. He nodded approval. The 8th
+regiment was on the right of my line, near at hand; and dismounting,
+Colonel Kelly led it across under a sharp musketry fire. Several men
+fell to disappear in the dark water beneath; but the movement continued
+with great rapidity, considering the difficulty of walking on ties, and
+Kelly with his leading files gained the opposite shore. Thereupon the
+enemy fired combustibles previously placed near the center of the wagon
+bridge. The loss of this structure would have seriously delayed us, as
+the railway bridge was not floored, and I looked at Jackson, who, near
+by, was watching Kelly's progress. Again he nodded, and my command
+rushed at the bridge. Concealed by the cloud of smoke, the suddenness of
+the movement saved us from much loss; but it was rather a near thing. My
+horse and clothing were scorched, and many men burned their hands
+severely while throwing brands into the river. We were soon over, and
+the enemy in full flight to Winchester, with loss of camp, guns, and
+prisoners. Just as I emerged from flames and smoke, Jackson was by my
+side. How he got there was a mystery, as the bridge was thronged with my
+men going at full speed; but smoke and fire had decidedly freshened up
+his costume.
+
+In the angle formed by the two branches of the river was another camp
+held by a Federal regiment from Maryland. This was captured by a gallant
+little regiment of Marylanders, Colonel Bradley Johnson, on our side. I
+had no connection with this spirited affair, saving that these
+Marylanders had acted with my command during the day, though not
+attached to it. We followed the enemy on the Winchester road, but to
+little purpose, as we had few horsemen over the river. Carried away by
+his ardor, my commissary, Major Davis, gathered a score of mounted
+orderlies and couriers, and pursued until a volley from the enemy's rear
+guard laid him low on the road, shot through the head. During my service
+west of the Mississippi River, I sent for the colonel of a mounted
+regiment from western Texas, a land of herdsmen, and asked him if he
+could furnish men to hunt and drive in cattle. "Why! bless you, sir, I
+have men who can find cattle where there _aint any_," was his reply.
+Whatever were poor Davis's abilities as to non-existent supplies, he
+could find all the country afforded, and had a wonderful way of cajoling
+old women out of potatoes, cabbages, onions, and other garden stuff,
+giving variety to camp rations, and of no small importance in preserving
+the health of troops. We buried him in a field near the place of his
+fall. He was much beloved by the command, and many gathered quietly
+around the grave. As there was no chaplain at hand, I repeated such
+portions of the service for the dead as a long neglect of pious things
+enabled me to recall.
+
+Late in the night Jackson came out of the darkness and seated himself by
+my camp fire. He mentioned that I would move with him in the morning,
+then relapsed into silence. I fancied he looked at me kindly, and
+interpreted it into an approval of the conduct of the brigade. The
+events of the day, anticipations of the morrow, the death of Davis,
+drove away sleep, and I watched Jackson. For hours he sat silent and
+motionless, with eyes fixed on the fire. I took up the idea that he was
+inwardly praying, and he remained throughout the night.
+
+Off in the morning, Jackson leading the way, my brigade, a small body of
+horse, and a section of the Rockbridge (Virginia) artillery forming the
+column. Major Wheat, with his battalion of "Tigers," was directed to
+keep close to the guns. Sturdy marchers, they trotted along with the
+horse and artillery at Jackson's heels, and after several hours were
+some distance in advance of the brigade, with which I remained.
+
+A volley in front, followed by wild cheers, stirred us up to a
+"double," and we speedily came upon a moving spectacle. Jackson had
+struck the Valley pike at Middletown, twelve miles south of Winchester,
+along which a large body of Federal horse, with many wagons, was
+hastening north. He had attacked at once with his handful of men,
+overwhelmed resistance, and captured prisoners and wagons. The gentle
+Tigers were looting right merrily, diving in and out of wagons with the
+activity of rabbits in a warren; but this occupation was abandoned on my
+approach, and in a moment they were in line, looking as solemn and
+virtuous as deacons at a funeral. Prisoners and spoil were promptly
+secured. The horse was from New England, a section in which horsemanship
+was an unknown art, and some of the riders were strapped to their
+steeds. Ordered to dismount, they explained their condition, and were
+given time to unbuckle. Many breastplates and other protective devices
+were seen here, and later at Winchester. We did not know whether the
+Federals had organized cuirassiers, or were recurring to the customs of
+Gustavus Adolphus. I saw a poor fellow lying dead on the pike, pierced
+through breastplate and body by a rifle ball. Iron-clad men are of small
+account before modern weapons.
+
+A part of the Federal column had passed north before Jackson reached the
+pike, and this, with his mounted men, he pursued. Something more than a
+mile to the south a road left the pike and led directly west, where the
+Federal General Fremont, of whom we shall hear more, commanded "the
+Mountain Department." Attacked in front, as described, a body of
+Federals, horse, artillery, and infantry, with some wagons, took this
+road, and, after moving a short distance, drew up on a crest, with
+unlimbered guns. Their number was unknown, and for a moment they looked
+threatening. The brigade was rapidly formed and marched straight upon
+them, when their guns opened. A shell knocked over several men of the
+7th regiment, and a second, as I rode forward to an eminence to get a
+view, struck the ground under my horse and exploded. The saddle cloth on
+both sides was torn away, and I and Adjutant Surget, who was just behind
+me, were nearly smothered with earth; but neither man nor horse received
+a scratch. The enemy soon limbered up and fled west. By some
+well-directed shots, as they crossed a hill, our guns sent wagons flying
+in the air, with which "P.P.C." we left them and marched north.
+
+At dusk we overtook Jackson, pushing the enemy with his little mounted
+force, himself in advance of all. I rode with him, and we kept on
+through the darkness. There was not resistance enough to deploy
+infantry. A flash, a report, and a whistling bullet from some covert met
+us, but there were few casualties. I quite remember thinking at the time
+that Jackson was invulnerable, and that persons near him shared that
+quality. An officer, riding hard, overtook us, who proved to be the
+chief quartermaster of the army. He reported the wagon trains far
+behind, impeded by a bad road in Luray Valley. "The ammunition wagons?"
+sternly. "All right, sir. They were in advance, and I doubled teams on
+them and brought them through." "Ah!" in a tone of relief.
+
+To give countenance to this quartermaster, if such can be given of a
+dark night, I remarked jocosely: "Never mind the wagons. There are
+quantities of stores in Winchester, and the General has invited me to
+breakfast there to-morrow."
+
+Jackson, who had no more capacity for jests than a Scotchman, took this
+seriously, and reached out to touch me on the arm. In fact, he was of
+Scotch-Irish descent, and his unconsciousness of jokes was _de race_.
+Without physical wants himself, he forgot that others were differently
+constituted, and paid little heed to commissariat; but woe to the man
+who failed to bring up ammunition! In advance, his trains were left far
+behind. In retreat, he would fight for a wheelbarrow.
+
+Some time after midnight, by roads more direct from Front Royal, other
+troops came on the pike, and I halted my jaded people by the roadside,
+where they built fires and took a turn at their haversacks.
+
+Moving with the first light of morning, we came to Kernstown, three
+miles from Winchester, and the place of Jackson's fight with Shields.
+Here heavy and sustained firing, artillery and small arms, was heard. A
+staff officer approached at full speed to summon me to Jackson's
+presence and move up my command. A gallop of a mile or more brought me
+to him. Winchester was in sight, a mile to the north. To the east Ewell
+with a large part of the army was fighting briskly and driving the enemy
+on to the town. On the west a high ridge, overlooking the country to the
+south and southeast, was occupied by a heavy mass of Federals with guns
+in position. Jackson was on the pike, and near him were several
+regiments lying down for shelter, as the fire from the ridge was heavy
+and searching. A Virginian battery, Rockbridge artillery, was fighting
+at a great disadvantage, and already much cut up. Poetic authority
+asserts that "Old Virginny never tires," and the conduct of this battery
+justified the assertion of the muses. With scarce a leg or wheel for man
+and horse, gun or caisson, to stand on, it continued to hammer away at
+the crushing fire above.
+
+Jackson, impassive as ever, pointed to the ridge and said, "You must
+carry it." I replied that my command would be up by the time I could
+inspect the ground, and rode to the left for that purpose. A small
+stream, Abraham's creek, flowed from the west through the little vale at
+the southern base of the ridge, the ascent of which was steep, though
+nowhere abrupt. At one point a broad, shallow, trough-like depression
+broke the surface, which was further interrupted by some low copse,
+outcropping stone, and two fences. On the summit the Federal lines were
+posted behind a stone wall, along a road coming west from the pike. Worn
+somewhat into the soil, this road served as a countersink and
+strengthened the position. Further west, there was a break in the ridge,
+which was occupied by a body of horse, the extreme right of the enemy's
+line.
+
+There was scarce time to mark these features before the head of my
+column appeared, when it was filed to the left, close to the base of the
+ridge, for protection from the plunging fire. Meanwhile, the Rockbridge
+battery held on manfully and engaged the enemy's attention. Riding on
+the flank of my column, between it and the hostile line, I saw Jackson
+beside me. This was not the place for the commander of the army, and I
+ventured to tell him so; but he paid no attention to the remark. We
+reached the shallow depression spoken of, where the enemy could depress
+his guns, and his fire became close and fatal. Many men fell, and the
+whistling of shot and shell occasioned much ducking of heads in the
+column. This annoyed me no little, as it was but child's play to the
+work immediately in hand. Always an admirer of delightful "Uncle Toby,"
+I had contracted the most villainous habit of his beloved army in
+Flanders, and, forgetting Jackson's presence, ripped out, "What the
+h--are you dodging for? If there is any more of it, you will be halted
+under this fire for an hour." The sharp tones of a familiar voice
+produced the desired effect, and the men looked as if they had swallowed
+ramrods; but I shall never forget the reproachful surprise expressed in
+Jackson's face. He placed his hand on my shoulder, said in a gentle
+voice, "I am afraid you are a wicked fellow," turned, and rode back to
+the pike.
+
+The proper ground gained, the column faced to the front and began the
+ascent. At the moment the sun rose over the Blue Ridge, without cloud or
+mist to obscure his rays. It was a lovely Sabbath morning, the 25th of
+May, 1862. The clear, pure atmosphere brought the Blue Ridge and
+Alleghany and Massanutten almost overhead. Even the cloud of murderous
+smoke from the guns above made beautiful spirals in the air, and the
+broad fields of luxuriant wheat glistened with dew. It is remarkable
+how, in the midst of the most absorbing cares, one's attention may be
+fixed by some insignificant object, as mine was by the flight past the
+line of a bluebird, one of the brightest-plumaged of our feathered
+tribes, bearing a worm in his beak, breakfast for his callow brood.
+Birdie had been on the war path, and was carrying home spoil.
+
+As we mounted we came in full view of both armies, whose efforts in
+other quarters had been slackened to await the result of our movement. I
+felt an anxiety amounting to pain for the brigade to acquit itself
+handsomely; and this feeling was shared by every man in it. About half
+way up, the enemy's horse from his right charged; and to meet it, I
+directed Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholls, whose regiment, the 8th, was on
+the left, to withhold slightly his two flank companies. By one volley,
+which emptied some saddles, Nicholls drove off the horse, but was soon
+after severely wounded. Progress was not stayed by this incident.
+Closing the many gaps made by the fierce fire, steadied the rather by
+it, and preserving an alignment that would have been creditable on
+parade, the brigade, with cadenced step and eyes on the foe, swept
+grandly over copse and ledge and fence, to crown the heights from which
+the enemy had melted away. Loud cheers went up from our army, prolonged
+to the east, where warm-hearted Ewell cheered himself hoarse, and led
+forward his men with renewed energy. In truth, it was a gallant feat of
+arms, worthy of the pen of him who immortalized the charge of the
+"Buffs" at Albuera.
+
+Breaking into column, we pursued closely. Jackson came up and grasped my
+hand, worth a thousand words from another, and we were soon in the
+streets of Winchester, a quaint old town of some five thousand
+inhabitants. There was a little fighting in the streets, but the people
+were all abroad--certainly all the women and babies. They were frantic
+with delight, only regretting that so many "Yankees" had escaped, and
+seriously impeded our movements. A buxom, comely dame of some five and
+thirty summers, with bright eyes and tight ankles, and conscious of
+these advantages, was especially demonstrative, exclaiming, "Oh! you are
+too late--too late!" Whereupon, a tall Creole from the Teche sprang from
+the ranks of the 8th regiment, just passing, clasped her in his arms,
+and imprinted a sounding kiss on her ripe lips, with "Madame! je
+n'arrive jamais trop tard." A loud laugh followed, and the dame, with a
+rosy face but merry twinkle in her eye, escaped.
+
+Past the town, we could see the Federals flying north on the Harper's
+Ferry and Martinsburg roads. Cavalry, of which there was a considerable
+force with the army, might have reaped a rich harvest, but none came
+forward. Raised in the adjoining region, our troopers were gossiping
+with their friends, or worse. Perhaps they thought that the war was
+over. Jackson joined me, and, in response to my question, "Where is the
+cavalry?" glowered and was silent. After several miles, finding that we
+were doing no good--as indeed infantry, preserving its organization,
+cannot hope to overtake a flying enemy--I turned into the fields and
+camped.
+
+Here I will "say my say" about Confederate cavalry; and though there
+were exceptions to the following remarks, they were too few to qualify
+their general correctness. The difficulty of converting raw men into
+soldiers is enhanced manifold when they are mounted. Both man and horse
+require training, and facilities for rambling, with temptation so to do,
+are increased. There was but little time, and it may be said less
+disposition, to establish camps of instruction. Living on horseback,
+fearless and dashing, the men of the South afforded the best possible
+material for cavalry. They had every quality but discipline, and
+resembled Prince Charming, whose manifold gifts, bestowed by her
+sisters, were rendered useless by the malignant fairy. Scores of them
+wandered about the country like locusts, and were only less destructive
+to their own people than the enemy. The universal devotion of Southern
+women to their cause led them to give indiscriminately to all wearing
+the gray. Cavalry officers naturally desired to have as large commands
+as possible, and were too much indulged in this desire. Brigades and
+regiments were permitted to do work appropriate to squadrons and
+companies, and the cattle were unnecessarily broken down. Assuredly, our
+cavalry rendered much excellent service, especially when dismounted and
+fighting as infantry. Such able officers as Stuart, Hampton, and the
+younger Lees in the east, Forrest, Green, and Wheeler in the west,
+developed much talent for war; but their achievements, however
+distinguished, fell far below the standard that would have been reached
+had not the want of discipline impaired their efforts and those of their
+men.
+
+After the camp was established, I rode back to Winchester to look after
+my wounded and see my sister, the same who had nursed me the previous
+autumn. By a second marriage she was Mrs. Dandridge, and resided in the
+town. Her husband, Mr. Dandridge, was on duty at Richmond. Depot of all
+Federal forces in the Valley, Winchester was filled with stores.
+Prisoners, guns, and wagons, in large numbers, had fallen into our
+hands. Of especial value were ordnance and medical stores.
+
+The following day my command was moved ten miles north on the pike
+leading by Charlestown to Harper's Ferry, and after a day some miles
+east toward the Shenandoah. This was in consequence of the operations of
+the Federal General Shields, who, in command of a considerable force to
+the east of the Blue Ridge, passed Manassas Gap and drove from Front
+Royal a regiment of Georgians, left there by Jackson. Meanwhile, a part
+of the army was pushed forward to Martinsburg and beyond, while another
+part threatened and shelled Harper's Ferry. Jackson himself was engaged
+in forwarding captured stores to Staunton.
+
+On Saturday, May 31, I received orders to move through Winchester, clear
+the town of stragglers, and continue to Strasburg. Few or no stragglers
+were found in Winchester, whence the sick and wounded, except extreme
+cases, had been taken. I stopped for a moment, at a house near the field
+of the 25th, to see Colonel Nicholls. He had suffered amputation of the
+arm that morning, and the surgeons forbade his removal; so that, much to
+my regret and more to his own, he was left. We reached camp at Strasburg
+after dark, a march of thirty odd miles, weather very warm. Winder, with
+his brigade, came in later, after a longer march from the direction of
+Harper's Ferry. Jackson sat some time at my camp fire that night, and
+was more communicative than I remember him before or after. He said
+Fremont, with a large force, was three miles west of our present camp,
+and must be defeated in the morning. Shields was moving up Luray Valley,
+and might cross Massanutten to Newmarket, or continue south until he
+turned the mountain to fall on our trains near Harrisonburg. The
+importance of preserving the immense trains, filled with captured
+stores, was great, and would engage much of his personal attention;
+while he relied on the army, under Ewell's direction, to deal promptly
+with Fremont. This he told in a low, gentle voice, and with many
+interruptions to afford time, as I thought and believe, for inward
+prayer. The men said that his anxiety about the wagons was because of
+the lemons among the stores.
+
+Dawn of the following day (Sunday) was ushered in by the sound of
+Fremont's guns. Our lines had been early drawn out to meet him, and
+skirmishers pushed up to the front to attack. Much cannonading, with
+some rattle of small arms, ensued. The country was densely wooded, and
+little save the smoke from the enemy's guns could be seen. My brigade
+was in reserve a short distance to the rear and out of the line of fire;
+and here a ludicrous incident occurred. Many slaves from Louisiana had
+accompanied their masters to the war, and were a great nuisance on a
+march, foraging far and wide for "prog" for their owners' messes. To
+abate this, they had been put under discipline and made to march in rear
+of the regiments to which they pertained. They were now, some scores,
+assembled under a large tree, laughing, chattering, and cooking
+breakfast. On a sudden, a shell burst in the tree-top, rattling down
+leaves and branches in fine style, and the rapid decampment of the
+servitors was most amusing. But I must pause to give an account of my
+own servant, Tom Strother, who deserves honorable and affectionate
+mention at my hands, and serves to illustrate a phase of Southern life
+now passed away.
+
+As under feudal institutions the arms of heiresses were quartered with
+those of the families into which they married, in the South their slaves
+adopted the surname of the mistress; and one curious in genealogy could
+trace the descent and alliances of an old family by finding out the
+names used by different slaves on the estate. Those of the same name
+were a little clannish, preserving traditions of the family from which
+their fathers had come, and magnifying its importance. In childhood I
+often listened with credulous ears to wondrous tales of the magnificence
+of my forefathers in Virginia and Maryland, who, these imaginative
+Africans insisted, dwelt in palaces, surrounded by brave, handsome sons,
+lovely, virtuous daughters, and countless devoted servants. The
+characters of many Southern children were doubtless influenced by such
+tales, impressive from the good faith of the narrators. My paternal
+grandmother was Miss Sarah Strother of Virginia, and from her estate
+came these Strother negroes. Tom, three years my senior, was my foster
+brother and early playmate. His uncle, Charles Porter Strother (to give
+him his full name), had been body servant to my grandfather, Colonel
+Richard Taylor, whom he attended in his last illness. He then filled the
+same office to my father, following him through his Indian and Mexican
+campaigns, and dying at Washington a year before his master. Tom served
+in Florida and Mexico as "aide-de-camp" to his uncle, after which he
+married and became father of a large family. On this account I hesitated
+to bring him to Virginia, but he would come, and was a model servant.
+Tall, powerful, black as ebony, he was a mirror of truth and honesty.
+Always cheerful, I never heard him laugh or knew of his speaking unless
+spoken to. He could light a fire in a minute under the most unfavorable
+conditions and with the most unpromising material, made the best coffee
+to be tasted outside of a creole kitchen, was a "dab" at camp stews and
+roasts, groomed my horses (one of which he rode near me), washed my
+linen, and was never behind time. Occasionally, when camped near a
+house, he would obtain starch and flat-irons, and get up my extra shirt
+in a way to excite the envy of a professional clear-starcher; but such
+red-letter days were few.
+
+I used to fancy that there was a mute sympathy between General Jackson
+and Tom, as they sat silent by a camp fire, the latter respectfully
+withdrawn; and an incident here at Strasburg cemented this friendship.
+When my command was called into action, I left Tom on a hill where all
+was quiet. Thereafter, from a change in the enemy's dispositions, the
+place became rather hot, and Jackson, passing by, advised Tom to move;
+but he replied, if the General pleased, his master told him to stay
+there and would know where to find him, and he did not believe shells
+would trouble him. Two or three nights later, Jackson was at my fire
+when Tom came to give me some coffee; where upon Jackson rose and
+gravely shook him by the hand, and then told me the above.
+
+After the war was closed, Tom returned with me to New Orleans, found his
+wife and children all right, and is now prosperous. My readers have had
+so much fighting lately, and are about to have so much more, as to
+render unnecessary an apology for introducing Tom's history.
+
+To return. Cannonading continued without much effect, and Ewell summoned
+me to his presence, directing the brigade to remain in position till
+further orders. Jackson, busy with his trains, was not at the moment on
+the field, which he visited several times during the day, though I did
+not happen to see him. To reach Ewell, it was necessary to pass under
+some heavy shelling, and I found myself open to the reproach visited
+previously on my men. Whether from fatigue, loss of sleep, or what,
+there I was, nervous as a lady, ducking like a mandarin. It was
+disgusting, and, hoping that no one saw me, I resolved to take it out of
+myself the first opportunity. There is a story of Turenne, the greatest
+soldier of the Bourbons, which, if not true, is _ben trovato_. Of a
+nervous temperament, his legs on the eve of an action trembled to such
+an extent as to make it difficult to mount his horse. Looking at them
+contemptuously, he said: "If you could foresee the danger into which I
+am going to take you, you would tremble more." It was with a similar
+feeling, not only for my legs, but for my entire carcass, that I reached
+Ewell, and told him I was no more good than a frightened deer. He
+laughed, and replied: "Nonsense! 'tis Tom's strong coffee. Better give
+it up. Remain here in charge while I go out to the skirmishers. I can't
+make out what these people are about, for my skirmish line has stopped
+them. They won't advance, but stay out there in the wood, making a great
+fuss with their guns; and I do not wish to commit myself to much advance
+while Jackson is absent." With this, he put spurs to his horse and was
+off, and soon a brisk fusillade was heard, which seemed gradually to
+recede. During Ewell's absence, surrounded by his staff, I contrived to
+sit my horse quietly. Returning, he said: "I am completely puzzled. I
+have just driven everything back to the main body, which is large. Dense
+wood everywhere. Jackson told me not to commit myself too far. At this
+rate my attentions are not likely to become serious enough to commit any
+one. I wish Jackson was here himself." I suggested that my brigade might
+be moved to the extreme right, near the Capon road, by which Fremont had
+marched, and attempt to strike that road, as this would enable us to
+find out something. He replied: "Do so; that may stir them up, and I am
+sick of this fiddling about." Had Ewell been in command, he would have
+"pitched in" long before; but he was controlled by instructions not to
+be drawn too far from the pike.
+
+We found the right of our line held by a Mississippi regiment, the
+colonel of which told me that he had advanced just before and driven the
+enemy. Several of his men were wounded, and he was bleeding profusely
+from a hit in his leg, which he was engaged in binding with a
+handkerchief, remarking that "it did not pester him much." Learning our
+purpose, he was eager to go in with us, and was not at all pleased to
+hear that I declined to change General Ewell's dispositions. A plucky
+fellow, this colonel, whose name, if ever known, I cannot recall. The
+brigade moved forward until the enemy was reached, when, wheeling to the
+left, it walked down his line. The expression is used advisedly, for it
+was nothing but a "walk-over." Sheep would have made as much resistance
+as we met. Men decamped without firing, or threw down their arms and
+surrendered, and it was so easy that I began to think of traps. At
+length we got under fire from our own skirmishers, and suffered some
+casualties, the only ones received in the movement.
+
+Our whole skirmish line was advancing briskly as the Federals retired. I
+sought Ewell, and reported. We had a fine game before us, and the
+temptation to play it was great; but Jackson's orders were imperative
+and wise. He had his stores to save, Shields to guard against, Lee's
+grand strategy to promote; and all this he accomplished, alarming
+Washington, fastening McDowell's strong corps at Fredericksburg and
+preventing its junction with McClellan, on whose right flank he
+subsequently threw himself at Cold Harbor. He could not waste time
+chasing Fremont, but we, who looked from a lower standpoint, grumbled
+and shared the men's opinion about the _lemon wagons_.
+
+The prisoners taken in our promenade were Germans, speaking no English;
+and we had a similar experience a few days later. In the Federal Army
+was a German corps, the 11th, commanded by General O.O. Howard, and
+called by both sides "the Flying Dutchmen." Since the time of Arminius
+the Germans have been a brave people; to-day, in military renown, they
+lead the van of the nations; but they require a cause and leaders. In
+our Revolutionary struggle the Hessians were unfortunate at Bennington,
+Saratoga, and Trenton. We have millions of German citizens, and
+excellent citizens they are. Let us hope that the foregoing facts may be
+commended to them, so their ways may be ways of peace in their adopted
+land.
+
+Although the movement along the enemy's line was successful, as
+described, it was rash and foolish. Fremont had troops which, had they
+been in the place of these Germans, would have made us pass one of
+Rabelais's unpleasant quarters of an hour. Alarm and disgust at my own
+nervousness occasioned it, proving weak nerves to be the source of rash
+acts.
+
+Fremont made no further sign, and as the day declined the army was
+recalled to the pike and marched south. Jackson, in person, gave me
+instructions to draw up my brigade facing west, on some hills above the
+pike, and distant from it several hundred yards, where I was to remain.
+He said that the road was crowded, and he wanted time to clear it, that
+Fremont was safe for the night, and our cavalry toward Winchester
+reported Banks returned to that place from the Potomac, but not likely
+to move south before the following day; then rode off, and so rapidly as
+to give me no time to inquire how long I was to remain, or if the
+cavalry would advise me in the event that Banks changed his purpose.
+This was near sunset, and by the time the command was in position
+darkness fell upon us. No fires were allowed, and, stacking arms, the
+men rested, munching cold rations from their haversacks. It was their
+first opportunity for a bite since early morning.
+
+I threw myself on the ground, and tried in vain to sleep. No sound could
+be heard save the clattering of hoofs on the pike, which as the night
+wore on became constant. Hour after hour passed, when, thinking I heard
+firing to the north, I mounted and looked for the pike. The darkness was
+so intense that it could not have been found but for the white
+limestone. Some mounted men were passing, whom I halted to question.
+They said their command had gone on to rejoin the army, and, they
+supposed, had missed me in the dark; but there was a squadron behind,
+near the enemy's advance, which, a large cavalry force, had moved from
+Winchester at an early period of the day and driven our people south.
+This was pleasant; for Winder's brigade had marched several hours since,
+and a wide interval existed between us.
+
+More firing, near and distinct, was heard, and the command was ordered
+down to the pike, which it reached after much stumbling and swearing,
+and some confusion. Fortunately, the battery, Captain Bowyer, had been
+sent forward at dusk to get forage, and an orderly was dispatched to put
+it on the march. The 6th (Irish) regiment was in rear, and I took two
+companies for a rear guard. The column had scarce got into motion before
+a party of horse rushed through the guard, knocking down several men,
+one of whom was severely bruised. There was a little pistol-shooting and
+sabre-hacking, and for some minutes things were rather mixed. The
+enemy's cavalry had charged ours, and driven it on the infantry. One
+Federal was captured and his horse given to the bruised man, who
+congratulated the rider on his promotion to a respectable service. I
+dismounted, gave my horse to Tom to lead, and marched with the guard.
+From time to time the enemy would charge, but we could hear him coming
+and be ready. The guard would halt, about face, front rank with fixed
+bayonets kneel, rear rank fire, when, by the light of the flash, we
+could see emptied saddles. Our pursuers' fire was wild, passing over
+head; so we had few casualties, and these slight; but they were bold and
+enterprising, and well led, often charging close up to the bayonets. I
+remarked this, whereupon the Irishmen answered, "Devil thank 'em for
+that same." There was no danger on the flanks. The white of the pike
+alone guided us. Owls could not have found their way across the fields.
+The face of the country has been described as a succession of rolling
+swells, and later the enemy got up guns, but always fired from the
+summits, so that his shells passed far above us, exploding in the
+fields. Had the guns been trained low, with canister, it might have
+proved uncomfortable, for the pike ran straight to the south. "It was a
+fine night intirely for divarsion," said the Irishmen, with which
+sentiment I did not agree; but they were as steady as clocks and chirpy
+as crickets, indulging in many a jest whenever the attentions of our
+friends in the rear were slackened. They had heard of Shields's
+proximity, and knew him to be an Irishman by birth, and that he had
+Irish regiments with him. During an interlude I was asked if it was not
+probable that we would encounter Shields, and answering affirmatively,
+heard: "Them Germans is poor creatures, but Shields's boys will be after
+fighting." Expressing a belief that my "boys" could match Shields's any
+day, I received loud assurance from half a hundred Tipperary throats:
+"You may bet your life on that, sor." Thus we beguiled the weary hours.
+During the night I desired to relieve the guard, but was diverted from
+my purpose by scornful howls of "We are the boys to see it out." As
+Argyle's to the tartan, my heart has warmed to an Irishman since that
+night.
+
+Daylight came, and I tried to brace myself for hotter work, when a body
+of troops was reported in position to the south of my column. This
+proved to be Charles Winder with his (formerly Jackson's own) brigade.
+An accomplished soldier and true brother-in-arms, he had heard the
+enemy's guns during the night, and, knowing me to be in rear, halted and
+formed line to await me. His men were fed and rested, and he insisted on
+taking my place in the rear. Passing through Winder's line, we moved
+slowly, with frequent halts, so as to remain near, the enemy pressing
+hard during the morning. The day was uncommonly hot, the sun like fire,
+and water scarce along the road; and our men suffered greatly.
+
+Just after midday my brisk young aide, Hamilton, whom I had left with
+Winder to bring early intelligence, came to report that officer in
+trouble and want of assistance. My men were so jaded as to make me
+unwilling to retrace ground if it could be avoided; so they were ordered
+to form line on the crest of the slope at hand, and I went to Winder, a
+mile to the rear. His brigade, renowned as the "Stonewall," was deployed
+on both sides of the pike, on which he had four guns. Large masses of
+cavalry, with guns and some sharp-shooters, were pressing him closely,
+while far to the north clouds of dust marked the approach of troops. His
+line was on one of the many swells crossing the pike at right angles,
+and a gentle slope led to the next crest south, beyond which my brigade
+was forming. The problem was to retire without giving the enemy, eager
+and persistent, an opportunity to charge. The situation looked so blue
+that I offered to move back my command; but Winder thought he could pull
+through, and splendidly did he accomplish it. Regiment by regiment, gun
+by gun, the brigade was withdrawn, always checking the enemy, though
+boldly led. Winder, cool as a professor playing the new German game,
+directed every movement in person, and the men were worthy of him and of
+their first commander, Jackson. It was very close work in the vale
+before he reached the next crest, and heavy volleys were necessary to
+stay our plucky foes; but, once there, my command showed so strong as to
+impress the enemy, who halted to reconnoiter, and the two brigades were
+united without further trouble.
+
+The position was good, my battery was at hand, and our men were so
+fatigued that we debated whether it was not more comfortable to fight
+than retreat. We could hold the ground for hours against cavalry, and
+night would probably come before infantry got up, while retreat was
+certain to bring the cavalry on us. At this juncture up came General
+Turner Ashby, followed by a considerable force of horse, with guns. This
+officer had been engaged in destroying bridges in Luray Valley, to
+prevent Shields from crossing that branch of the Shenandoah, and now
+came, much to our satisfaction, to take charge of the rear. He proceeded
+to pay his respects to our friends, and soon took them off our hands. We
+remained an hour to rest the men and give Ashby time to make his
+dispositions, then moved on.
+
+Before sunset heavy clouds gathered, and the intense heat was broken by
+a regular downpour, in the midst of which we crossed the bridge over the
+west branch of the Shenandoah--a large stream--at Mount Jackson, and
+camped. There was not a dry thread about my person, and my boots would
+have furnished a respectable bath. Notwithstanding the flood, Tom soon
+had a fire, and was off to hunt forage for man and beast. Here we were
+less than ten miles from Newmarket, between which and this point the
+army was camped. Jackson was easy about Massanutten Gap. Shields must
+march south of the mountain to reach him, while the river, just crossed,
+was now impassable except by bridge.
+
+We remained thirty-six hours in this camp, from the evening of the 2d
+until the morning of the 4th of June--a welcome rest to all. Two days of
+light marching carried us thence to Harrisonburg, thirty miles. Here
+Jackson quitted the pike leading to Staunton, and took the road to Port
+Republic. This village, twelve miles southeast of Harrisonburg, lies at
+the base of the Blue Ridge, on the east bank of the Shenandoah. Several
+streams unite here to form the east (locally called south) branch of
+that river; and here too was the only bridge from Front Royal south, all
+others having been destroyed by Ashby to prevent Shields from crossing.
+This commander was pushing a part of his force south, from Front Royal
+and Luray, on the east bank.
+
+The army passed the night of June 5 in camp three miles from
+Harrisonburg toward Port Republic. Ewell's division, which I had
+rejoined for the first time since we met Jackson, was in rear; and the
+rear brigade was General George Stewart's, composed of one Maryland and
+two Virginia regiments. My command was immediately in advance of
+Stewart's. Ashby had burnt the bridge at Mount Jackson to delay Fremont,
+and was camped with his horse in advance of Harrisonburg. The road to
+Port Republic was heavy from recent rains, causing much delay to trains,
+so that we did not move on the morning of the 6th. Early in the day
+Fremont, reenforced from Banks, got up; and his cavalry, vigorously led,
+pushed Ashby through Harrisonburg, where a sharp action occurred,
+resulting in the capture of many Federals--among others, Colonel Percy
+Wyndham, commanding brigade, whose meeting with Major Wheat has been
+described. Later, while Ewell was conversing with me, a message from
+Ashby took him to the rear. Federal cavalry, supported by infantry, was
+advancing on Ashby. Stewart's brigade was lying in a wood, under cover
+of which Ewell placed it in position. A severe struggle ensued; the
+enemy was driven, and many prisoners were taken. I had ridden back with
+Ewell, and so witnessed the affair, uncommonly spirited, and creditable
+to both sides. Colonel Kane of Philadelphia was among the prisoners and
+painfully wounded. Having known his father, Judge Kane, as well as his
+brother, the Arctic explorer, I solicited and obtained from Jackson his
+parole.
+
+Colonel Nicholls, left wounded near Winchester, had married a short time
+previous to the war, and his young wife now appeared, seeking to join
+her husband. Jackson referred her request to Ewell, who passed it to me.
+Of this I was informed by Captain Nicholls, 8th regiment, brother to the
+colonel, killed a few days after at Cold Harbor. Much cavalry
+skirmishing was still going on around Harrisonburg, dangerous for a lady
+to pass through; and besides, she had come from Port Republic, seen our
+situation, and might be indiscreet. These considerations were stated to
+Captain Nicholls, but his sister-in-law insisted on seeing me. A small,
+fairy-like creature, plucky as a "Dandie Dinmont" terrier, and with a
+heart as big as Massanutten, she was seated in a nondescript trap, drawn
+by two mules, driven by a negro. One look from the great, tearful eyes
+made of me an abject coward, and I basely shuffled the refusal to let
+her pass on to Jackson. The Parthian glance of contempt that reached me
+through her tears showed that the lady understood and despised my
+paltering. Nicholls was speedily exchanged, became a general officer,
+lost a foot at Chancellorsville, and, after leading his people up out of
+captivity, is now the conservative Governor of Louisiana.
+
+The skirmishing spoken of in the above connection developed into severe
+work, in which General Ashby was killed. Alluding to his death in an
+official report, Jackson says, "As a partisan officer I never knew his
+superior." Like Claverhouse, "with a face that painters loved to limn
+and ladies look upon," he was the most daring and accomplished rider in
+a region of horsemen. His courage was so brilliant as to elicit applause
+from friend and foe, but he was without capacity or disposition to
+enforce discipline on his men. I witnessed his deep chagrin at the
+conduct of our troopers after the enemy had been driven from Winchester
+in May. With proper organization and discipline, his bold riders under
+his lead might have accomplished all that the lamented Nolan claimed as
+possible for light cavalry. Popular imagination, especially the female,
+is much in error as to these matters. Graceful young cavaliers, with
+flowing locks, leaping cannon to saber countless foes, make a
+captivating picture. In the language of Bosquet, "'Tis beautiful, but
+'tis not war"; and grave mishaps have been occasioned by this
+misconception. Valor is as necessary now as ever in war, but
+disciplined, subordinated valor, admitting the courage and energies of
+all to be welded and directed to a common end. It is much to be desired
+that the ladies would consent to correct their opinions; for, after all,
+their approval stimulates our best fighting.
+
+On the 7th of June we marched to a place within four miles of Port
+Republic, called Cross Keys, where several roads met. Near at hand was
+the meeting-house of a sect of German Quakers, Tunkers or Dunkards, as
+they are indifferently named. Here Jackson determined to await and fight
+Fremont, who followed him hard; but as a part of Shields's force was now
+unpleasantly near, he pushed on to Port Republic with Winder's and other
+infantry, and a battery, which camped on the hither bank of the river.
+Jackson himself, with his staff and a mounted escort, crossed the bridge
+and passed the night in the village.
+
+Ewell, in immediate charge at Cross Keys, was ready early in the morning
+of the 8th, when Fremont attacked. The ground was undulating, with much
+wood, and no extended view could be had. In my front the attack, if such
+it could be called, was feeble in the extreme--an affair of skirmishers,
+in which the enemy yielded to the slightest pressure. A staff officer of
+Jackson's, in hot haste, came with orders from his chief to march my
+brigade double-quick to Port Republic. Elzey's brigade, in second line
+to the rear, was asked to take my place and relieve my skirmishers;
+then, advising the staff officer to notify Ewell, whom he had not seen,
+we started on the run, for such a message from Jackson meant business.
+Two of the intervening miles were quickly passed, when another officer
+appeared with orders to halt. In half an hour, during which the sound of
+battle at Cross Keys thickened, Jackson came. As before stated, he had
+passed the night in the village, with his staff and escort. Up as usual
+at dawn, he started alone to recross the bridge, leaving his people to
+follow. The bridge was a few yards below the last house in the village,
+and some mist overhung the river. Under cover of this a small body of
+horse, with one gun, from Shields's forces, had reached the east end of
+the bridge and trained the gun on it. Jackson was within an ace of
+capture. As he spurred across, the gun was fired on him, but without
+effect, and the sound brought up staff and escort, when the horse
+retired north. This incident occasioned the order to me. After relating
+it (all save his own danger), Jackson passed on to Ewell. Thither I
+followed, to remain in reserve until the general forward movement in the
+afternoon, by which Fremont was driven back with loss of prisoners. We
+did not persist far, as Shields's force was near upon us. From Ewell I
+learned that there had been some pretty fighting in the morning, though
+less than might have been expected from Fremont's numbers. I know not if
+the presence of this commander had a benumbing influence on his troops,
+but certainly his advanced cavalry and infantry had proved bold and
+enterprising.
+
+In the evening we moved to the river and camped. Winder's and other
+brigades crossed the bridge, and during the night Ewell, with most of
+the army, drew near, leaving Trimble's brigade and the horse at Cross
+Keys. No one apprehended another advance by Fremont. The following
+morning, Sunday, June 9, my command passed the bridge, moved several
+hundred yards down the road, and halted. Our trains had gone east over
+the Blue Ridge. The sun appeared above the mountain while the men were
+quietly breakfasting. Suddenly, from below, was heard the din of
+battle, loud and sustained, artillery and small arms. The men sprang
+into ranks, formed column, and marched, and I galloped forward a short
+mile to see the following scene:
+
+From the mountain, clothed to its base with undergrowth and timber, a
+level--clear, open, and smooth--extended to the river. This plain was
+some thousand yards in width. Half a mile north, a gorge, through which
+flowed a small stream, cut the mountain at a right angle. The northern
+shoulder of this gorge projected farther into the plain than the
+southern, and on an elevated plateau of the shoulder were placed six
+guns, sweeping every inch of the plain to the south. Federal lines,
+their right touching the river, were advancing steadily, with banners
+flying and arms gleaming in the sun. A gallant show, they came on.
+Winder's and another brigade, with a battery, opposed them. This small
+force was suffering cruelly, and its skirmishers were driven in on their
+thin supporting line. As my Irishmen predicted, "Shields's boys were
+after fighting." Below, Ewell was hurrying his men over the bridge, but
+it looked as if we should be doubled up on him ere he could cross and
+develop much strength. Jackson was on the road, a little in advance of
+his line, where the fire was hottest, with reins on his horse's neck,
+seemingly in prayer. Attracted by my approach, he said, in his usual
+voice, "Delightful excitement." I replied that it was pleasant to learn
+he was enjoying himself, but thought he might have an indigestion of
+such fun if the six-gun battery was not silenced. He summoned a young
+officer from his staff, and pointed up the mountain. The head of my
+approaching column was turned short up the slope, and speedily came to a
+path running parallel with the river. We took this path, the guide
+leading the way. From him I learned that the plateau occupied by the
+battery had been used for a charcoal kiln, and the path we were
+following, made by the burners in hauling wood, came upon the gorge
+opposite the battery. Moving briskly, we reached the hither side a few
+yards from the guns. Infantry was posted near, and riflemen were in the
+undergrowth on the slope above. Our approach, masked by timber, was
+unexpected. The battery was firing rapidly, enabled from elevation to
+fire over the advancing lines. The head of my column began to deploy
+under cover for attack, when the sounds of battle to our rear appeared
+to recede, and a loud Federal cheer was heard, proving Jackson to be
+hard pressed. It was rather an anxious moment, demanding instant action.
+Leaving a staff officer to direct my rear regiment--the 7th, Colonel
+Hays--to form in the wood as a reserve, I ordered the attack, though the
+deployment was not completed, and our rapid march by a narrow path had
+occasioned some disorder. With a rush and shout the gorge was passed and
+we were in the battery. Surprise had aided us, but the enemy's infantry
+rallied in a moment and drove us out. We returned, to be driven a second
+time. The riflemen on the slope worried us no little, and two companies
+of the 9th regiment were sent up the gorge to gain ground above and
+dislodge them, which was accomplished. The fighting in and around the
+battery was hand to hand, and many fell from bayonet wounds. Even the
+artillerymen used their rammers in a way not laid down in the Manual,
+and died at their guns. As Conan said to the devil, "'Twas claw for
+claw." I called for Hays, but he, the promptest of men, and his splendid
+regiment, could not be found. Something unexpected had occurred, but
+there was no time for speculation. With a desperate rally, in which I
+believe the drummer-boys shared, we carried the battery for the third
+time, and held it. Infantry and riflemen had been driven off, and we
+began to feel a little comfortable, when the enemy, arrested in his
+advance by our attack, appeared. He had countermarched, and, with left
+near the river, came into full view of our situation. Wheeling to the
+right, with colors advanced, like a solid wall he marched straight upon
+us. There seemed nothing left but to set our backs to the mountain and
+die hard. At the instant, crashing through the underwood, came Ewell,
+outriding staff and escort. He produced the effect of a reenforcement,
+and was welcomed with cheers. The line before us halted and threw
+forward skirmishers. A moment later, a shell came shrieking along it,
+loud Confederate cheers reached our delighted ears, and Jackson, freed
+from his toils, rushed up like a whirlwind, the enemy in rapid retreat.
+We turned the captured guns on them as they passed, Ewell serving as a
+gunner. Though rapid, the retreat never became a rout. Fortune had
+refused her smiles, but Shields's brave "boys" preserved their
+organization and were formidable to the last; and had Shields himself,
+with his whole command, been on the field, we should have had tough work
+indeed.
+
+Jackson came up, with intense light in his eyes, grasped my hand, and
+said the brigade should have the captured battery. I thought the men
+would go mad with cheering, especially the Irishmen. A huge fellow, with
+one eye closed and half his whiskers burned by powder, was riding
+cock-horse on a gun, and, catching my attention, yelled out, "We told
+you to bet on your boys." Their success against brother Patlanders
+seemed doubly welcome. Strange people, these Irish! Fighting every one's
+battles, and cheerfully taking the hot end of the poker, they are only
+found wanting when engaged in what they believe to be their national
+cause. Excepting the defense of Limerick under brilliant Sarsfield, I
+recall no domestic struggle in which they have shown their worth.
+
+While Jackson pursued the enemy without much effect, as his cavalry,
+left in front of Fremont, could not get over till late, we attended to
+the wounded and performed the last offices to the dead, our own and the
+Federal. I have never seen so many dead and wounded in the same limited
+space. A large farmhouse on the plain, opposite the mouth of the gorge,
+was converted into a hospital. Ere long my lost 7th regiment, sadly cut
+up, rejoined. This regiment was in rear of the column when we left
+Jackson to gain the path in the woods, and before it filed out of the
+road his thin line was so pressed that Jackson ordered Hays to stop the
+enemy's rush. This was done, for the 7th would have stopped a herd of
+elephants, but at a fearful cost. Colonel Hays was severely wounded,
+among many others, and the number of killed was large. Upon my promotion
+to Major-General, Hays succeeded to the command of the brigade, served
+through the war, returned to the practice of the law, and died in New
+Orleans. He was brother to Colonel Jack Hays, formerly of Texas, now of
+California, and shared much of the fighting ability of that renowned
+partisan.
+
+The young officer who guided us through the wood deserves mention, as he
+was one of the first to reach the battery, where he was killed.
+Lieutenant English, near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, proved to be his name
+and place of birth.
+
+Many hours passed in discharge of sad duties to the wounded and dead,
+during which Fremont appeared on the opposite bank of the river and
+opened his guns; but, observing doubtless our occupation, he ceased his
+fire, and after a short time withdrew. It may be added here that Jackson
+had caused such alarm at Washington as to start Milroy, Banks, Fremont,
+and Shields toward that capital, and the great valley was cleared of the
+enemy.
+
+We passed the night high up the mountain, where we moved to reach our
+supply wagons. A cold rain was falling, and before we found them every
+one was tired and famished. I rather took it out of the train-master for
+pushing so far up, although I had lunched comfortably from the haversack
+of a dead Federal. It is not pleasant to think of now, but war _is_ a
+little hardening.
+
+On the 12th of June the army moved down to the river, above Port
+Republic, where the valley was wide, with many trees, and no enemy to
+worry or make us afraid. Here closed Jackson's wonderful Valley campaign
+of 1862.[3]
+
+[Footnote 3: A part of the foregoing text was published in the number of
+the "North American Review" for March, 1878, under the title of
+"Stonewall Jackson and the Valley Campaign." In a kind and friendly
+letter, dated New York, March 21, General Shields corrects some
+misapprehensions into which I had fallen, more especially concerning his
+_personal_ connection with the events described. I had been unable to
+procure a copy of General Shields's report, which, he informs me in the
+same letter, was suppressed by Secretary Stanton.]
+
+The Louisiana brigade marched from its camp near Conrad's store, to
+join Jackson at Newmarket, on the 21st of May. In twenty days it marched
+over two hundred miles, fought in five actions, of which three were
+severe, and several skirmishes, and, though it had suffered heavy loss
+in officers and men, was yet strong, hard as nails, and full of
+confidence. I have felt it a duty to set forth the achievements of the
+brigade, than which no man ever led braver into action, in their proper
+light, because such reputation as I gained in this campaign is to be
+ascribed to its excellence.
+
+For the first time since several weeks, friend Ewell and I had a chance
+to renew our talks; but events soon parted us again. Subsequently he was
+wounded in the knee at the second battle of Manassas, and suffered
+amputation of the leg in consequence. His absence of mind nearly proved
+fatal. Forgetting his condition, he suddenly started to walk, came down
+on the stump, imperfectly healed, and produced violent haemorrhage.
+
+About the close of the war he married Mrs. Brown, a widow, and daughter
+of Judge Campbell, a distinguished citizen of Tennessee, who had
+represented the United States at the court of St. Petersburg, where this
+lady was born. She was a kinswoman of Ewell, and said to have been his
+early love. He brought her to New Orleans in 1866, where I hastened to
+see him. He took me by the hand and presented me to "my wife, Mrs.
+Brown." How well I remember our chat! How he talked of his plans and
+hopes and happiness, and of his great lot of books, which he was afraid
+he would never be able to read through. The while "my wife, Mrs. Brown,"
+sat by, handsome as a picture, smiling on her General, as well she
+might, so noble a gentleman. A few short years, and both he and his wife
+passed away within an hour of each other; but his last years were made
+happy by her companionship, and comfortable by the wealth she had
+brought him. Dear Dick Ewell! Virginia never bred a truer gentleman, a
+braver soldier, nor an odder, more lovable fellow.
+
+On the second day in this camp General Winder came to me and said that
+he had asked leave to go to Richmond, been refused, and resigned. He
+commanded Jackson's old brigade, and was aggrieved by some unjust
+interference. Holding Winder in high esteem, I hoped to save him to the
+army, and went to Jackson, to whose magnanimity I appealed, and to
+arouse this dwelt on the rich harvest of glory he had reaped in his
+brilliant campaign. Observing him closely, I caught a glimpse of the
+man's inner nature. It was but a glimpse. The curtain closed, and he was
+absorbed in prayer. Yet in that moment I saw an ambition boundless as
+Cromwell's, and as merciless. This latter quality was exhibited in his
+treatment of General Richard Garnett, cousin to Robert Garnett, before
+mentioned, and his codisciple at West Point. I have never met officer or
+soldier, present at Kernstown, who failed to condemn the harsh treatment
+of Garnett after that action. Richard Garnett was subsequently restored
+to command at my instance near Jackson, and fell on the field of
+Gettysburg.
+
+No reply was made to my effort for Winder, and I rose to take my leave,
+when Jackson said he would ride with me. We passed silently along the
+way to my camp, where he left me. That night a few lines came from
+Winder, to inform me that Jackson had called on him, and his resignation
+was withdrawn.
+
+Charles Winder was born in Maryland, graduated at West Point in 1850,
+embarked soon thereafter for California in charge of a detachment of
+recruits, was wrecked on the coast, and saved his men by his coolness
+and energy. He left the United States army to join the Confederacy, and
+was killed at Cedar Run some weeks after this period. Had he lived, he
+would have reached and adorned high position.
+
+And now a great weariness and depression fell upon me. I was threatened
+with a return of the illness experienced the previous autumn. For many
+weeks I had received no intelligence from my family. New Orleans had
+fallen, and my wife and children resided there or on an estate near the
+city. I hoped to learn of them at Richmond; change might benefit health,
+and matters were quiet in the Valley. Accordingly, a short leave was
+asked for and granted; and although I returned within three days to join
+my command on the march to Cold Harbor, we were absorbed in the larger
+army operating against McClellan, and I saw but little of Jackson.
+
+I have written that he was ambitious; and his ambition was vast,
+all-absorbing. Like the unhappy wretch from whose shoulders sprang the
+foul serpent, he loathed it, perhaps feared it; but he could not escape
+it--it was himself--nor rend it--it was his own flesh. He fought it with
+prayer, constant and earnest--Apollyon and Christian in ceaseless
+combat. What limit to set to his ability I know not, for he was ever
+superior to occasion. Under ordinary circumstances it was difficult to
+estimate him because of his peculiarities--peculiarities that would have
+made a lesser man absurd, but that served to enhance his martial fame,
+as those of Samuel Johnson did his literary eminence. He once observed,
+in reply to an allusion to his severe marching, that it was better to
+lose one man in marching than five in fighting; and, acting on this, he
+invariably surprised the enemy--Milroy at McDowell, Banks and Fremont in
+the Valley, McClellan's right at Cold Harbor, Pope at second Manassas.
+
+Fortunate in his death, he fell at the summit of glory, before the sun
+of the Confederacy had set, ere defeat, and suffering, and selfishness
+could turn their fangs upon him. As one man, the South wept for him;
+foreign nations shared the grief; even Federals praised him. With Wolfe
+and Nelson and Havelock, he took his place in the hearts of
+English-speaking peoples.
+
+In the first years of this century, a great battle was fought on the
+plains of the Danube. A determined charge on the Austrian center gained
+the victory for France. The courage and example of a private soldier,
+who there fell, contributed much to the success of the charge. Ever
+after, at the parades of his battalion, the name of Latour d'Auvergne
+was first called, when the oldest sergeant stepped to the front and
+answered, "Died on the field of honor." In Valhalla, beyond the grave,
+where spirits of warriors assemble, when on the roll of heroes the name
+of Jackson is reached, it will be for the majestic shade of Lee to
+pronounce the highest eulogy known to our race--"Died on the field of
+duty."
+
+I reached Richmond, by Charlottesville and Lynchburg, the day after
+leaving camp, and went to the war office, where I found letters from my
+family. My wife and children had left New Orleans on a steamer just as
+Farragut's fleet arrived, and were on the Atchafalaya River with
+friends, all well. While reading my letters, an acquaintance in high
+position in the office greeted me, but went on to say, if I knew what
+was afoot, my stay in Richmond would be short. Taking the hint, and
+feeling improved in health in consequence of relief from anxiety about
+my family, I returned to the station at once, and took rail to
+Charlottesville. Arrived there, I met the Valley army in march to the
+southeast, and joined my command.
+
+That night we camped between Charlottesville and Gordonsville, in Orange
+County, the birthplace of my father. A distant kinsman, whom I had never
+met, came to invite me to his house in the neighborhood. Learning that I
+always slept in camp, he seemed so much distressed as to get my consent
+to breakfast with him, if he would engage to have breakfast at the
+barbarous hour of sunrise. His house was a little distant from the road;
+so, the following morning, he sent a mounted groom to show the way. My
+aide, young Hamilton, accompanied me, and Tom of course followed. It was
+a fine old mansion, surrounded by well-kept grounds. This immediate
+region had not yet been touched by war. Flowering plants and rose trees,
+in full bloom, attested the glorious wealth of June. On the broad
+portico, to welcome us, stood the host, with his fresh, charming wife,
+and, a little retired, a white-headed butler. Greetings over with host
+and lady, this delightful creature, with ebon face beaming hospitality,
+advanced, holding a salver, on which rested a huge silver goblet filled
+with Virginia's nectar, mint julep. Quantities of cracked ice rattled
+refreshingly in the goblet; sprigs of fragrant mint peered above its
+broad rim; a mass of white sugar, too sweetly indolent to melt, rested
+on the mint; and, like rose buds on a snow bank, luscious strawberries
+crowned the sugar. Ah! that julep! Mars ne'er received such tipple from
+the hands of Ganymede. Breakfast was announced, and what a breakfast! A
+beautiful service, snowy table cloth, damask napkins, long unknown;
+above all, a lovely woman in crisp gown, with more and handsomer roses
+on her cheek than in her garden. 'Twas an idyl in the midst of the stern
+realities of war! The table groaned beneath its viands. Sable servitors
+brought in, hot and hot from the kitchen, cakes of wondrous forms,
+inventions of the tropical imagination of Africa, inflamed by Virginian
+hospitality. I was rather a moderate trencherman, but the performance of
+Hamilton was Gargantuan, alarming. Duty dragged us from this Eden; yet
+in hurried adieus I did not forget to claim of the fair hostess the
+privilege of a cousin. I watched Hamilton narrowly for a time. The youth
+wore a sodden, apoplectic look, quite out of his usual brisk form. A
+gallop of some miles put him right, but for many days he dilated on the
+breakfast with the gusto of one of Hannibal's veterans on the delights
+of Capua.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND."
+
+
+Leaving Gordonsville, we proceeded in a southeasterly direction, passing
+Louisa Court House and Frederickshall, and camped at Ashland on the
+Fredericksburg Railway, twelve miles north of Richmond, on the evening
+of the 25th of June. To deceive the enemy, General Lee had sent to the
+Valley a considerable force under Generals Whiting, Hood, and Lawton.
+The movement was openly made and speedily known at Washington, where it
+produced the desired impression, that Jackson would invade Maryland from
+the Valley. These troops reached Staunton by rail on the 17th, and,
+without leaving the train, turned back to Gordonsville, where they
+united with Jackson. The line from Gordonsville to Frederickshall, south
+of which point it had been interrupted, was used to facilitate our
+movement, but this was slow and uncertain. The advance frequently halted
+or changed direction. We were pushing between McDowell and McClellan's
+right, over ground recently occupied by the enemy. Bridges had been
+destroyed, and, to conceal the movement, no guides were trusted--an
+over-caution occasioning delay.
+
+During the day and night of the 25th I suffered from severe pains in the
+head and loins, and on the morning of the 26th found it impossible to
+mount my horse; so the brigade marched under the senior colonel,
+Seymour, 6th regiment. A small ambulance was left with me, and my staff
+was directed to accompany Seymour and send back word if an engagement
+was imminent. Several messages came during the day, the last after
+nightfall, reporting the command to be camped near Pole Green Church,
+beyond the Chickahominy; so far, no fighting. Lying on the floor of a
+vacant house at Ashland, I had scarce consciousness to comprehend these
+messages. Pains in head and back continued, with loss of power to move
+my limbs.
+
+Toward daylight of the 27th sleep came from exhaustion, and lasted some
+hours. From this I was aroused by sounds of artillery, loud and
+constant, brought by the easterly wind. Tom raised me into a sitting
+posture, and administered a cup of strong coffee. The sound of battle
+continued until it became unendurable, and I was put into the ambulance
+by Tom and the driver, the former following with the horses. We took the
+route by which the troops had marched, the din of conflict increasing
+with every mile, the rattle of small arms mingling with the thud of
+guns. After weary hours of rough road, every jolt on which threatened to
+destroy my remaining vitality, we approached Cold Harbor and met numbers
+of wounded. Among these was General Elzey, with a dreadful wound in the
+head and face. His aide was taking him to the rear in an ambulance, and,
+recognizing Tom, stopped a moment to tell of the fight. Ewell's
+division, to which Elzey and I belonged, had just been engaged with
+heavy loss. This was too much for any illness, and I managed somehow to
+struggle on to my horse and get into the action.
+
+It was a wild scene. Battle was raging furiously. Shot, shell, and ball
+exploded and whistled. Hundreds of wounded were being carried off, while
+the ground was strewn with dead. Dense thickets of small pines covered
+much of the field, further obscured by clouds of smoke. The first troops
+encountered were D.H. Hill's, and, making way through these, I came upon
+Winder's, moving across the front from right to left. Then succeeded
+Elzey's of Ewell's division, and, across the road leading to Gaines's
+Mill, my own. Mangled and bleeding, as were all of Ewell's, it was
+holding the ground it had won close to the enemy's line, but unable to
+advance. The sun was setting as I joined, and at the moment cheers came
+up from our left, raised by Winder's command, which had turned and was
+sweeping the Federal right, while Lawton's Georgians, fresh and eager,
+attacked in our front. The enemy gave way, and, under cover of the
+night, retired over the Chickahominy. Firing continued for two hours,
+though darkness concealed everything.
+
+The loss in my command was distressing. Wheat, of whom I have written,
+was gone, and Seymour, and many others. I had a wretched feeling of
+guilt, especially about Seymour, who led the brigade and died in my
+place. Colonel Seymour was born in Georgia, but had long resided in New
+Orleans, where he edited the leading commercial paper--a man of culture,
+respected of all. In early life he had served in Indian and Mexican
+wars, and his high spirit brought him to this, though past middle age.
+Brave old Seymour! I can see him now, mounting the hill at Winchester,
+on foot, with sword and cap in hand, his thin gray locks streaming,
+turning to his sturdy Irishmen with "Steady, men! dress to the right!"
+Georgia has been fertile of worthies, but will produce none more
+deserving than Colonel Seymour.
+
+The following morning, while looking to the burial of the dead and care
+of the wounded, I had an opportunity of examining the field of battle.
+The campaign around Richmond is too well known to justify me in entering
+into details, and I shall confine myself to events within my own
+experience, only enlarging on such general features as are necessary to
+explain criticism.
+
+The Chickahominy, a sluggish stream and subject to floods, flows through
+a low, marshy bottom, draining the country between the Pamunky or York
+and James Rivers, into which last it discharges many miles below
+Richmond. The upper portion of its course from the crossing of the
+Central Railroad, six miles north of Richmond, to Long Bridge, some
+three times that distance to the southeast, is parallel with both the
+above-mentioned rivers. The bridges with which we were concerned at and
+after Cold Harbor were the Federal military bridges, Grapevine, York
+River Railroad, Bottom's, and Long, the lowermost; after which the
+stream, affected by tide, spread over a marshy country. The upper or
+Grapevine Bridge was on the road leading due south from Cold Harbor,
+and, passing Savage's Station on York River Railroad, united with the
+Williamsburg road, which ran east from Richmond to Bottom's Bridge. A
+branch from this Williamsburg road continued on the south bank of the
+Chickahominy to Long Bridge, where it joined the Charles City,
+Darbytown, and Newmarket roads coming south-southeast from Richmond.
+Many other roads, with no names or confusing ones, crossed this region,
+which was densely wooded and intersected by sluggish streams, draining
+the marshes into both the Chickahominy and James. We came upon two of
+these country roads leading in quite different directions, but bearing
+the same name, Grapevine; and it will astound advocates of phonics to
+learn that the name of _Darby_ (whence Darbytown) was thus pronounced,
+while it was spelt and written _Enroughty_. A German philologist might
+have discovered, unaided, the connection between the sound and the
+letters; but it would hardly have occurred to mortals of less erudition.
+
+At the beginning of operations in this Richmond campaign, Lee had
+seventy-five thousand men, McClellan one hundred thousand. Round numbers
+are here given, but they are taken from official sources. A high opinion
+has been expressed of the strategy of Lee, by which Jackson's forces
+from the Valley were suddenly thrust between McDowell and McClellan's
+right, and it deserves all praise; but the tactics on the field were
+vastly inferior to the strategy. Indeed, it may be confidently asserted
+that from Cold Harbor to Malvern Hill, inclusive, there was nothing but
+a series of blunders, one after another, and all huge. The Confederate
+commanders knew no more about the topography of the country than they
+did about Central Africa. Here was a limited district, the whole of it
+within a day's march of the city of Richmond, capital of Virginia and
+the Confederacy, almost the first spot on the continent occupied by the
+British race, the Chickahominy itself classic by legends of Captain John
+Smith and Pocahontas; and yet we were profoundly ignorant of the
+country, were without maps, sketches, or proper guides, and nearly as
+helpless as if we had been suddenly transferred to the banks of the
+Lualaba. The day before the battle of Malvern Hill, President Davis
+could not find a guide with intelligence enough to show him the way
+from one of our columns to another; and this fact I have from him.
+People find a small cable in the middle of the ocean, a thousand fathoms
+below the surface. For two days we lost McClellan's great army in a few
+miles of woodland, and never had any definite knowledge of its
+movements. Let it be remembered, too, that McClellan had opened the
+peninsular campaign weeks before, indicating this very region to be the
+necessary theatre of conflict; that the Confederate commander (up to the
+time of his wound at Fair Oaks), General Johnston, had been a
+topographical engineer in the United States army; while his successor,
+General Lee--another engineer--had been on duty at the war office in
+Richmond and in constant intercourse with President Davis, who was
+educated at West Point and served seven years; and then think of our
+ignorance in a military sense of the ground over which we were called to
+fight. Every one must agree that it was amazing. Even now, I can
+scarcely realize it. McClellan was as superior to us in knowledge of our
+own land as were the Germans to the French in their late war, and owed
+the success of his retreat to it, although credit must be given to his
+ability. We had much praying at various headquarters, and large reliance
+on special providences; but none were vouchsafed, by pillar of cloud or
+fire, to supplement our ignorance; so we blundered on like people trying
+to read without knowledge of their letters.
+
+To return to the field of Cold Harbor, the morning (Saturday) after the
+battle. McClellan had chosen an excellent position, covering his
+military bridges over the Chickahominy. His left, resting on the river,
+and his center were covered by a small stream, one of its affluents,
+boggy and of difficult passage. His right was on high ground, near Cold
+Harbor, in a dense thicket of pine-scrub, with artillery massed. This
+position, three miles in extent, and enfiladed in front by heavy guns on
+the south bank of the Chickahominy, was held by three lines of infantry,
+one above the other on the rising ground, which was crowned with
+numerous batteries, concealed by timber. McClellan reported thirty-six
+thousand men present, including Sykes's and Porter's regulars; but
+reenforcements brought over during the action probably increased this
+number to fifty thousand. Lee had forty thousand on the field.
+
+Longstreet attacked on our right, near the river, A.P. Hill on his left.
+Jackson approached Cold Harbor from the north, his divisions in column
+on one road as follows: Ewell's, Whiting's, Lawton's (Georgians), and
+Winder's. At Cold Harbor Jackson united with the division of D.H. Hill,
+in advance of him, and directed it to _find_ and attack the enemy's
+right. His own divisions, in the order above named, were to come up on
+D.H. Hill's right and connect it with A.P. Hill's left. Artillery was
+only employed by the Confederates late in the day, and on their extreme
+left.
+
+D.H. Hill and Ewell were speedily engaged, and suffered heavily, as did
+A.P. Hill and Longstreet, all attacking in front. Ignorance of the
+ground, densely wooded, and want of guides occasioned confusion and
+delay in the divisions to Ewell's rear. Lawton came to Ewell's support,
+Whiting to A.P. Hill's; while of the three brigades of the last
+division, the second went to Longstreet's right, the third to A.P.
+Hill's center, and the first was taken by Winder, with a fine soldierly
+instinct, from right to left, across the battle, to reenforce D.H. Hill
+and turn the Federal position. This movement was decisive, and if
+executed earlier would have saved loss of men and time. So much for
+fighting on unknown ground.
+
+During the day of Saturday, McClellan remained on the south bank of the
+Chickahominy with guns in position guarding his bridges; and the only
+movement made by Lee was to send Stuart's cavalry east to the river
+terminus of the York Railway, and Ewell's division to the bridge of that
+line over the Chickahominy and to Bottom's, a short distance below. Late
+in the evening General Lee informed me that I would remain the following
+day to guard Bottom's and the railway bridges, while Stuart's cavalry
+watched the river below to Long Bridge and beyond. From all indications,
+he thought that McClellan would withdraw during the night, and expected
+to cross the river in the morning to unite with Magruder and Huger in
+pursuit. Holmes's division was to be brought from the south side of the
+James to bar the enemy's road; and he expressed some confidence that his
+dispositions would inflict serious loss on McClellan's army, if he could
+receive prompt and accurate information of that General's movements.
+Meantime, I would remain until the following (Sunday) evening, unless
+sooner convinced of the enemy's designs, when I would cross Grapevine
+Bridge and follow Jackson. It is to be presumed that General Lee
+disclosed so much of his plans to his subordinates as he deemed
+necessary to insure their intelligent execution.
+
+The morning light showed that the Federals had destroyed a part of the
+railway bridge near the center of the stream. We were opposite to
+Savage's Station (on the line toward Richmond), from which distinct
+sounds reached us, but dense forest limited vision to the margin of the
+river. Smoke rising above the trees, and explosions, indicated the
+destruction of stores. In the afternoon, a great noise of battle
+came--artillery, small arms, shouts. This, as we afterward learned, was
+Magruder's engagement at Savage's Station, but this din of combat was
+silenced to our ears by the following incident: A train was heard
+approaching from Savage's. Gathering speed, it came rushing on, and
+quickly emerged from the forest, two engines drawing a long string of
+carriages. Reaching the bridge, the engines exploded with terrific
+noise, followed in succession by explosions of the carriages, laden with
+ammunition. Shells burst in all directions, the river was lashed into
+foam, trees were torn for acres around, and several of my men were
+wounded. The enemy had taken this means of destroying surplus
+ammunition.
+
+After this queer action had ceased, as sunset was approaching, and all
+quiet at Bottom's Bridge, we moved up stream and crossed Grapevine
+Bridge, repaired by Jackson earlier in the day. Darkness fell as we
+bivouacked on the low ground south of the river. A heavy rain came down,
+converting the ground into a lake, in the midst of which a half-drowned
+courier, with a dispatch, was brought to me. With difficulty, underneath
+an ambulance, a light was struck to read the dispatch, which proved to
+be from Magruder, asking for reenforcements in front of Savage's
+Station, where he was then engaged. Several hours had elapsed since the
+courier left Magruder, and he could tell nothing beyond the fact of the
+engagement, the noise of which we had heard. It must be borne in mind
+that, during the operations north of the Chickahominy, the divisions of
+Magruder and Huger had remained in position between McClellan's left and
+Richmond.
+
+In the night the enemy disappeared from Savage's, near which we passed
+the following (Monday) morning, in march to rejoin Jackson. We
+encountered troops of Magruder's, Huger's, and other divisions, seeking
+to find their proper routes. Countless questions about roads were asked
+in vain. At length, we discovered that Jackson had followed the one
+nearest the Chickahominy, and about noon overtook the rear of his
+column, halted in the road. Artillery could be heard in front, and a
+staff officer was sent to find out the meaning of it.
+
+Enfeebled by pain, I used an ambulance to husband my little strength for
+emergencies; and I think it was here that General Wade Hampton,
+accompanied by Senator Wigfall, came up to me. Hampton had been promoted
+to brigadier for gallantry at Manassas, where he was wounded, but not
+yet assigned to a command. Wigfall had left the army to take a seat in
+the Confederate Congress as Senator from Texas, and from him I learned
+that he was in hopes some brigadier would be killed to make a place for
+Hampton, to whom, as volunteer aide, he proposed to attach himself and
+see the fun. Finding me extended in an ambulance, he doubtless thought
+he had met his opportunity, and felt aggrieved that I was not _in
+extremis_. Hampton took command of a brigade in Jackson's old division
+the next day, and perhaps his friend Wigfall enjoyed himself at Malvern
+Hill.
+
+The staff officer returned from the front and reported the situation.
+D.H. Hill's division was at White Oak Swamp Creek, a slough, and one of
+"despond" to us, draining to the Chickahominy. The enemy held the high
+ground beyond, and artillery fire was continuous, but no infantry was
+engaged. There was no change until nightfall, when we bivouacked where
+we were. Our loss, _one_ artilleryman mortally wounded, proved that no
+serious effort to pass the slough was made; yet a prize was in reach
+worth the loss of thousands. While we were idly shelling the wood,
+behind which lay Franklin's corps--the right of McClellan's army--scarce
+a rifle shot to the southwest, but concealed by intervening forest,
+Longstreet and A.P. Hill were fighting the bloody engagement of
+Frazier's Farm with Heintzelman and McCall, the Federal center and left.
+Again, fractions against masses; for of the two divisions expected to
+support them, Magruder's and Huger's, the latter did not get up, and the
+former was taken off by a misleading message from Holmes, who, from the
+south bank of the James, had reached the Newmarket road a day later than
+was intended. Longstreet and Hill fought into the night, held a large
+part of the field, and captured many prisoners (including General
+McCall) and guns, but their own loss was severe. After the action,
+Franklin quietly passed within a few yards of them, joined Heintzelman,
+and with him gained Malvern Hill, which McClellan had fortified during
+the day, employing for the purpose the commands of Keyes and Porter.
+
+On the succeeding morning (July 1), Jackson followed the enemy's track
+from White Oak Swamp Creek toward Malvern Hill, passing the field of
+Frazier's Farm, and Magruder's division, which had arrived in the night
+and relieved the exhausted commands of Longstreet and Hill.
+
+Malvern Hill was a desperate position to attack in front, though, like
+Cold Harbor, it could be turned on the right. Here McClellan was posted
+with his whole force. His right was covered by Turkey Creek, an affluent
+of the James; his left was near that river and protected by gunboats,
+which, though hidden by timber, threw shells across his entire front.
+Distance and uncertainty of aim saved us from much loss by these
+projectiles, but their shriek and elongated form astonished our landward
+men, who called them lamp posts. By its height, Malvern Hill dominated
+the ground to the north, the James River, and the Newmarket road on
+which we approached, and was crowned with a numerous and heavy
+artillery. On our side, from inferior elevation, artillery labored under
+a great disadvantage, and was brought into action in detail to be
+overpowered.
+
+The left attack was assigned to Jackson, the right to Magruder,
+supported by Huger and Holmes--Longstreet and A.P. Hill in reserve.
+Jackson's dispositions were as follows: On the extreme left, the
+division of Whiting, then artillery supported by a brigade under Wade
+Hampton, my brigade, and on my right the division of D.H. Hill. In
+reserve were the remainder of Ewell's division and the brigades of
+Winder, Lawton, and Cunningham. It was perhaps 3 o'clock of the
+afternoon before these dispositions were completed.
+
+As it was General Lee's intention to open from his right, Magruder was
+waited for, who, following Jackson on the road, was necessarily later in
+getting into position. Orders were for Hill to attack with the bayonet
+as soon as he heard the cheers of Magruder's charge. To be ready, Hill
+advanced over open ground to some timber within four hundred yards of
+the enemy's line, but suffered in doing so. Artillery sent to his
+support was crippled and driven off. It was 5 o'clock or after when a
+loud shout and some firing were heard on the right, and, supposing this
+to be Magruder's attack, Hill led his men to the charge. He carried the
+first line of the enemy, who, unoccupied elsewhere, reenforced at once,
+and Hill was beaten off with severe loss. The brigades of Trimble,
+Lawton, Winder, and Cunningham were sent to his assistance, but could
+accomplish nothing beyond holding the ground. About sunset, after Hill's
+attack had failed, Magruder got into position and led on his men with
+similar fortune. Like Hill, he and his troops displayed superb courage
+and suffered enormously; but it was not to be; such partial attacks were
+without the first element of success. My brigade was not moved from its
+position, but experienced some loss by artillery.
+
+After the action, Stuart arrived from the north side of the
+Chickahominy, where he had been since Cold Harbor. Had he been brought
+over the Long Bridge two days earlier, McClellan's huge trains on the
+Charles City road would have fallen an easy prey to his cavalry, and he
+could have blocked the roads through the forest.
+
+McClellan's guns continued firing long after nightfall, but the ensuing
+morning found him and his army at Harrison's Landing, in an impregnable
+position. Here ended the campaign around Richmond.
+
+The strategy displayed on the Confederate side was magnificent, and gave
+opportunity for resplendent success; but this opportunity was lost by
+tactical mistakes, occasioned by want of knowledge of the theatre of
+action, and it is to be feared that Time, when he renders his verdict,
+will declare the gallant dead who fell at Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor,
+Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill, to have been sacrificed on the altar
+of the bloodiest of all Molochs--Ignorance.
+
+The crisis of my illness now came in a paralysis of the lower limbs, and
+I was taken to Richmond, where I learned of my promotion to
+major-general, on the recommendation of Jackson, for services in the
+Valley, and assignment to a distant field.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Having expressed an opinion of McClellan as an organizer of armies, I
+will now treat of his conduct as a commander in this and his subsequent
+campaign. His first operations on the peninsula were marked by a
+slowness and hesitancy to be expected of an engineer, with small
+experience in handling troops. His opponent, General Magruder, was a man
+of singular versatility. Of a boiling, headlong courage, he was too
+excitable for high command. Widely known for social attractions, he had
+a histrionic vein, and indeed was fond of private theatricals. Few
+managers could have surpassed him in imposing on an audience a score of
+supernumeraries for a grand army. Accordingly, with scarce a tenth the
+force, he made McClellan reconnoiter and deploy with all the caution of
+old Melas, till Johnston came up. It is true that McClellan steadily
+improved, and gained confidence in himself and his army; yet he seemed
+to regard the latter as a parent does a child, and, like the first
+Frederick William's gigantic grenadiers, too precious for gunpowder.
+
+His position in front of Richmond, necessitated by the establishment of
+his base on York River, was vicious, because his army was separated by
+the Chickahominy, a stream subject to heavy floods, which swept away
+bridges and made the adjacent lowlands impassable. Attacked at Fair Oaks
+while the river was in flood, he displayed energy, but owed the escape
+of his two exposed corps to Johnston's wound and the subsequent blunders
+of the Confederates. To operate against Richmond on the north bank of
+the James, his proper plan was to clear that river and rest his left
+upon it, or to make the Potomac and Rappahannock his base, as the line
+of rail from Aquia and Fredericksburg was but little longer than the
+York River line. This, keeping him more directly between the Confederate
+army and Washington, would have given him McDowell's corps, the
+withdrawal of which from his direction he earnestly objected to. The
+true line of attack was on the south of the James, where Grant was
+subsequently forced by the ability of Lee; but it should be observed
+that after he took the field, McClellan had not the liberty of action
+accorded to Grant. That Lee caught his right "in the air" at Hanover and
+Cold Harbor, McClellan ascribes to his Government's interference with
+and withdrawal of McDowell's corps. Reserving this, he fought well at
+Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor, and Frazier's Farm. Always protecting his
+selected line of retreat, bringing off his movable stores, and
+preserving the organization of his army, he restored its spirit and
+_morale_ by turning at Malvern Hill to inflict a bloody repulse on his
+enemy. In his official report he speaks of his movement from the
+Chickahominy to Harrison's Landing on the James as a change of base,
+previously determined. This his detractors sneer at as an afterthought,
+thereby unwittingly enhancing his merit. Regarded as a change of base,
+carefully considered and provided for, it was most creditable; but if
+suddenly and unexpectedly forced upon him, he exhibited a courage,
+vigor, and presence of mind worthy of the greatest commanders.
+
+Safe at Harrison's Landing, in communication with the fleet, the army
+was transferred from McClellan to the command of General Pope; and the
+influence of McClellan on his troops can not be correctly estimated
+without some allusion to this officer, under whose command the Federal
+Army of the Potomac suffered such mortifying defeat. Of an effrontery
+while danger was remote equaled by helplessness when it was present, and
+mendacity after it had passed, the annals of despotism scarce afford an
+example of the elevation of such a favorite. It has been said that his
+talent for the relation of obscene stories engaged the attention and
+confidence of President Lincoln. However this may be, great was the
+consternation at Washington produced by his incapacity. The bitterness
+of official rancor was sweetened, and in honeyed phrase McClellan was
+implored to save the capital. He displayed an unselfish patriotism by
+accepting the task without conditions for himself, but it may be doubted
+if he was right in leaving devoted friends under the scalping-knife,
+speedily applied, as might have been foreseen.
+
+With vigor he restored order and spirit to the army, and led it, through
+the passes of South Mountain, to face Lee, who was stretched from
+Chambersburg to Harper's Ferry. Having unaccountably permitted his
+cavalry to separate from him, and deprived himself of adequate means of
+information, Lee was to some extent taken unawares. His thin lines at
+Antietam, slowly fed with men jaded by heavy marching, were sorely
+pressed. There was a moment, as Hooker's advance was stayed by the wound
+of its leader, when McClellan, with _storge_ of battle, might have led
+on his reserves and swept the field. Hard would it have been for the
+Confederates, with the river in rear; but this seemed beyond McClellan
+or outside of his nature. Antietam was a drawn battle, and Lee recrossed
+into Virginia at his leisure.
+
+While it may be confidently believed that McClellan would have continued
+to improve by experience in the field, it is doubtful if he possessed
+that divine spark which impels a commander, at the accepted moment, to
+throw every man on the enemy and grasp complete victory. But his
+Government gave him no further opportunity. He disappeared from the war,
+to be succeeded by mediocrity, too well recognized to disturb the
+susceptibility of a War Secretary who, like Louvois, was able, but
+jealous of merit and lustful of power.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Although in the last months of the war, after he had assumed command of
+the armies of the Confederacy, I had some correspondence with General
+Lee, I never met him again, and indeed was widely separated from him,
+and it now behooves me to set forth an opinion of his place in Southern
+history. Of all the men I have seen, he was best entitled to the epithet
+of distinguished; and so marked was his appearance in this particular,
+that he would not have passed unnoticed through the streets of any
+capital. Reserved almost to coldness, his calm dignity repelled
+familiarity: not that he seemed without sympathies, but that he had so
+conquered his own weaknesses as to prevent the confession of others
+before him. At the outbreak of the war his reputation was exclusively
+that of an engineer, in which branch of the military service of the
+United States he had, with a short exception, passed his career. He was
+early sent to Western Virginia on a forlorn hope against Rosecrans,
+where he had no success; for success was impossible. Yet his lofty
+character was respected of all and compelled public confidence. Indeed,
+his character seemed perfect, his bath in Stygian waters complete; not a
+vulnerable spot remained: _totus teres atque rotundus_. His soldiers
+reverenced him and had unbounded confidence in him, for he shared all
+their privations, and they saw him ever unshaken of fortune. Tender and
+protecting love he did not inspire: such love is given to weakness, not
+to strength. Not only was he destitute of a vulgar greed for fame, he
+would not extend a hand to welcome it when it came unbidden. He was
+without ambition, and, like Washington, into whose family connection he
+had married, kept duty as his guide.
+
+The strategy by which he openly, to attract attention, reenforced
+Jackson in the Valley, to thrust him between McDowell and McClellan at
+Cold Harbor, deserves to rank with Marlborough's cross march in Germany
+and Napoleon's rapid concentration around Ulm; though his tactical
+manoeuvres on the field were inferior to the strategy. His wonderful
+defensive campaign in 1864 stands with that of Napoleon in 1813; and the
+comparison only fails by an absence of sharp returns to the offensive.
+The historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states (and, as far as
+I have seen, uncontradicted) that Grant's army, at second Cold Harbor,
+refused to obey the order to attack, so distressed was it by constant
+butchery. In such a condition of _morale_ an advance upon it might have
+changed history. In truth, the genius of Lee for offensive war had
+suffered by a too long service as an engineer. Like Erskine in the House
+of Commons, it was not his forte. In both the Antietam and Gettysburg
+campaigns he allowed his cavalry to separate from him, and was left
+without intelligence of the enemy's movements until he was upon him. In
+both, too, his army was widely scattered, and had to be brought into
+action by piecemeal. There was an abundance of supplies in the country
+immediately around Harper's Ferry, and had he remained concentrated
+there, the surrender of Miles would have been advanced, and McClellan
+met under favorable conditions. His own report of Gettysburg confesses
+his mistakes; for he was of too lofty a nature to seek scapegoats, and
+all the rambling accounts of that action I have seen published add but
+little to his report. These criticisms are written with unaffected
+diffidence; but it is only by studying the campaigns of great commanders
+that the art of war can be illustrated.
+
+Nevertheless, from the moment Lee succeeded to the command of the army
+in Virginia, he was _facile princeps_ in the war, towering above all on
+both sides, as the pyramid of Ghizeh above the desert. Steadfast to the
+end, he upheld the waning fortunes of the Confederacy as did Hector
+those of Troy. Last scene of all, at his surrender, his greatness and
+dignity made of his adversary but a humble accessory; and if departed
+intelligences be permitted to take ken of the affairs of this world, the
+soul of Light Horse Harry rejoices that his own eulogy of Washington,
+"First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen,"
+is now, by the united voice of the South, applied to his noble son.
+
+Foregoing criticisms have indicated the tendency of engineer service to
+unfit men for command. It was once said of a certain colonel that he was
+an admirable officer when absent from soldiers. No amount of theoretical
+training can supply the knowledge gained by direct and immediate
+association with troops. The ablest and most promising graduates from
+West Point are annually assigned to the engineer and ordnance corps.
+After some years they become scientists, perhaps pedants, but not
+soldiers. Whatever may be the ultimate destination of such young men,
+they should be placed on duty for at least one year with each arm of the
+service, and all officers of the general staff below the highest grades
+should be returned to the line for limited periods. In no other way can
+a healthy connection between line and staff be preserved. The United
+States will doubtless continue to maintain an army, however small, as a
+model, if for no other purpose, for volunteers, the reliance of the
+country in the event of a serious war. It ought to have the best
+possible article for the money, and, to secure this, should establish a
+camp of instruction, composed of all arms, where officers could study
+the actual movements of troops.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.
+
+
+A month of rest at Richmond restored my health, which subsequently
+remained good; but in leaving Virginia I was separated from my brigade,
+endeared by so many memories. It remained with Lee's army, and gained
+distinction in many battles. As the last preserved of Benjamin on the
+rock of Rimmon, scarce a handful survived the war; but its story would
+comprise much of that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and I hope some
+survivor, who endured till the end, will relate it. A braver command
+never formed line of battle.
+
+And now I turned my steps toward the West, where, beyond the "father of
+waters," two years of hard work and much fighting awaited me. The most
+direct route to the Southwest was by Chattanooga, where General Bragg
+was concentrating the Army of Tennessee. This officer had requested the
+War Department to assign me to duty with his army as chief of staff, and
+it was suggested to me to call on him _en route_. He had reached
+Chattanooga in advance of his troops, then moving from Tupelo in
+northern Mississippi. In the two days passed at Chattanooga, General
+Bragg communicated to me his plan of campaign into Kentucky, which was
+excellent, giving promise of large results if vigorously executed; and I
+think its failure may be ascribed to the infirmities of the commander.
+
+Born in North Carolina, graduated from West Point in 1837, Bragg served
+long and creditably in the United States artillery. In the war with
+Mexico he gained much celebrity, especially at Buena Vista, to the
+success of which action, under the immediate eye of General Zachary
+Taylor, he largely contributed. Resigning the service, he married a
+lady of Louisiana and purchased an estate on the Bayou Lafourche, where
+he resided at the outbreak of civil war. Promoted to the rank of general
+after the death of Albert Sidney Johnston, he succeeded Beauregard,
+retired by ill health, in command of the Army of Tennessee. Possessing
+experience in and talent for war, he was the most laborious of
+commanders, devoting every moment to the discharge of his duties. As a
+disciplinarian he far surpassed any of the senior Confederate generals;
+but his method and manner were harsh, and he could have won the
+affections of his troops only by leading them to victory. He furnished a
+striking illustration of the necessity of a healthy body for a sound
+intellect. Many years of dyspepsia had made his temper sour and
+petulant; and he was intolerant to a degree of neglect of duty, or what
+he esteemed to be such, by his officers. A striking instance of this
+occurred during my visit. At dinner, surrounded by his numerous staff, I
+inquired for one of his division commanders, a man widely known and
+respected, and received this answer: "General ---- is an old woman,
+utterly worthless." Such a declaration, privately made, would have been
+serious; but publicly, and certain to be repeated, it was astonishing.
+
+As soon as we had withdrawn to his private room, I asked by whom he
+intended to relieve General ----. "Oh! by no one. I have but one or two
+fitted for high command, and have in vain asked the War Department for
+capable people." To my suggestion that he could hardly expect hearty
+cooeperation from officers of whom he permitted himself to speak
+contemptuously, he replied: "I speak the truth. The Government is to
+blame for placing such men in high position." From that hour I had
+misgivings as to General Bragg's success, and felt no regret at the
+refusal of the authorities to assign me to duty with him. It may be said
+of his subordinate commanders that they supported him wonderfully, in
+despite of his temper, though that ultimately produced dissatisfaction
+and wrangling. Feeble health, too, unfitted him to sustain
+long-continued pressure of responsibility, and he failed in the
+execution of his own plan.
+
+The movement into Kentucky was made by two lines. General Kirby Smith
+led a subordinate force from Knoxville, East Tennessee, through
+Cumberland Gap, and, defeating the Federals in a spirited action at
+Richmond, Kentucky, reached Lexington, in the center of the State, and
+threatened Cincinnati. Bragg moved on a line west of the Cumberland
+range toward Louisville, on the Ohio River; and this movement forced the
+Federal commander, Buell, to march north to the same point by a parallel
+road, farther west. Buell left garrisons at Nashville and other
+important places, and sought to preserve his communications with
+Louisville, his base. Weakened by detachments, as well as by the
+necessity of a retrograde movement, Bragg should have brought him to
+action before he reached Louisville. Defeated, the Federals would have
+been driven north of the Ohio to reorganize, and Bragg could have
+wintered his army in the fertile and powerful State of Kentucky,
+isolating the garrisons in his rear; or, if this was impossible, which
+does not appear, he should have concentrated against Buell when the
+latter, heavily reenforced, marched south from Louisville to regain
+Nashville. But he fought a severe action at Perryville with a fraction
+of his army, and retired to Central Tennessee. The ensuing winter, at
+Murfreesboro, he contested the field with Rosecrans, Buell's successor,
+for three days; and though he won a victory, it was not complete, and
+the summer of 1863 found him again at Chattanooga. In the mean time, a
+Federal force under General Burnside passed through Cumberland Gap, and
+occupied Knoxville and much of East Tennessee, severing the direct line
+of rail communication from Richmond to the Southwest.
+
+This condensed account of the Kentucky campaign, extending over many
+months, is given because of my personal intimacy with the commander, who
+apprised me of his plans. General Bragg died recently in Texas. I have
+rarely known a more conscientious, laborious man. Exacting of others, he
+never spared himself, but, conquering disease, showed a constant
+devotion to duty; and distinguished as were his services in the cause he
+espoused, they would have been far greater had he enjoyed the blessing
+of health.
+
+Leaving Chattanooga, I proceeded to my destination, western Louisiana,
+and crossed the Mississippi at the entrance of Red River. Some miles
+below, in the Atchafalaya, I found a steamer, and learned that the
+Governor of the State was at Opelousas, which could be reached by
+descending the last river to the junction of the Bayou Courtableau,
+navigable at high water to the village of Washington, six miles north of
+Opelousas. Embarking on the steamer, I reached the junction at sunset,
+but the water in Courtableau was too low for steam navigation. As my
+family had sought refuge with friends in the vicinity of Washington, I
+was anxious to get on, and hired a boat, with four negro oarsmen, to
+take me up the bayou, twenty miles. The narrow stream was overarched by
+trees shrouded with Spanish moss, the universal parasite of Southern
+forests. Heavy rain fell, accompanied by vivid lightning, the flashes of
+which enabled us to find our way; and before dawn I had the happiness to
+embrace wife and children after a separation of fourteen months. Some
+hours later I reached Opelousas, and met the Governor, Thomas O. Moore,
+with whom I had served in our State Assembly. This worthy gentleman, a
+successful and opulent planter, had been elected Governor in 1860. He
+was a man of moderate temper and opinions, but zealously aided the
+Confederate cause after his State had joined it. Forced to leave New
+Orleans by the approach of Farragut's fleet, he brought my family with
+him, and was unwearied in kind attentions.
+
+Melancholy indeed was the condition of the "District of Louisiana," to
+the command of which I was assigned.
+
+Confederate authority had virtually ceased with the fall of New Orleans
+in the previous April. Fortifications at Barataria, Berwick's Bay, and
+other Gulf-coast points had been abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn,
+works dismantled, and guns thrown into the water. The Confederate
+Government had no soldiers, no arms or munitions, and no money, within
+the limits of the district. Governor Moore was willing to aid me to the
+extent of his ability, but, deprived by the loss of New Orleans and the
+lower river parishes of half the population and three fourths of the
+resources of his State, he could do little.
+
+General Magruder had recently been assigned to command in Texas, and
+General Holmes, the senior officer west of the Mississippi, was far to
+the north in Arkansas. To him I at once reported my arrival and
+necessities. Many days elapsed before his reply was received, to the
+effect that he could give me no assistance, as he meditated a movement
+against Helena on the Mississippi River. Without hope of aid from
+abroad, I addressed myself to the heavy task of arousing public
+sentiment, apathetic if not hostile from disaster and neglect, and the
+creation of some means of defense. Such was the military destitution
+that a regiment of cavalry could have ridden over the State, while
+innumerable rivers and bayous, navigable a large part of the year, would
+admit Federal gunboats to the heart of every parish.
+
+To understand subsequent operations in this region, one must have some
+idea of its topography and river systems.
+
+Washed on the east, from the Arkansas line to the Gulf of Mexico, by the
+Mississippi, western Louisiana is divided into two not very unequal
+parts by the Red River, which, entering the State at its northwestern
+angle, near the boundaries of Texas and Arkansas, flows southeast to the
+Mississippi through a broad, fertile valley, then occupied by a
+population of large slave-owners engaged in the culture of cotton. From
+the southern slopes of the Ozark Mountains in Central Arkansas comes the
+Washita River to unite with the Red, a few miles above the junction of
+the latter with the Mississippi. Preserving a southerly course, along
+the eastern foot of the hills, the Washita enters the State nearly a
+hundred miles west of the Mississippi, but the westerly trend of the
+great river reduces this distance until the waters meet. The alluvion
+between these rivers, protected from inundation by levees along the
+streams, is divided by many bayous, of which the Tensas, with its branch
+the Macon, is the most important. These bayous drain the vast swamps
+into the Washita, and, like this river, are in the season of floods open
+to steam navigation. Here was one of the great cotton-producing regions
+of the South. Estates of 5,000 acres and more abounded, and, with the
+numerous slaves necessary to their cultivation, were largely under the
+charge of overseers, while the proprietors resided in distant and more
+healthy localities. Abundant facilities for navigation afforded by
+countless streams superseded the necessity for railways, and but one
+line of some eighty miles existed. This extended from Monroe on the
+Washita to a point opposite Vicksburg on the Mississippi; but the great
+flood of 1862 had broken the eastern half of the line. Finally, the
+lower Washita, at Trinity, where it receives the Tensas from the east
+and Little River from the west, takes the name of Black River. And it
+may be well to add that in Louisiana counties are called parishes, dikes
+levees, and streams bayous.
+
+South of the Red River, population and industries change. The first is
+largely composed of descendants of French colonists, termed creoles,
+with some Spanish intermixed, and the sugar cane is the staple crop,
+changing as the Gulf is approached to rice. At the point where the
+united Red and Washita Rivers join the Mississippi, which here changes
+direction to the east, the Atchafalaya leaves it, and, flowing due south
+through Grand Lake and Berwick's Bay, reaches the Gulf at Atchafalaya
+Bay, two degrees west of its parent stream, and by a more direct course.
+Continuing the line of the Red and Washita, it not only discharges much
+of their waters, but draws largely from the Mississippi when this last
+is in flood. Midway between the Atchafalaya and the city of New Orleans,
+some eighty miles from either point, another outlet of the great river,
+the Bayou Lafourche, discharges into the Gulf after passing through a
+densely populated district, devoted to the culture of sugar cane and
+rice. A large lake, Des Allemands, collects the waters from the higher
+lands on the river and bayou, and by an outlet of the same name carries
+them to Barataria Bay. Lying many feet below the flood level of the
+streams, protected by heavy dikes, with numerous steam-engines for
+crushing canes and pumping water, and canals and ditches in every
+direction, this region resembles a tropical Holland. At the lower end of
+Lake Des Allemands passed the only line of railway in southern
+Louisiana, from a point on the west bank of the river opposite New
+Orleans to Berwick's Bay, eighty miles. Berwick's Bay, which is but the
+Atchafalaya after it issues from Grand Lake, is eight hundred yards
+wide, with great depth of water, and soon meets the Gulf in Atchafalaya
+Bay. A few miles above the railway terminus at Berwick's there enters
+from the west the Teche, loveliest of Southern streams. Navigable for
+more than a hundred miles, preserving at all seasons an equal breadth
+and depth, so gentle is its flow that it might be taken for a canal, did
+not the charming and graceful curves, by which it separates the
+undulating prairies of Attakapas from the alluvion of the Atchafalaya,
+mark it as the handiwork of Nature. Before the war, the Teche for fifty
+miles, from Berwick's Bay to New Iberia, passed through one field of
+sugar canes, the fertile and well-cultivated estates succeeding each
+other. The mansions of the opulent planters, as well as the villages of
+their slaves, were situated on the west bank of the bayou overlooking
+the broad, verdant prairie, where countless herds roamed. On the east
+bank, the dense forest had given way to fields of luxuriant canes; and
+to connect the two parts of estates, floating bridges were constructed,
+with openings in the center for the passage of steamers. Stately live
+oaks, the growth of centuries, orange groves, and flowers of every hue
+and fragrance surrounded the abodes of the _seigneurs_; while within,
+one found the grace of the _salon_ combined with the healthy cheeriness
+of country life. Abundance and variety of game encouraged field sports,
+and the waters, fresh and salt, swarmed with fish. With the sky and
+temperature of Sicily, the breezes from prairie and Gulf were as
+health-giving as those that ripple the heather on Scotch moors. In all
+my wanderings, and they have been many and wide, I can not recall so
+fair, so bountiful, and so happy a land.
+
+The upper or northern Teche waters the parishes of St. Landry,
+Lafayette, and St. Martin's--the Attakapas, home of the "Acadians." What
+the gentle, contented creole was to the restless, pushing American, that
+and more was the Acadian to the creole. In the middle of the past
+century, when the victories of Wolfe and Amherst deprived France of her
+Northern possessions, the inhabitants of Nouvelle Acadie, the present
+Nova Scotia, migrated to the genial clime of the Attakapas, where
+beneath the flag of the lilies they could preserve their allegiance,
+their traditions, and their faith. Isolated up to the time of the war,
+they spoke no language but their own _patois_; and, reading and writing
+not having come to them by nature, they were dependent for news on their
+cures and occasional peddlers, who tempted the women with _chiffons_ and
+trinkets. The few slaves owned were humble members of the household,
+assisting in the cultivation of small patches of maize, sweet potatoes,
+and cotton, from which last the women manufactured the wonderful
+Attakapas _cotonnade_, the ordinary clothing of both sexes. Their little
+_cabanes_ dotted the broad prairie in all directions, and it was
+pleasant to see the smoke curling from their chimneys, while herds of
+cattle and ponies grazed at will. Here, unchanged, was the French
+peasant of Fenelon and Bossuet, of Louis le Grand and his successor le
+Bien-Aime. Tender and true were his traditions of la belle France, but
+of France before Voltaire and the encyclopaedists, the Convention and the
+Jacobins--ere she had lost faith in all things, divine and human, save
+the _bourgeoisie_ and _avocats_. Mounted on his pony, with lariat in
+hand, he herded his cattle, or shot and fished; but so gentle was his
+nature, that lariat and rifle seemed transformed into pipe and crook of
+shepherd. Light wines from the Medoc, native oranges, and home-made
+sweet cakes filled his largest conceptions of feasts; and violin and
+clarionet made high carnival in his heart.
+
+On an occasion, passing the little hamlet of Grand Coteau, I stopped to
+get some food for man and horse. A pretty maiden of fifteen springs,
+whose parents were absent, welcomed me. Her lustrous eyes and long
+lashes might have excited the envy of "the dark-eyed girl of Cadiz."
+Finding her alone, I was about to retire and try my fortune in another
+house; but she insisted that she could prepare "monsieur un diner dans
+un tour de main," and she did. Seated by the window, looking modestly on
+the road, while I was enjoying her repast, she sprang to her feet,
+clapped her hands joyously, and exclaimed: "V'la le gros Jean Baptiste
+qui passe sur son mulet avec _deux_ bocals. Ah! nous aurons grand bal ce
+soir." It appeared that _one_ jug of claret meant a dance, but _two_
+very high jinks indeed. As my hostess declined any remuneration for her
+trouble, I begged her to accept a pair of plain gold sleeve buttons, my
+only ornaments. Wonder, delight, and gratitude chased each other across
+the pleasant face, and the confiding little creature put up her rose-bud
+mouth. In an instant the homely room became as the bower of Titania, and
+I accepted the chaste salute with all the reverence of a subject for his
+Queen, then rode away with uncovered head so long as she remained in
+sight. Hospitable little maiden of Grand Coteau, may you never have
+graver fault to confess than the innocent caress you bestowed on the
+stranger!
+
+It was to this earthly paradise, and upon this simple race, that the war
+came, like the tree of the knowledge of evil to our early parents.
+
+Some weeks before I reached my new field, General Van Dorn, who
+commanded the Confederate forces east of the Mississippi, had
+successfully resisted a bombardment of Vicksburg by Federal gunboats,
+during which the Confederate ram Arkansas, descending the Yazoo River,
+passed through the enemy's fleet, inflicting some damage and causing
+much alarm, and anchored under the guns of Vicksburg. To follow up this
+success, Van Dorn sent General Breckenridge with a division against
+Baton Rouge, the highest point on the river above New Orleans then held
+by the Federals, and the Arkansas was to descend to cooeperate in the
+attack. Breckenridge reached Baton Rouge at the appointed time,
+assaulted, and was repulsed after a severe action; but the Arkansas,
+disabled by an accident to her machinery, was delayed, and, learning of
+Breckenridge's failure, her commander ran her ashore on the west bank of
+the river a few miles above Baton Rouge, and destroyed her.
+Strengthening their garrison in this town, the Federals employed many
+steamers on the river between it and New Orleans, a hundred and twenty
+miles, armed vessels of Farragut's fleet guarding the stream. From time
+to time parties of infantry were landed to plunder and worry the
+peaceful inhabitants, though after the fall of New Orleans no
+Confederate forces had been on that part of the river, and no resistance
+was made by the people.
+
+Two days were passed at Opelousas in consultation with Governor Moore,
+who transferred to me several small bodies of State troops which he had
+organized. Alexandria on the Red River, some seventy-five miles north of
+Opelousas, was the geographical center of the State and of steam
+navigation, and the proper place for the headquarters of the district.
+To escape the intense heat, I rode the distance in a night, and remained
+some days at Alexandria, engaged in the organization of necessary staff
+departments and in providing means of communication with different parts
+of the State. Great distances and the want of railway and telegraph
+lines made this last a heavy burden. Without trained officers, my
+presence was required at every threatened point, and I was seldom
+enabled to pass twenty-four consecutive hours at headquarters; but
+Adjutant Surget, of whom mention has been made, conducted the business
+of the district with vigor and discretion during my absence.
+Subsequently, by using an ambulance in which one could sleep, and with
+relays of mules, long distances were rapidly accomplished; and, like the
+Irishman's bird, I almost succeeded in being in two places at the same
+time.
+
+Leaving Alexandria, I went south to visit the Lafourche and intervening
+regions. At Vermilionville, in the parish of Lafayette, thirty miles
+south of Opelousas, resided ex-Governor Mouton, a man of much influence
+over the creole and Acadian populations, and an old acquaintance.
+Desiring his aid to arouse public sentiment, depressed since the fall of
+New Orleans, I stopped to see him. Past middle age, he had sent his sons
+and kindred to the war, and was eager to assist the cause in all
+possible ways. His eldest son and many of his kinsmen fell in battle,
+his estate was diminished by voluntary contributions and wasted by
+plunder, and he was taken to New Orleans and confined for many weeks;
+yet he never faltered in his devotion, and preserved his dignity and
+fortitude.
+
+In camp near New Iberia, seven and twenty miles south of Vermilionville,
+was Colonel Fournet, with a battalion of five companies raised in the
+parish, St. Martin's. The men were without instruction, and inadequately
+armed and equipped. Impressing on Fournet and his officers the
+importance of discipline and instruction, and promising to supply them
+with arms, I proceeded to the residence of Leclerc Fusilier, in the
+parish of St. Mary's, twenty miles below New Iberia. Possessor of great
+estates, and of a hospitable, generous nature, this gentleman had much
+weight in his country. His sons were in the army, and sixty years had
+not diminished his energy nor his enthusiasm. He desired to serve on my
+staff as volunteer aide, promising to join me whenever fighting was to
+be done; and he kept his promise. In subsequent actions on the Teche and
+Red River, the first gun seemed the signal for the appearance of Captain
+Fusilier, who, on his white pony, could be seen where the fight was the
+thickest, leading on or encouraging his neighbors. His corn bins, his
+flocks and herds, were given to the public service without stint; and no
+hungry, destitute Confederate was permitted to pass his door. Fusilier
+was twice captured, and on the first occasion was sent to Fortress
+Monroe, where he, with fifty other prisoners from my command, was
+embarked on the transport Maple Leaf for Fort Delaware. Reaching the
+capes of Chesapeake at nightfall, the prisoners suddenly attacked and
+overpowered the guard, ran the transport near to the beach in Princess
+Anne County, Virginia, landed, and made their way to Richmond, whence
+they rejoined me in Louisiana. Again taken, Fusilier escaped, while
+descending the Teche on a steamer, by springing from the deck to seize
+the overhanging branch of a live oak. The guard fired on him, but
+darkness and the rapid movement of the steamer were in his favor, and he
+got off unhurt.
+
+I have dwelt somewhat on the characters of Mouton and Fusilier, not only
+because of their great devotion to the Confederacy, but because there
+exists a wide-spread belief that the creole race has become effete and
+nerveless. In the annals of time no breed has produced nobler specimens
+of manhood than these two; and while descendants of the French colonists
+remain on the soil of Louisiana, their names and characters should be
+reverenced as are those of Hampden and Sidney in England.
+
+To Berwick's Bay, a hundred and seventy-five miles from Alexandria.
+Here, on the eastern shore, was the terminus of the New Orleans and
+Opelousas railroad. A deep, navigable arm of the bay, called Bayou
+Boeuf, flows east of the station, which is on the island fronting the
+bay proper. Some engines and plant had been saved from the general wreck
+at New Orleans, and the line was operated from the bay to Lafourche
+crossing, thirty miles. The intervening territory constitutes the parish
+of Terrebonne, with fertile, cultivated lands along the many bayous, and
+low swamps between. From Lafourche crossing to Algiers, opposite New
+Orleans, is fifty miles; and, after leaving the higher ground adjacent
+to the Lafourche, the line plunges into swamps and marshes, impassable
+except on the embankment of the line itself. Midway of the above points,
+the Bayou des Allemands, outlet of the large lake of the same name, is
+crossed; and here was a Federal post of some two hundred men with two
+field guns. On the west bank of the Lafourche, a mile or two above the
+railway crossing, and thirty-two miles below Donaldsonville, where the
+bayou leaves the Mississippi, lies the town of Thibodeaux, the most
+considerable place of this region. Navigable for steamers, whenever the
+waters of its parent river are high, restrained from inundation by
+levees on both banks, the Lafourche flows through the fertile and
+populous parishes of Assumption and Lafourche, and, after a sinuous
+course of some ninety miles, reaches the Gulf to the west of Barataria
+Bay. Above Thibodeaux there were no bridges, and communication between
+the opposite banks was kept up by ferries.
+
+One or two companies of mounted men, armed with fowling pieces, had been
+organized under authority from Governor Moore, and Colonel Waller's
+battalion of mounted riflemen had recently arrived from Texas. These
+constituted the Confederate army in this quarter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+Mention has been made of the plundering expeditions of the Federals, and
+the post at Bayou des Allemands was reported as the especial center from
+which raids on the helpless inhabitants were undertaken. I determined to
+attempt the surprise and capture of this post, which could be reached
+from the river at a point fifty miles below Donaldsonville. My estate
+was in the immediate vicinity of this point, and the roads and paths
+through plantations and swamps were well known to me. Colonel Waller was
+assigned to the duty, with minute instructions concerning roads and
+movements, and competent guides were furnished him. Moving rapidly by
+night, and, to escape observation, avoiding the road near the river,
+Waller with his Texans gained the enemy's rear, advanced on his camp,
+and, after a slight resistance, captured two companies of infantry and
+the guns. The captured arms and accouterments served to equip Waller's
+men, whose rifles were altered flintlocks and worthless, and the
+prisoners were sent to the Teche to be guarded by Fournet's Acadians.
+This trifling success, the first in the State since the loss of New
+Orleans, attracted attention, and the people rejoiced at the capture of
+the Des Allemands garrison as might those of Greece at the unearthing of
+the accomplished and classic thief Cacus. Indeed, the den of that worthy
+never contained such multifarious "loot" as did this Federal camp.
+Books, pictures, household furniture, finger rings, ear rings,
+breastpins and other articles of feminine adornment and wear, attested
+the catholic taste and temper of these patriots.
+
+Persuaded that the Federal commander at New Orleans, General Benjamin
+F. Butler, was ignorant of the practices of his outlying detachments, I
+requested ex-Governor Wickliffe of Louisiana, a non-combatant, to visit
+that officer under a flag of truce and call his attention to the
+subject. Duty to the suffering population would force me to deal with
+perpetrators of such misdeeds as robbers rather than as soldiers.
+General Butler received Governor Wickliffe politely, invited him to
+dine, and listened attentively to his statements, then dismissed him
+without committing himself to a definite reply. However, the conduct
+complained of was speedily stopped, and, as I was informed, by orders
+from General Butler. This was the only intercourse I had with this
+officer during the war. Some months later he was relieved from command
+at New Orleans by General Banks, whose blunders served to endear him to
+President Lincoln, as did those of Villeroy to his master, the
+fourteenth Louis. When the good Scotch parson finished praying for all
+created beings and things, he requested his congregation to unite in
+asking a blessing for the "puir deil," who had no friends; and General
+Butler has been so universally abused as to make it pleasant to say a
+word in his favor. Not that he needs assistance to defend himself; for
+in the war of epithets he has proved his ability to hold his ground
+against all comers as successfully as did Count Robert of Paris with
+sword and lance.
+
+Preservation of the abundant supplies of the Lafourche country, and
+protection of the dense population from which recruits could be drawn,
+were objects of such importance as to justify the attempt to secure them
+with inadequate means.
+
+A few days after the Des Allemands affair, I was called to the north,
+and will for convenience anticipate events in this quarter during my
+absence. Minute instructions for his guidance were given to Colonel
+Waller. The danger to be guarded against while operating on the river
+was pointed out, viz.: that the enemy might, from transports, throw
+forces ashore above and below him, at points where the swamps in the
+rear were impassable; and this trap Waller fell into. Most of his men
+escaped by abandoning arms, horses, etc. Immunity from attack for some
+days had made them careless. Nothing compensates for absence of
+discipline; and the constant watchfulness, even when danger seems
+remote, that is necessary in war, can only be secured by discipline
+which makes of duty a habit.
+
+Meanwhile, two skeleton regiments, the 18th Louisiana and Crescent, and
+a small battalion (Clack's) of infantry, with Semmes's and Ralston's
+batteries, reached me from east of the Mississippi, and were directed to
+the Lafourche. There also reported to me Brigadier Alfred Mouton, son of
+Governor Mouton, and a West Pointer. This officer had been wounded at
+Shiloh, and was now ordered to command on the Lafourche. His
+instructions were to make Thibodeaux his centre of concentration, to
+picket Bayou Des Allemands and Donaldsonville, thirty miles distant
+each, to secure early information of the enemy's movements, and to
+provide a movable floating bridge by which troops could cross the bayou,
+as the water was too low to admit steamers from the river. These same
+instructions had been given to the senior officer present before
+Mouton's arrival, but had been imperfectly executed. A feint on Des
+Allemands had induced the movement of nearly half the little force in
+that direction, and Mouton had scant time after he reached Thibodeaux to
+correct errors before the enemy was upon him.
+
+In the last days of October the Federal General, Weitzel, brought up a
+force of some 4,000 from New Orleans, landed at Donaldsonville, and
+advanced down the Lafourche, on the west bank. There were Confederates
+on both sides of the bayou, but, having neglected their floating bridge,
+they could not unite. With his own, the 18th, the Crescent, Colonel
+McPheeters, and the four-gun battery of Captain Ralston--in all 500
+men--Colonel Armand resisted Weitzel's advance at Labadieville, eight
+miles above Thibodeaux. The fighting was severe, and Armand only retired
+after his ammunition was exhausted; but he lost many killed and wounded,
+and some few prisoners. Colonel McPheeters was among the former, and
+Captains Ralston and Story among the latter. The loss of the Federals
+prevented Weitzel from attempting a pursuit; and Mouton, who deemed it
+necessary to retire across Berwick's Bay, was not interrupted in his
+movement. With his forces well in hand, Mouton would have defeated
+Weitzel and retained possession of the Lafourche country. The causes of
+his failure to concentrate have been pointed out. Information of these
+untoward events reached me on the road from the north, and I arrived at
+Berwick's Bay as Mouton was crossing.
+
+To return to the time of departure from the Lafourche. Several days were
+passed at New Iberia in attention to a matter of much interest. Some
+eight miles to the southwest of the village there rises from the low
+prairie and salt marsh, at the head of Vermilion Bay, an island of high
+land, near a thousand acres in extent. Connected with the mainland by a
+causeway of some length, the island was the property and residence of
+Judge Avery. A small bayou, Petit Anse, navigable for light craft,
+approached the western side and wound through the marsh to Vermilion
+Bay. Salt wells had long been known to exist on the island, and some
+salt had been boiled there. The want of salt was severely felt in the
+Confederacy, our only considerable source of supply being in
+southwestern Virginia, whence there were limited facilities for
+distribution. Judge Avery began to boil salt for neighbors, and,
+desiring to increase the flow of brine by deepening his wells, came
+unexpectedly upon a bed of pure rock salt, which proved to be of immense
+extent. Intelligence of this reached me at New Iberia, and induced me to
+visit the island. The salt was from fifteen to twenty feet below the
+surface, and the overlying soil was soft and friable. Devoted to our
+cause, Judge Avery placed his mine at my disposition for the use of the
+Government. Many negroes were assembled to get out salt, and a packing
+establishment was organized at New Iberia to cure beef. During
+succeeding months large quantities of salt, salt beef, sugar, and
+molasses were transported by steamers to Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and
+other points east of the Mississippi. Two companies of infantry and a
+section of artillery were posted on the island to preserve order among
+the workmen, and secure it against a sudden raid of the enemy, who later
+sent a gunboat up the Petit Anse to shell the mine, but the gunboat
+became entangled in the marsh and was impotent.
+
+At Alexandria, where every effort was made to collect material, but
+without funds and among a depressed people, progress was slow. It was
+necessary to visit Monroe, the chief place of the important Washita
+country; and I was further impelled thereto by dispatches from Richmond
+advising me that Lieutenant-General Pemberton had been assigned to
+command of the country east of the Mississippi, and that it was
+important for me to meet him, in order to secure cooeperation on the
+river. I rode the distance, _via_ Monroe, to a point opposite Vicksburg,
+over two hundred miles, excepting forty miles east of Monroe, where the
+railway was in operation. The eastern half of the line, from Bayou Macon
+to the Mississippi, had been broken up by the great flood of the
+previous spring.
+
+Near Bayou Macon was encamped Colonel Henry Grey with his recently
+organized regiment, the 28th infantry. Without much instruction and
+badly equipped, its material was excellent, and there were several
+officers of some experience, notably Adjutant Blackman, who had
+accompanied my old regiment, the 9th, to Virginia, where he had seen
+service. The men were suffering from camp diseases incident to new
+troops, and Colonel Grey was directed to move by easy marches to the
+Teche. In the low country between the Macon and the Mississippi were
+some mounted men under Captain Harrison. Residents of this region, they
+understood the intricate system of swamps and bayous by which it is
+characterized, and furnished me guides to Vicksburg.
+
+Vicksburg lies on the hills where the river forms a deep reentering
+angle. The peninsula on the opposite or western bank is several miles in
+length, narrow, and, when the waters are up, impassable except along the
+river's bank. It was through this peninsula that the Federals attempted,
+by digging a canal, to pass their gunboats and turn the Vicksburg
+batteries. The position of the town with reference to approach from the
+west was marked by me at the time, and should be borne in mind.
+
+General Pemberton, who was at Jackson, came to Vicksburg to meet me, and
+we discussed methods of cooeperation. It was of vital importance to
+control the section of the Mississippi receiving the Red and Washita
+Rivers. By so doing connection would be preserved between the two parts
+of the Confederacy, and troops and supplies crossed at will. Port
+Hudson, some forty miles below the entrance of Red River, was as
+favorably situated as Vicksburg above: for there again the hills touched
+the river and commanded it. My operations on the Lafourche had induced
+the enemy to withdraw from Baton Rouge, fifteen miles below, and one or
+two heavy guns were already mounted at Port Hudson. Pemberton engaged to
+strengthen the position at once. As there were many steamers in the Red
+and Washita, I undertook to supply Vicksburg and Port Hudson with corn,
+forage, sugar, molasses, cattle, and salt; and this was done beyond the
+ability of the garrisons to store or remove them. Quantities of these
+supplies were lying on the river's bank when the surrenders of the two
+places occurred.
+
+A Pennsylvanian by birth, Pemberton graduated from West Point in 1837,
+and was assigned to an artillery regiment. His first station was in
+South Carolina, and he there formed his early friendships. The storm of
+"nullification" had not yet subsided, and Pemberton imbibed the tenets
+of the Calhoun school. In 1843 or 1844 I met him for the first time on
+the Niagara frontier, and quite remember my surprise at his State-rights
+utterances, unusual among military men at that period. During the war
+with Mexico he was twice brevetted for gallantry in action. Later, he
+married a lady of Virginia, which may have tended to confirm his
+political opinions. At the beginning of civil strife he was in
+Minnesota, commanding a battalion of artillery, and was ordered to
+Washington. Arrived there with his command, he resigned his commission
+in the United States army, went to Richmond, and offered his sword to
+the Confederacy without asking for rank. Certainly he must have been
+actuated by principle alone; for he had everything to gain by remaining
+on the Northern side.
+
+In the summer of 1862 General Van Dorn, commanding east of the
+Mississippi, proclaimed martial law, which he explained to the people to
+be the will of the commander. Though a Mississippian by birth, such a
+storm was excited against Van Dorn in that State that President Davis
+found it necessary to supersede him, and Pemberton was created a
+lieutenant-general for the purpose. Davis could have known nothing of
+Pemberton except that his military record was good, and it is difficult
+to foresee that a distinguished subordinate will prove incompetent in
+command. Errors can only be avoided by confining the selection of
+generals to tradespeople, politicians, and newspaper men without
+military training or experience. These are all great commanders
+_d'etat_, and universally succeed. The incapacity of Pemberton for
+independent command, manifested in the ensuing campaign, was a great
+misfortune to the Confederacy, but did not justify aspersions on his
+character and motives. The public howled, gnashed its teeth, and lashed
+itself into a beautiful rage. He had joined the South for the express
+purpose of betraying it, and this was clearly proven by the fact that he
+surrendered on the 4th of July, a day sacred to the Yankees. Had he
+chosen any other day, his guilt would not have been so well established;
+but this particular day lacerated the tenderest sensibilities of
+Southern hearts. President Davis should have known all about it; and yet
+he made a pet of Pemberton. "Vox populi, vox diaboli."
+
+Returned to Alexandria, I met my chief of artillery and ordnance, Major
+J.L. Brent, just arrived from the east with some arms and munitions,
+which he had remained to bring with him. This officer had served on the
+staff of General Magruder in the Peninsular and Richmond campaigns,
+after which, learning that I was ordered to Louisiana, where he had
+family connections, he applied to serve with me. Before leaving Richmond
+I had several interviews with him, and was favorably impressed.
+
+A lawyer by profession, Major Brent knew nothing of military affairs at
+the outbreak of the war, but speedily acquainted himself with the
+technicalities of his new duties. Devoted to work, his energy and
+administrative ability were felt in every direction. Batteries were
+equipped, disciplined, and drilled. Leather was tanned, harness made,
+wagons built, and a little Workshop, established at New Iberia by
+Governor Moore, became important as an arsenal of construction. The lack
+of paper for cartridges was embarrassing, and most of the country
+newspapers were stopped for want of material. Brent discovered a
+quantity of wall paper in the shops at Franklin, New Iberia, etc., and
+used it for cartridges; and a journal published at Franklin was printed
+on this paper. A copy of it would be "a sight" to Mr. Walter and the
+staff of the "Thunderer." The _esprit de corps_ of Brent's artillery was
+admirable, and its conduct and efficiency in action unsurpassed. Serving
+with wild horsemen, unsteady and unreliable for want of discipline,
+officers and men learned to fight their guns without supports. True,
+Brent had under his command many brilliant young officers, whose names
+will appear in this narrative; but his impress was upon all, and he owes
+it to his command to publish an account of the services of the artillery
+in western Louisiana.
+
+_En route_ to Lafourche, I learned of the action at Labadieville, and
+hurried on to Berwick's Bay, which Mouton had just crossed, and in good
+time; for Federal gunboats entered from the Gulf immediately after.
+Their presence some hours earlier would have been uncomfortable for
+Mouton. It is curious to recall the ideas prevailing in the first years
+of the war about gunboats. To the wide-spread terror inspired by them
+may be ascribed the loss of Fort Donelson and New Orleans. _Omne ignotum
+pro magnifico_; and it was popularly believed that the destructive
+powers of these monsters were not to be resisted. Time proved that the
+lighter class of boats, called "tin-clads," were helpless against field
+guns, while heavy iron-clads could be driven off by riflemen protected
+by the timber and levees along streams. To fire ten-inch guns at
+skirmishers, widely disposed and under cover, was very like
+snipe-shooting with twelve-pounders; and in narrow waters gunboats
+required troops on shore for their protection.
+
+Penetrated in all directions by watercourses navigable when the
+Mississippi was at flood, my "district" was especially exposed, and
+every little bayou capable of floating a cock-boat called loudly for
+forts and heavy guns. Ten guns, thirty-two and twenty-four-pounders, of
+those thrown into the water at Barataria and Berwick's Bays after the
+surrender of New Orleans, had been recovered, and were mounted for
+defense. To protect Red River against anything that might chance to run
+the batteries of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, two thirty-twos were placed
+in position on the south bank, thirty odd miles below Alexandria, where
+the high ground of Avoyelles Prairie touches the river; and for the same
+purpose two guns were mounted at Harrisonburg on the west bank of the
+Washita. An abrupt hill approached the river at this point, and
+commanded it.
+
+The presence of gunboats in Berwick's Bay made it necessary to protect
+the Atchafalaya also; for access to the Red and Washita could be had by
+it. As yet, the waters were too low to navigate Grand Lake; but it was
+now November, and the winter flood must be expected. Some twelve miles
+from St. Martinsville on the Teche was a large mound on the west bank of
+the Atchafalaya, called "Butte a la Rose." A short distance above the
+point, where the river expands into Grand Lake, this "Butte" was the
+only place for many miles not submerged when the waters were up. The
+country between it and the Teche was almost impassable even in the dry
+season--a region of lakes, bayous, jungle, and bog. I succeeded in
+making my way through to inspect the position, the only favorable one on
+the river, and with much labor two twenty-fours were taken there and
+mounted. Forts Beauregard on the Washita, De Russy on the Red, and
+Burton on the Atchafalaya, were mere water batteries to prevent the
+passage of gunboats, and served that purpose. It was not supposed that
+they could be held against serious land attacks, and but fifty to a
+hundred riflemen were posted at each to protect the gunners from boats'
+crews.
+
+During the floods of the previous spring many steamers had been brought
+away from New Orleans, and with others a powerful tow-boat, the Webb,
+now lying at Alexandria, and the Cotton. This last, a large river
+steamer, was in the lower Teche in charge of Captain Fuller, a western
+steamboat man, and one of the bravest of a bold, daring class. He
+desired to convert the Cotton into a gunboat, and was assisted to the
+extent of his means by Major Brent, who furnished two twenty-fours and a
+field piece for armament. An attempt was made to protect the boilers
+and machinery with cotton bales and railway iron, of which we had a
+small quantity, and a volunteer crew was put on board, Fuller in
+command.
+
+Midway between Berwick's Bay and Franklin, or some thirteen miles from
+each, near the Bisland estate, the high ground from Grand Lake on the
+east to Vermilion Bay on the west is reduced to a narrow strip of some
+two thousand yards, divided by the Teche. Here was the best position in
+this quarter for a small force; and Mouton, who had now ten guns and
+about thirteen hundred men, was directed to hold it, with scouts and
+pickets toward Berwick's. A floating bridge, of the kind described, was
+just above the position, and two others farther up stream afforded ready
+communication across the bayou. A light earthwork was thrown up from
+Grand Lake Marsh to the Teche, and continued west to the embankment of
+the uncompleted Opelousas Railway, which skirted the edge of Vermilion
+Marsh. The objection to this position was the facility of turning it by
+a force embarking at Berwick's, entering Grand Lake immediately above,
+and landing at Hutchin's, not far from Franklin, through which last
+passed the only line of retreat from Bisland. This danger was obvious,
+but the people were so depressed by our retreat from Lafourche that it
+was necessary to fight even with this risk.
+
+Weitzel had followed slowly after Mouton, and now, in connection with
+gunboats, made little attacks on our pickets below Bisland; but I knew
+his force to be too small to attempt anything serious. In these affairs
+Fuller was always forward with the Cotton, though her boilers were
+inadequately protected, and she was too large and unwieldy to be handled
+in the narrow Teche. Meanwhile, I was much occupied in placing guns on
+the rivers at the points mentioned, getting out recruits for the two
+skeleton infantry regiments, consolidating independent companies, and
+other work of administration.
+
+In the first days of January, 1863, Weitzel's force was increased to
+forty-five hundred men (see "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol.
+ii., p. 307); and on the 11th of the month, accompanied by gunboats, he
+advanced up the Teche and drove in Mouton's pickets. Left unprotected
+by the retreat of the pickets, the Cotton was assailed on all sides.
+Fuller fought manfully, responding to the fire of the enemy's boats with
+his twenty-fours, and repulsing the riflemen on either bank with his
+field piece. His pilots were killed and he had an arm broken, but he
+worked the wheel with his feet, backing up the bayou, as from her great
+length the boat could not be turned in the narrow channel. Night stopped
+the enemy's advance, and Mouton, deeming his force too weak to cope with
+Weitzel, turned the Cotton across the bayou, and scuttled and burned her
+to arrest the further progress of the Federal boats. Weitzel returned to
+Berwick's, having accomplished his object, the destruction of the
+Cotton, supposed by the Federals to be a formidable iron-clad.
+
+Much disturbed by the intelligence of these events, as they tended still
+further to depress public sentiment and increase the dread of gunboats,
+I went to Bisland and tried to convince officers and men that these
+tin-clads could not resist the rapid fire of field guns, when within
+range. At distances the thirty-pound Parrotts of the boats had every
+advantage, but this would be lost by bringing them to close quarters.
+During my stay several movements from Berwick's were reported, and
+Mouton and I went down with a battery to meet them, hoping to illustrate
+my theory of the proper method of fighting gunboats; but the enemy, who
+intended nothing beyond annoyance, always retired before we could reach
+him. Yet this gave confidence to our men.
+
+The two twenty-fours removed from the wreck of the Cotton were mounted
+in a work on the west bank of the Teche, to command the bayou and road,
+and the line of breastworks was strengthened. Some recruits joined, and
+Mouton felt able to hold the lines at Bisland against the force in his
+front.
+
+In the last days of January, 1863, General Grant, with a large army,
+landed on the west bank of the Mississippi and began operations against
+Vicksburg, a fleet of gunboats under Admiral Porter cooeperating with
+him. The river was now in flood, and the Federals sought, by digging a
+canal through the narrow peninsula opposite Vicksburg, to pass their
+fleet below the place without exposing it to fire from the batteries.
+Many weeks were devoted to this work, which in the end was abandoned. In
+February the Federal gunboat Queen of the West, armed with a
+thirty-pound Parrott and five field guns, ran the batteries at Vicksburg
+and caused much alarm on the river below. The tow-boat Webb, before
+mentioned, had powerful machinery and was very fast, and I determined to
+use her as a ram and attempt the destruction of the Queen. A
+thirty-two-pounder, rifled and banded, was mounted forward, some cotton
+bales stuffed around her boilers, and a volunteer crew organized.
+Pending these preparations I took steamer at Alexandria and went down to
+Fort De Russy, and thence to Butte a la Rose, which at this season could
+only be reached by river. The little garrison of sixty men, with their
+two twenty-fours, had just before driven off some gunboats, attempting
+to ascend the Atchafalaya from Berwick's Bay. Complimenting them on
+their success and warning them of the presence of the Queen in our
+waters, I turned back, hoping to reach De Russy; but at Simmsport, on
+the west bank of the Atchafalaya, a mile or two below the point at which
+it leaves the Red, I learned that the Federal boat had passed up the
+latter river, followed by one of our small steamers captured on the
+Mississippi. Accompanied by Major Levy, an officer of capacity and
+experience, I took horse and rode across country to De Russy, thirty
+miles.
+
+It was the 14th of February, a cold, rainy day; and as we emerged from
+the swamps of Deglaize on to the prairie of Avoyelles, the rain changed
+to sleet and hail, with a fierce north wind. Occasional gusts were so
+sharp that our cattle refused to face them and compelled us to halt.
+Suddenly, reports of heavy guns came from the direction of De Russy,
+five miles away. Spurring our unwilling horses through the storm, we
+reached the river as night fell, and saw the Queen of the West lying
+against the opposite shore, enveloped in steam. A boat was manned and
+sent over to take possession. A wounded officer, with a surgeon in
+charge, and four men, were found on board. The remainder of the crew had
+passed through the forest to the captured steamer below, embarked, and
+made off down river. A shot from De Russy had cut a steam pipe and the
+tiller rope, but in other respects the Queen was not materially injured.
+She was an ordinary river steamer, with her bow strengthened for
+ramming. A heavy bulwark for protection against sharp-shooters, and with
+embrasures for field guns, surrounded her upper deck.
+
+Pushing on to Alexandria, I found the wildest alarm and confusion. The
+arrival of the Federal gunboat was momentarily expected, and the
+intelligence of her capture was hardly credited. The Webb was dispatched
+to overtake the escaped crew of the Queen, and the latter towed up to
+Alexandria for repairs. Entering the Mississippi, the Webb went up
+river, sighted the escaped steamer, and was rapidly overhauling her,
+when there appeared, coming down, a heavy iron-clad that had passed the
+Vicksburg batteries. This proved to be the Indianola, armed with two
+eleven-inch guns forward and two nine-inch aft, all in iron casemates.
+The Webb returned to De Russy with this information, which was forwarded
+to Alexandria. We had barely time to congratulate ourselves on the
+capture of the Queen before the appearance of the Indianola deprived us
+again of the navigation of the great river, so vital to our cause. To
+attempt the destruction of such a vessel as the Indianola with our
+limited means seemed madness; yet volunteers for the work promptly
+offered themselves.
+
+Major Brent took command of the expedition, with Captain McCloskey,
+staff quartermaster, on the Queen, and Charles Pierce, a brave
+steamboatman, on the Webb. On the 19th of February Brent went down to De
+Russy with the Queen, mechanics still working on repairs, and there
+called for volunteer crews from the garrison. These were furnished at
+once, sixty for the Webb under Lieutenant Handy, seventy for the Queen,
+on which boat Brent remained. There were five and twenty more than
+desired; but, in their eagerness to go, many Texans and Louisianians
+smuggled themselves aboard. The fighting part of the expedition was soon
+ready, but there was difficulty about stokers. Some planters from the
+upper Red River had brought down their slaves to De Russy to labor on
+earthworks, but they positively refused to furnish stokers for the
+boats. It was a curious feature of the war that the Southern people
+would cheerfully send their sons to battle, but kept their slaves out of
+danger. Having exhausted his powers of persuasion to no purpose, Major
+Brent threw some men ashore, surrounded a gang of negroes at work,
+captured the number necessary, and departed. A famous din was made by
+the planters, and continued until their negroes were safely returned.
+
+In the night of the 22d of February the expedition, followed by a
+tender, entered the Mississippi, and met a steamer from Port Hudson,
+with two hundred men, sent up by General Gardiner to destroy the Queen
+of the West, the capture of which was unknown. This, a frail river boat
+without protection for her boilers, could be of no service; but she
+followed Brent up the river, keeping company with his tender. On the 23d
+Natchez was reached, and here the formidable character of the Indianola
+was ascertained. While steaming up river in search of the enemy, the
+crews were exercised at the guns, the discharge of which set fire to the
+cotton protecting the boilers of the Queen. This was extinguished with
+difficulty, and showed an additional danger, to be guarded against by
+wetting the cotton thoroughly. Arrived in the afternoon of the 24th at a
+point sixty miles below Vicksburg, Brent learned that the Indianola was
+but a short distance ahead, with a coal barge lashed on each side. He
+determined to attack in the night, to diminish the chances of the
+enemy's fire. It was certain that a shell from one of the eleven-or
+nine-inch guns would destroy either of his boats.
+
+At 10 P.M. the Indianola was seen near the western shore, some thousand
+yards distant, and the Queen, followed by the Webb, was driven with full
+head of steam directly upon her, both boats having their lights
+obscured. The momentum of the Queen was so great as to cut through the
+coal barge and indent the iron plates of the Indianola, disabling by the
+shock the engine that worked her paddles. As the Queen backed out the
+Webb dashed in at full speed, and tore away the remaining coal barge.
+Both the forward guns fired at the Webb, but missed her. Returning to
+the charge, the Queen struck the Indianola abaft the paddle box,
+crushing her frame and loosening some plates of armor, but received the
+fire of the guns from the rear casemates. One shot carried away a dozen
+bales of cotton on the right side; the other, a shell, entered the
+forward port-hole on the left and exploded, killing six men and
+disabling two field pieces. Again the Webb followed the Queen, struck
+near the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and crushing timbers.
+Voices from the Indianola announced the surrender, and that she was
+sinking. As she was near the western shore, not far below Grant's army,
+Major Brent towed her to the opposite side, then in our possession,
+where, some distance from the bank, she sank on a bar, her gun deck
+above water.
+
+Thus we regained control of our section of the Mississippi, and by an
+action that for daring will bear comparison with any recorded of Nelson
+or Dundonald. Succeeding events at Vicksburg and Gettysburg so obscured
+this one, that in justice to the officers and men engaged it has seemed
+to me a duty to recount it.
+
+Brent returned to Red River, with his boats much shattered by the fray;
+and before we could repair them, Admiral Farragut with several ships of
+war passed Port Hudson, and the navigation of the great river was
+permanently lost to us. Of the brave and distinguished Admiral Farragut,
+as of General Grant, it can be said that he always respected
+non-combatants and property, and made war only against armed men.
+
+In the second week of March a brigade of mounted Texans, with a four-gun
+battery, reached Opelousas, and was directed to Bisland on the lower
+Teche. This force numbered thirteen hundred, badly armed; and to equip
+it exhausted the resources of the little arsenal at New Iberia. Under
+Brigadier Sibley, it had made a campaign into New Mexico and defeated
+the Federals in some minor actions, in one of which, Valverde, the four
+guns had been captured. The feeble health of Sibley caused his
+retirement a few days after he reached the Teche, and Colonel Thomas
+Green, a distinguished soldier, succeeded to the command of the
+brigade. The men were hardy and many of the officers brave and zealous,
+but the value of these qualities was lessened by lack of discipline. In
+this, however, they surpassed most of the mounted men who subsequently
+joined me, discipline among these "shining by its utter absence." Their
+experience in war was limited to hunting down Comanches and Lipans, and,
+as in all new societies, distinctions of rank were unknown. Officers and
+men addressed each other as Tom, Dick, or Harry, and had no more
+conception of military gradations than of the celestial hierarchy of the
+poets.
+
+I recall an illustrative circumstance. A mounted regiment arrived from
+Texas, which I rode out to inspect. The profound silence in the camp
+seemed evidence of good order. The men were assembled under the shade of
+some trees, seated on the ground, and much absorbed. Drawing near, I
+found the colonel seated in the center, with a blanket spread before
+him, on which he was dealing the fascinating game of monte. Learning
+that I would not join the sport, this worthy officer abandoned his
+amusement with some displeasure. It was a scene for that illustrious
+inspector Colonel Martinet to have witnessed.
+
+There also arrived from the east, in the month of March, 1863, to take
+command of the "Trans-Mississippi Department," Lieutenant-General E.
+Kirby Smith, which "department," including the States of Missouri,
+Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and the Indian Territory, with claims on
+New Mexico, extended over some millions of square miles. The occupation
+of a large part of this region by the Federals would have spared General
+Smith some embarrassments, had he not given much of his mind to the
+recovery of his lost empire, to the detriment of the portion yet in his
+possession; and the substance of Louisiana and Texas was staked against
+the shadow of Missouri and northern Arkansas.
+
+General E. Kirby Smith graduated from West Point in 1845, in time to see
+service in the war with Mexico. Resigning from the United States cavalry
+to join the Confederacy, he moved with General Joseph E. Johnston's
+forces from the Valley to reenforce Beauregard at Manassas, where he was
+wounded while bringing up some troops to our left. Commanding in
+eastern Tennessee in the summer of 1862, he led a force into Kentucky
+through Cumberland Gap, to cooeperate with Bragg. At Richmond, Kentucky,
+a body of Federals was driven off, and Smith moved north to Lexington
+and Frankfort; after which his column was absorbed by Bragg's army. The
+senior general west of the Mississippi, Holmes, was in Arkansas, where
+he had accomplished nothing except to lose five thousand of his best
+troops, captured at Arkansas Post by General Sherman. It was advisable
+to supersede Holmes; and, though he proved unequal to extended command,
+Smith, from his training and services, seemed an excellent selection.
+General Smith remained for several weeks in Alexandria, when he was
+driven away by the enemy's movements. The military situation of my
+immediate command was explained to him.
+
+To reopen the navigation of the Mississippi was the great desire of the
+Federal Government, and especially of the Western people, and was
+manifested by declarations and acts. Grant was operating against
+Vicksburg, and Banks would certainly undertake the reduction of Port
+Hudson; but it was probable that he would first clear the west bank of
+the Mississippi to prevent interruption of his communications with New
+Orleans, threatened so long as we had a force on the lower Atchafalaya
+and Teche. Banks had twenty thousand men for the field, while my force,
+including Green's Texans, would not exceed twenty-seven hundred, with
+many raw recruits, and badly equipped. The position at Bisland might be
+held against a front attack, but could be turned by the way of Grand
+Lake. With five thousand infantry I would engage to prevent the
+investment of Port Hudson; and as such a reenforcement must come from
+Holmes, and could not reach me for a month, I hoped immediate orders
+would be issued.
+
+On the 28th of March Weitzel, who had been quiet at Berwick's Bay for
+some time, sent the gunboat Diana, accompanied by a land force, up the
+Teche to drive in our pickets. The capture of the Queen of the West and
+destruction of the Indianola had impaired the prestige of gunboats, and
+the troops at Bisland were eager to apply my theory of attacking them
+at close quarters. The enemy's skirmishers were driven off; a section of
+the "Valverde" battery, Captain Sayres, rapidly advanced; the fire of
+the gunboat was silenced in a moment, and she surrendered, with two
+companies of infantry on board. She was armed with a thirty-pounder
+Parrott and two field guns, and had her boilers protected by railway
+iron. Moved up to Bisland, her "Parrott" became a valuable adjunct to
+our line of defense.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTURE OF
+BERWICK'S BAY.
+
+
+Increased activity of the enemy at Berwick's Bay in the first days of
+April indicated an advance; and to guard against the danger from Grand
+Lake, Fuller, whose wounds in the Cotton affair were partially healed,
+was sent to Alexandria to complete repairs on the Queen and convert one
+or two other steamers into gunboats. It was hoped that he might harass
+the enemy on Grand Lake, delay the landing of troops, and aid the little
+garrison at Butte a la Rose in defending the Atchafalaya. Fuller was as
+energetic as brave, but the means at his disposal were very limited.
+Accompanied by a tender, he descended the Atchafalaya on the Queen,
+leaving orders for his steamers to follow as soon as they were armed.
+They failed to reach him, and his subsequent fate will be mentioned.
+
+On the 10th of April the enemy had assembled at Berwick's sixteen
+thousand men under Weitzel, Emory, and Grover ("Report on the Conduct of
+the War," vol. ii., page 309). On the 12th Weitzel and Emory, twelve
+thousand strong, advanced up the Teche against Bisland, while Grover,
+with four thousand men, embarked on transports to turn our position by
+Grand Lake. Weitzel and Emory came in sight of our lines before
+nightfall, threw forward skirmishers, opened guns at long range, and
+bivouacked; and our scouts reported the movement on the lake. My
+dispositions were as follows: Mouton, with six hundred men and six guns,
+held the left from the lake to the Teche. The Diana in the bayou and two
+twenty-fours on the right bank guarded the stream and the main road; and
+sixteen hundred men, with twelve guns, prolonged the line to the
+railway embankment on our extreme right, held by Green with his
+dismounted horsemen. One of Green's regiments, Colonel Reilly, the 2d
+Louisiana cavalry, Colonel Vincent, recently embodied, and a section of
+guns, were at Hutchin's Point on Grand Lake.
+
+The cannonading ceased at dark, and when all was quiet I rode up to
+Franklin, thirteen miles, to look after my rear. A staff officer had
+been previously sent to direct the removal of stores from New Iberia,
+order down Clack's battalion, some ninety men, from the salt mines, and
+communicate with Fuller at Butte a la Rose; but the country around the
+Butte was flooded, and he was unable to reach it.
+
+Above Franklin the Teche makes a great bend to the east and approaches
+Grand Lake at Hutchin's Point, where there was a shell bank, and a good
+road leading to the high ground along the bayou. The road to New Iberia
+leaves the Teche at Franklin to avoid this bend, and runs due north
+across the prairie. Just clear of the village it enters a small wood,
+through which flows a sluggish stream, the Bayou Yokely, crossed by a
+bridge. In the wood and near the stream the ground was low and boggy,
+impassable for wagons except on a causeway. The distance from Hutchin's
+Point to Yokely Bridge was less than that from Bisland; and this bridge,
+held by the enemy, made escape from the latter place impossible; yet to
+retreat without fighting was, in the existing condition of public
+sentiment, to abandon Louisiana.
+
+I remained at Franklin until after midnight, when, learning from Reilly
+that no landing had been made at Hutchin's, I returned to Bisland. The
+enemy was slow in moving on the 13th, apparently waiting for the effect
+of his turning movement to be felt. As the day wore on he opened his
+guns, and gradually increased his fire until it became very heavy. Many
+of his field pieces were twenty-pounder Parrotts, to which we had
+nothing to reply except the Parrott on the Diana and the twenty-fours;
+and, as our supply of ammunition was small, Major Brent desired to
+reserve it for an emergency.
+
+With the exception of Green's command, the troops on the right of the
+Teche were raw, and had never been in action. As shot and shell tore
+over the breastwork behind which they were lying, much consternation was
+exhibited, and it was manifest that an assault, however feeble, would
+break a part of the line. It was absolutely necessary to give the men
+some _morale_; and, mounting the breastwork, I made a cigarette, struck
+fire with my _briquet_, and walked up and down, smoking. Near the line
+was a low tree with spreading branches, which a young officer, Bradford
+by name, proposed to climb, so as to have a better view. I gave him my
+field glass, and this plucky youngster sat in his tree as quietly as in
+a chimney corner, though the branches around were cut away. These
+examples, especially that of Captain Bradford, gave confidence to the
+men, who began to expose themselves, and some casualties were suffered
+in consequence.
+
+From the extreme right Colonel Green sent word that his corner was
+uncomfortably hot, and I found it so. The battery near him was cut up,
+its captain, Sayres, severely wounded, and Major Brent withdrew it.
+Green was assured that there were no places on our line particularly
+cool, and there was nothing to be done but submit to the pounding.
+
+A heavy fire was concentrated on the twenty-fours and the Diana. Captain
+Semmes, son of Admiral Semmes of Alabama fame, and an officer of much
+coolness in action, had been detached from his battery and placed in
+command of the boat. A message from him informed me that the Diana was
+disabled. She was lying against the bank under a severe fire. The waters
+of the bayou seemed to be boiling like a kettle. An officer came to the
+side of the boat to speak to me, but before he could open his mouth a
+shell struck him, and he disappeared as suddenly as Harlequin in a
+pantomine. Semmes then reported his condition. Conical shells from the
+enemy's Parrotts had pierced the railway iron, killed and wounded
+several of his gunners and crew, and cut a steam pipe. Fortunately, he
+had kept down his fires, or escaping steam would have driven every one
+from the boat. It was necessary to take her out of fire for repairs. To
+lose even temporarily our best gun, the thirty-pounder, was hard, but
+there was no help for it.
+
+During the day staff officers were frequently sent to Mouton to
+ascertain his condition; and, as the bridge over which they passed was
+in the line of fire directed on the Diana and the twenty-fours, the
+promenade was not a holiday affair.
+
+Several times in the afternoon the enemy appeared to be forming for an
+assault; and after my men had become steady, I hoped an attack would be
+made, feeling confident of repulsing it.
+
+Night brought quiet, and no report came from Reilly at Hutchin's. No
+news seemed good news; for I would have ample time to provide against a
+debarkation north of Hutchin's. The force at Bisland was in fine
+spirits. Protected by the breastwork, we had suffered but little; and
+the Diana was expected to resume her position before morning.
+
+At 9 P.M. appeared Colonel Reilly to make the following report: The
+enemy had landed at Hutchin's, several thousand strong, with artillery,
+and advanced to the Teche, pushing our people back to and through
+Franklin. Reilly had left his command in camp below Franklin, toward
+Bisland, but thought the enemy had not reached the village at nightfall.
+Here was pleasant intelligence! There was no time to ask questions. I
+hoped to cut my way through, but feared the loss of wagons and material.
+Mouton was directed to withdraw from the left bank of the bayou, start
+the artillery and trains to Franklin, and follow with the infantry.
+Green, with his mounted men and a section of guns, was to form the rear
+guard; and Semmes was told to hurry his repairs and get the Diana to
+Franklin by dawn. As there was no means of removing the two
+twenty-fours, they were to be disabled. Leaving Major Brent to look
+after his artillery and Major Levy to superintend the prompt execution
+of orders, I rode for Franklin, taking Reilly with me. Reaching his
+camp, three miles from the town, I found the men sleeping and the trains
+parked, though the enemy was so near at hand. The camp was aroused, the
+troops were ordered under arms, and Reilly left to move up at once, with
+his trains following.
+
+Two hours after midnight, and the village of Franklin was as silent as
+the grave. Beyond the last houses, toward New Iberia, a faint light from
+some camp fires could be seen. Were the Federals in possession of the
+road? Approaching the fires cautiously, I saw a sentinel walking his
+post, and, as he passed between me and the light, marked his ragged
+Confederate garb. Major Clack had reached this point after dark, and
+intended to resume his march to Bisland in the morning. He speedily got
+his little band under arms, and in the darkness we beat the wood to our
+right. Not a picket nor scout was found, and Yokely Causeway and Bridge
+were safe. From the farther edge of the wood, in open fields, Federal
+camp fires were visible. It was a wonderful chance. Grover had stopped
+just short of the prize. Thirty minutes would have given him the wood
+and bridge, closing the trap on my force. Reilly, with his own and
+Vincent's regiments of horse and the two guns, came up. The guns were
+placed on the road near the Teche, with orders to stand fast. Reilly and
+Vincent dismounted their men, sent horses well to the rear, and formed
+line in the wood to the left of the guns, with Clack to the left of
+Vincent.
+
+The first light of dawn made objects visible and aroused the Federals,
+some two hundred yards distant. Advancing rapidly from the wood, our
+line poured in a fire and rushed forward with a shout. Taken by
+surprise, the Federals fell back, leaving a battery on their right
+exposed. To prevent the sleepy gunners from opening, I rode straight on
+the guns, followed by my staff and four mounted couriers, and the
+gunners made off. All this was easy enough. Surprise and the uncertain
+light had favored us; but broad day exposed our weakness, and the enemy
+threw forward a heavy line of skirmishers. It was necessary for us to
+regain the wood, now four hundred yards to the rear. Officers behaved
+admirably in seconding my efforts to encourage and steady their men and
+keep them well in hand. Our two guns on the road fired rapidly and
+effectively, but the Federals came on in numbers, and their fire began
+to tell. Reilly was killed, Vincent wounded in the neck, and many others
+went down. At this moment the peculiar whistle of a Parrott shell was
+heard, and Semmes appeared with the Diana.
+
+The enemy's advance was arrested; Gray's infantry from Bisland came up;
+the wood was occupied; Mouton with the remaining infantry arrived, and
+all danger was over. Green, in command of the rear guard, showed great
+vigor, and prevented Emory and Weitzel from pressing the trains. Besides
+the twenty-fours mentioned, one gun of Cornay's battery, disabled in the
+action of the 13th, was left at Bisland, and with these exceptions every
+wagon, pot, or pan was brought off. Two months later these guns were
+recaptured, much to the delight of our men.
+
+The trains over Yokely Bridge and on the road to New Iberia, Mouton
+skillfully withdrew from Grover's front as Green entered Franklin from
+below. To facilitate this, Semmes was directed to work the Diana's gun
+to the last moment, then get ashore with his crew, and blow up the boat.
+With his usual coolness Semmes carried out his instructions, but,
+remaining too long near the Diana to witness the explosion he had
+arranged, was captured.
+
+The object sought in holding on to Bisland was attained. From this time
+forward I had the sympathy and support of the people, and my troops were
+full of confidence. Our retreat to Opelousas, by New Iberia and
+Vermilionville, was undisturbed, Green with his horse keeping the enemy
+in check. Indeed, the pursuit was without energy or vigor. The first
+defensible position was at the Bayou Vermilion, thirty miles south of
+Opelousas. Here, after an action of some warmth, the enemy was held back
+until night and the bridge destroyed. From Opelousas the infantry, by
+easy marches, moved to and up the valley of the Red River, where
+supplies were abundant. The country was open, and the great superiority
+of his numbers enabled the enemy to do as he liked. Mouton, with Green's
+horse, marched west of Opelousas. It was hoped that he could find
+subsistence between that place and the Mermentou River, and be in
+position to fall on the enemy's rear and capture any small force left on
+the Teche. I supposed that the Federal army, after reaching Alexandria,
+would turn to the east, cross the Mississippi, and invest Port Hudson;
+and this supposition proved to be correct.
+
+Meantime, accompanied by a tender, Fuller on the Queen entered Grand
+Lake on the 13th, expecting his two armed steamers to follow. On the
+morning of the 14th the Federal gunboats from Berwick's Bay appeared,
+and Fuller, dispatching the tender up the Atchafalaya to hasten his
+steamers, prepared for action, as he doubtless would have done in
+presence of Admiral Farragut's fleet. A shell set fire to the Queen, and
+Fuller with his crew was captured. On the 20th the enemy's gunboats,
+assisted by four companies of infantry, captured Butte a la Rose with
+two twenty-four-pounders and sixty men. Semmes, Fuller, and the
+prisoners taken from the Queen and at the Butte, were on the transport
+Maple Leaf with Captain Fusilier, and escaped in the manner related,
+excepting Fuller, who from wounds received in his last action was unable
+to walk. Remaining in charge of the Maple Leaf until his friends were
+ashore, he restored her to the Federals, was taken to Fort Delaware, and
+died in prison. A braver man never lived.
+
+The Federal army reached Opelousas on the 20th of April, and remained
+there until the 5th of May, detained by fear of Mouton's horse to the
+west. Unfortunately, this officer was forced by want of supplies to move
+to the Sabine, more than a hundred miles away, and thrown out of the
+game for many days.
+
+In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pp. 309 and 310,
+the Federal General Banks makes the following statements: "During these
+operations on the Teche we captured over twenty-five hundred prisoners
+and twenty-two guns; destroyed three gunboats and eight steamers"; and
+further: "A dispatch from Governor Moore to General Taylor was
+intercepted, in which Taylor was directed to fall back into Texas." At
+the time, my entire force in western Louisiana was under three thousand,
+and it is rather startling to learn that we were all captured. Two
+twenty-fours and one field gun were abandoned at Bisland, and two
+twenty-fours lost at Butte a la Rose. We scuttled and burnt the Cotton
+at Bisland, and blew up the Diana (captured from the enemy) at Franklin.
+The Queen (also captured) was destroyed in action on Grand Lake. The
+Federals caught two small steamers, the Ellen and Cornie, in the
+Atchafalaya, and we destroyed two in the Teche. The other four reported
+by General Banks must have come from the realm of the multitude of
+prisoners and guns. It also appears from the intercepted dispatch of
+Governor Moore that major-generals of the Confederate army were under
+the orders of State governors--an original discovery.
+
+The delay of the Federals at Opelousas gave abundant time to remove our
+stores from Alexandria. General Kirby Smith, the new departmental
+commander, was advised to retire to Shreveport, two hundred miles up Red
+River, where, remote from danger or disturbance, he could organize his
+administration. Threatened in rear, Fort De Russy was untenable; so the
+place was dismantled and the little garrison withdrawn. On the 16th of
+April Admiral Porter with several gunboats had passed the Vicksburg
+batteries, and the abandonment of De Russy now left the Red River open
+to him. He reached Alexandria on the 9th of May, a few hours in advance
+of Banks's army. From the 8th to the 11th of the same month some of his
+gunboats bombarded Fort Beauregard, on the Washita, but were driven off
+by the garrison under Colonel Logan.
+
+At this time I was sorely stricken by domestic grief. On the approach of
+the enemy to Alexandria my family embarked on a steamer for Shreveport.
+Accustomed to the gentlest care, my good wife had learned to take action
+for herself, insisting that she was unwilling to divert the smallest
+portion of my time from public duty. A moment to say farewell, and she
+left with our four children, two girls and two boys, all pictures of
+vigorous health. Before forty-eight hours had passed, just as she
+reached Shreveport, scarlet fever had taken away our eldest boy, and
+symptoms of the disease were manifest in the other children. The
+bereaved mother had no acquaintance in Shreveport, but the Good
+Samaritan appeared in the person of Mr. Ulger Lauve, a resident of the
+place, who took her to his house and showed her every attention, though
+he exposed his own family to great danger from contagion. The second boy
+died a few days later. The two girls, older and stronger, recovered. I
+was stunned by this intelligence, so unexpected, and it was well perhaps
+that the absorbing character of my duties left no time for the
+indulgence of private grief; but it was sad to think of the afflicted
+mother, alone with her dead and dying, deprived of the consolation of my
+presence. Many days passed before we met, and then but for an hour.
+
+My infantry, hardly a thousand strong, with the trains, had marched to
+Natchitoches and camped, and some mounted scouts to observe the enemy
+were kept in the vicinity of Alexandria.
+
+On page 309 of the "Report" before quoted, General Banks says: "A force
+under Generals Weitzel and Dwight pursued the enemy nearly to Grand
+Ecore, so thoroughly dispersing his forces that he was unable to
+reorganize a respectable army until July." A party of Federal horse
+crossed Cane River at Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Grand Ecore,
+and chased a mounted orderly and myself about four miles, then turned
+back to Alexandria; but I maintain that the orderly and I were not
+dispersed, for we remained together to the end.
+
+The Federal army withdrew from Alexandria on the 13th of May, and on the
+23d crossed the Mississippi and proceeded to invest Port Hudson;
+whereupon I returned by steamer to Alexandria, directing the infantry at
+Natchitoches to march back to the Teche to unite with Mouton. Having
+obtained supplies on the Sabine, Mouton and Green, the latter promoted
+to brigadier for gallant conduct, returned to the Teche country, but
+arrived too late to cut off the enemy, who with large plunder had
+crossed to the east side of Berwick's Bay, where he had fortifications
+and gunboats.
+
+At Alexandria a communication from General Kirby Smith informed me that
+Major-General Walker, with a division of infantry and three batteries,
+four thousand strong, was on the march from Arkansas, and would reach me
+within the next few days; and I was directed to employ Walker's force in
+some attempt to relieve Vicksburg, now invested by General Grant, who
+had crossed the Mississippi below on the 1st of May.
+
+The peculiar position of Vicksburg and the impossibility of approaching
+it from the west bank of the Mississippi have been stated, and were now
+insisted upon. Granting the feasibility of traversing the narrow
+peninsula opposite the place, seven miles in length and swept by guns
+afloat on both sides, what would be gained? The problem was to withdraw
+the garrison, not to reenforce it; and the correctness of this opinion
+was proved by the fact that Pemberton could not use the peninsular route
+to send out messengers.
+
+On the other hand, I was confident that, with Walker's force, Berwick's
+Bay could be captured, the Lafourche overrun, Banks's communication with
+New Orleans interrupted, and that city threatened. Its population of two
+hundred thousand was bitterly hostile to Federal rule, and the
+appearance of a Confederate force on the opposite bank of the river
+would raise such a storm as to bring General Banks from Port Hudson, the
+garrison of which could then unite with General Joseph Johnston in the
+rear of General Grant. Too late to relieve Port Hudson, I accomplished
+all the rest with a force of less than three thousand of all arms.
+
+Remonstrances were of no avail. I was informed that all the Confederate
+authorities in the east were urgent for some effort on our part in
+behalf of Vicksburg, and that public opinion would condemn us if we did
+not _try to do something_. To go two hundred miles and more away from
+the proper theatre of action in search of an indefinite _something_ was
+hard; but orders are orders. Time was so important that I determined to
+run the risk of moving Walker by river, though the enemy could bring
+gunboats into the lower Red and Washita, as well as into the Tensas, and
+had some troops in the region between this last and the Mississippi.
+Steamers were held in readiness, and as soon as Walker arrived his
+command was embarked and taken up the Tensas. I went on in advance to
+give notice to the boats behind of danger; for, crowded with troops,
+these would have been helpless in the event of meeting an enemy.
+
+Without interference, a point on the Tensas opposite Vicksburg was
+reached and the troops disembarked. Here Captain Harrison's mounted men,
+previously mentioned, met us. For safety the steamers were sent down the
+Tensas to its junction with the Washita, and up the last above Fort
+Beauregard; and bridges were thrown over the Tensas and Macon to give
+communication with the terminus of the Monroe Railway.
+
+Walker rapidly advanced to the village of Richmond, midway between the
+Tensas and Mississippi, some twelve miles from each, where he surprised
+and captured a small Federal party. At Young's Point, ten miles above
+Vicksburg, on the west bank of the river, the enemy had a fortified
+camp, and a second one four miles above Young's, both occupied by negro
+troops. Holding one brigade in reserve at the point of separation of the
+roads, Walker sent a brigade to Young's and another to the camp above.
+Both attacks were made at dawn, and, with the loss of some scores of
+prisoners, the negroes were driven over the levee to the protection of
+gunboats in the river.
+
+Fifteen miles above Vicksburg the Yazoo River enters the Mississippi
+from the east, and twenty-five miles farther up Steele's Bayou connects
+the two rivers. Before reaching the Mississippi the Yazoo makes a bend
+to the south, approaching the rear of Vicksburg. The right of Grant's
+army rested on this bend, and here his supplies were landed, and his
+transports were beyond the reach of annoyance from the west bank of the
+Mississippi.
+
+As foreseen, our movement resulted, and could result, in nothing. Walker
+was directed to desist from further efforts on the river, and move to
+Monroe, where steamers would be in readiness to return his command to
+Alexandria, to which place I pushed on in advance. Subsequently, General
+Kirby Smith reached Monroe direct from Shreveport, countermanded my
+orders, and turned Walker back into the region east of the Tensas, where
+this good soldier and his fine division were kept idle for some weeks,
+until the fall of Vicksburg. The time wasted on these absurd movements
+cost us the garrison of Port Hudson, nearly eight thousand men; but the
+pressure on General Kirby Smith to _do something_ for Vicksburg was too
+strong to be resisted.
+
+At Alexandria I found three small regiments of Texan horse, just
+arrived. Together they numbered six hundred and fifty, and restored the
+loss suffered in action and in long marches by the forces on the Teche.
+Colonel (afterward brigadier) Major, the senior officer, was ordered to
+move these regiments to Morgan's Ferry on the Atchafalaya; and by
+ambulance, with relays of mules, I reached Mouton and Green on the lower
+Teche in a few hours.
+
+The Federals had a number of sick and convalescent at Berwick's Bay, but
+the effective force was small. Some works strengthened their positions,
+and there was a gunboat anchored in the bay. Mouton and Green were
+directed to collect small boats, skiffs, flats, even sugar-coolers, in
+the Teche; and the importance of secrecy was impressed upon them.
+Pickets were doubled to prevent communication with the enemy, and only a
+few scouts permitted to approach the bay. Returning north to Morgan's
+Ferry, I crossed the Atchafalaya with Major's command, and moved down
+the Fordoche and Grosse-Tete, bayous draining the region between the
+Atchafalaya and Mississippi. A short march brought us near the Fausse
+Riviere, an ancient bed of the Mississippi, some miles west of the
+present channel, and opposite Port Hudson.
+
+Halting the command on the Fordoche, I rode out to the estate of an
+acquaintance on Fausse Riviere, whence the noise of battle at Port
+Hudson could be heard. Two ladies of the family, recently from New
+Orleans, told me that the Federal force left in the city would not
+exceed a thousand men; that a small garrison occupied a work near
+Donaldsonville, where the Lafourche leaves the Mississippi, and with
+this exception there were no troops on the west bank of the river. From
+our position on the Fordoche to the Bayou Boeuf, in rear of the
+Federal camp at Berwick's Bay, was over a hundred miles. The route
+followed the Grosse-Tete to Plaquemine on the Mississippi, and to escape
+observation Plaquemine must be passed in the night. Below this point
+there was an interior road that reached the Lafourche some distance
+below Donaldsonville. Minute instructions and guides were given to
+Major.
+
+It was now the 19th of June, and he was expected to reach the Boeuf on
+the morning of the 23d. The necessity of punctuality was impressed on
+him and his officers, as I would attack Berwick's at dawn on the 23d,
+and their cooeperation was required to secure success. Indeed, their own
+safety depended on promptness. The men carried rations, with some
+forage, and wagons were sent back across the Atchafalaya. Major moved in
+time to pass Plaquemine, twenty odd miles, before midnight, and I
+hastened to Mouton's camp below Bisland, reaching it in the afternoon of
+the 22d.
+
+Fifty-three small craft, capable of transporting three hundred men, had
+been collected. Detachments for the boats were drawn from Green's
+brigade and the 2d Louisiana horse. Major Hunter of Baylor's Texans was
+placed in command, with Major Blair of the 2d Louisiana as second. After
+nightfall Hunter embarked his men, and paddled down the Teche to the
+Atchafalaya and Grand Lake. Fortunately, there was no wind; for the
+slightest disturbance of the lake would have swamped his _fleet_. He had
+about twelve miles to make, and was expected to reach before daylight
+the northeast end of the island, a mile from Berwick's and the railway
+terminus, where he was instructed to lie quiet until he heard General
+Green's guns from the west side of the bay, then rush on the rear of the
+Federal works. During the night Green placed a battery opposite the
+gunboat and railway station, and deployed five hundred dismounted men
+along the shores of the bay, here eight hundred yards wide. The battery
+was run up by hand, and every precaution to secure silence taken. At
+dawn of the 23d (June, 1863) our guns opened on the gunboat, and
+speedily drove it away. Fire was then directed on the earthwork, where
+the enemy, completely surprised, had some heavy pieces with which he
+attempted to reply. A shout was heard in his rear, and Hunter with his
+party came rushing on. Resistance ceased at once; but before Hunter
+closed in, a train of three engines and many carriages escaped from the
+station toward the Boeuf, seven miles away. I crossed in a "pirogue"
+with Green, and sent back two flats and several skiffs found on the east
+side for his men, who used them to get over, their horses swimming
+alongside.
+
+It was a scene of the wildest excitement and confusion. The sight of
+such quantities of "loot" quite upset my hungry followers. Wandering
+through the station and warehouse, filled with stores, a Texan came upon
+a telegraphic instrument, clicking in response to one down the line.
+Supposing this to be some infernal machine for our destruction, he
+determined to save his friends at the risk of his own life, and smashed
+the instrument with his heavy boots; then rushed among his comrades,
+exclaiming: "Boys! they is trying to blow us up. I seen the triggers
+a-working, but I busted 'em."
+
+Mouton now crossed with some infantry, and order was restored; and
+Green, who had brought over several scores of horses, mounted his men
+and followed the rail toward the Boeuf. Before reaching it he heard
+the noise of the train; then, firing and moving forward, found the train
+stopped, and Major, up to time, in possession of the bridge. The capture
+of the train was of importance, as it enabled us to operate the thirty
+miles of rail between Berwick's and the Lafourche.
+
+In the combined movements described, Green and Major had set out from
+points more than a hundred miles apart, the latter marching through a
+region in possession or under control of the enemy, while the boat
+expedition of Hunter passed over twelve miles of water; yet all reached
+their goal at the appointed time. Although every precaution had been
+taken to exclude mistakes and insure cooeperation, such complete success
+is not often attained in combined military movements; and I felt that
+sacrifices were due to Fortune.
+
+In his rapid march from the Fordoche Major captured seventy prisoners
+and burned two steamers at Plaquemine. He afterward encountered no enemy
+until he reached Thibodeaux, near which place, at Lafourche Crossing,
+there was a stockade held by a small force to protect the railway
+bridge. Colonel Pyron, with two hundred men, was detached to mask or
+carry this stockade, and Major passed on to the Boeuf. Pyron's attack
+was repulsed with a loss of fifty-five killed and wounded, Pyron among
+the latter; but the enemy, after destroying the bridge, abandoned the
+post and three guns and retired to New Orleans.
+
+The spoils of Berwick's were of vast importance. Twelve guns,
+thirty-twos and twenty-fours (among which were our old friends from
+Bisland), seventeen hundred prisoners, with many small arms and
+accouterments, and great quantities of quarter-master's, commissary,
+ordnance, and medical stores, fell into our hands. For the first time
+since I reached western Louisiana I had supplies, and in such abundance
+as to serve for the Red River campaign of 1864. Three fourths of the
+prisoners were sick and convalescent men left here, as well as the
+stores, by General Banks, when he marched up the Teche in April.
+Excepting those too ill to be moved, the prisoners were paroled and sent
+to New Orleans under charge of their surgeons.
+
+I was eager to place batteries on the Mississippi to interrupt Banks's
+communication with New Orleans; but the passage of Berwick's Bay
+consumed much time, though we worked night and day. We were forced to
+dismount guns and carriages and cross them piecemeal in two small flats,
+and several days elapsed before a little steamer from the upper Teche
+could be brought down to assist. It must be remembered that neither
+artillery nor wagons accompanied Major's march from the Fordoche.
+
+On the 24th General Green, with Major's men and such of his own as had
+crossed their horses, marched for Donaldsonville, sixty-five miles, and
+General Mouton, with two regiments of infantry, took rail to Thibodeaux
+and sent pickets down the line to Bayou Des Allemands, twenty-five miles
+from New Orleans. Our third regiment of infantry remained at the bay,
+where Major Brent was at work mounting the captured guns on the southern
+end of the island and on the western shore opposite. Gunboats could stop
+the crossing, and entrance from the Gulf was open. While we might drive
+off "tin-clads" the enemy had boats capable of resisting field guns, and
+it is remarkable that, from the 23d of June to the 22d of July, he made
+no attempt to disturb us at Berwick's Bay.
+
+General Green reached the vicinity of Donaldsonville on the 27th, and
+found an earthwork at the junction of the Lafourche and Mississippi.
+This work, called Fort Butler, had a ditch on three sides, and the river
+face was covered by gunboats in the stream. The garrison was reported to
+be from two to three hundred negro troops. After some correspondence
+with Mouton, Green determined to assault the place, and drew around it
+five hundred of his men in the night of the 27th. Two hours before dawn
+of the 28th Colonel Joseph Phillipps led his regiment, two hundred
+strong, to the attack. Darkness and ignorance of the ground caused much
+blundering. The levee above the fort was mistaken for the parapet, and
+some loss was sustained from the fire of gunboats. Changing direction,
+Phillipps came upon the ditch, unknown to him as to Green, who had been
+deceived by false information. The ditch passed, Phillipps mounted the
+parapet and fell dead as he reached the top. An equally brave man, Major
+Ridley, worthy of his leader, followed, and, calling on his men to come,
+jumped into the work. Frightened by his appearance, the enemy abandoned
+the parapet; but finding that Ridley was alone, returned and captured
+him. A dozen men would have carried the place; but the ditch afforded
+protection from fire, and the men, disheartened by Phillipps's death,
+could not be induced to leave it. Indeed, the largest part of our loss,
+ninety-seven, was made up of these men, who remained in the ditch until
+daylight and surrendered.
+
+The above statements are taken from the report of Major Ridley, made
+after he was exchanged. The affair was unfortunate. Open to fire from
+vessels on the river, Fort Butler was of no value to us, and the feeble
+garrison would have remained under cover; but, like the Irishman at
+Donnybrook, Green's rule was to strike an enemy whenever he saw him--a
+most commendable rule in war, and covering a multitude of such small
+errors as the attack on Fort Butler.
+
+Meantime I was detained at Berwick's Bay, engaged in hurrying over and
+forward artillery and arranging to transport the more valuable stores
+into the interior. It was not, however, until near the end of the first
+week in July that I succeeded in placing twelve guns on the river below
+Donaldsonville. Fire was opened, one transport destroyed and several
+turned back. Gunboats attempted to dislodge us, but were readily driven
+away by the aid of Green's men, dismounted and protected by the levee.
+For three days the river was closed to transports, and our mounted
+scouts were pushed down to a point opposite Kenner, sixteen miles above
+New Orleans. A few hours more, and the city would have been wild with
+excitement; but in war time once lost can not be regained. The unwise
+movement toward Vicksburg retarded operations at Berwick's and on the
+river, and Port Hudson fell. During the night of the 10th of July
+intelligence of its surrender on the previous day reached me, and some
+hours later the fall of Vicksburg on the 4th was announced.
+
+An iron-clad or two in Berwick's Bay, and the road at Plaquemine held by
+troops, supported by vessels in the river, would close all egress from
+the Lafourche, and the enemy could make arrangements to bag us at his
+leisure; while Grant's army and Porter's fleet, now set free, might
+overrun the Washita and Red River regions and destroy Walker's division,
+separated from me by a distance of more than three hundred miles. The
+outlook was not cheerful, but it was necessary to make the best of it,
+and at all hazards save our plunder. Batteries and outposts were ordered
+in to the Lafourche; Green concentrated his horse near Donaldsonville,
+the infantry moved to Labadieville to support him, and Mouton went to
+Berwick's, where he worked night and day in crossing stores to the west
+side of the bay.
+
+On the 13th of July Generals Weitzel, Grover, and Dwight, with six
+thousand men, came from Port Hudson, disembarked at Donaldsonville, and
+advanced down the Lafourche. Ordering up the infantry, I joined Green,
+but did not interfere with his dispositions, which were excellent. His
+force, fourteen hundred, including a battery, was dismounted and in
+line. As I reached the field the enemy came in sight, and Green led on
+his charge so vigorously as to drive the Federals into Donaldsonville,
+capturing two hundred prisoners, many small arms, and two guns, one of
+which was the field gun lost at Bisland. The affair was finished too
+speedily to require the assistance of the infantry.
+
+Undisturbed, we removed not only all stores from Berwick's, but many
+supplies from the abundant Lafourche country, including a large herd of
+cattle driven from the prairies of Opelousas by the Federals some weeks
+before. On the 21st of July, we ran the engines and carriages on the
+railway into the bay, threw in the heavy guns, and moved up the Teche,
+leaving pickets opposite Berwick's. Twenty-four hours thereafter the
+enemy's scouts reached the bay. The timidity manifested after the action
+of the 13th may be ascribed to the fertile imagination of the Federal
+commander, General Banks, which multiplied my force of less than three
+thousand of all arms into nine or twelve thousand.
+
+In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 313 and 314,
+General Banks states:
+
+"Orders had been sent to Brashear City [Berwick's] to remove all stores,
+but to hold the position, with the aid of gunboats, to the last. The
+enemy succeeded in crossing Grand Lake by means of rafts, and surprised
+and captured the garrison, consisting of _about three hundred men_. The
+enemy, greatly strengthened in numbers, then attacked the works at
+Donaldsonville, on the Mississippi, which were defended by a garrison of
+two hundred and twenty-five men, including convalescents, commanded by
+Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers. The attack was made on the
+morning of the 28th of June, and lasted until daylight. The garrison
+made a splendid defense, killing and wounding more than their own
+number, and capturing as many officers and nearly as many men as their
+garrison numbered. The enemy's troops were under the command of General
+Green of Texas, and consisted of the Louisiana troops under General
+Taylor and five thousand Texas cavalry, making a force of nine to twelve
+thousand in that vicinity.
+
+"The troops engaged in these different operations left but _four hundred
+men for the defense of New Orleans_. Upon the surrender of Port Hudson
+it was found that the enemy had established batteries below, on the
+river, cutting off our communication with New Orleans, making it
+necessary to send a large force to dislodge them. On the 9th of July
+seven transports, containing all my available force, were sent below
+against the enemy in the vicinity of Donaldsonville. The country was
+speedily freed from his presence, and Brashear City [Berwick's] was
+recaptured on the 22d of July."
+
+Here are remarkable statements. Fourteen hundred men and the vast stores
+at Berwick's (Brashear City) are omitted, as is the action of the 13th
+of July with "all my [his] available force.... The country was speedily
+freed from his [my] presence, and Brashear City reoccupied," though I
+remained in the country for eleven days after the 9th, and had abandoned
+Brashear City twenty-four hours before the first Federal scout made his
+appearance. The conduct of Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers,
+with two hundred and twenty-five negroes, "including convalescents,"
+appears to have surpassed that of Leonidas and his Spartans; but, like
+the early gods, modern democracies are pleased by large utterances.
+
+While we were engaged in these operations on the Lafourche, a movement
+of Grant's forces from Natchez was made against Fort Beauregard on the
+Washita. The garrison of fifty men abandoned the place on the 3d of
+September, leaving four heavy and four field guns, with their
+ammunition, to be destroyed or carried off by the enemy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER--CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS.
+
+
+Recent events on the Mississippi made it necessary to concentrate my
+small force in the immediate valley of Red River. Indeed, when we lost
+Vicksburg and Port Hudson, we lost not only control of the river but of
+the valley from the Washita and Atchafalaya on the west to Pearl River
+on the east. An army of forty odd thousand men, with all its material,
+was surrendered in the two places, and the fatal consequences were felt
+to the end of the struggle. The policy of shutting up large bodies of
+troops in fortifications, without a relieving army near at hand, can not
+be too strongly reprobated. Vicksburg should have been garrisoned by not
+more than twenty-five hundred men, and Port Hudson by a thousand. These
+would have been ample to protect the batteries against a sudden _coup_,
+and forty thousand men added to General Joseph Johnston's force would
+have prevented the investment of the places, or at least made their loss
+of small moment.
+
+After wasting three months in ineffectual attempts to divert the channel
+of the Mississippi, General Grant ran gunboats and transports by the
+batteries, and crossed the river below. Instead of meeting this movement
+with every available man, Pemberton detached General Bowen with a weak
+division, who successfully resisted the Federal advance for many hours,
+vainly calling the while for reenforcements. Pemberton then illustrated
+the art of war by committing every possible blunder. He fought a series
+of actions with fractions against the enemy's masses, and finished by
+taking his defeated fragments into the Vicksburg trap. It may be stated,
+however, that, had he acted wisely and kept out of Vicksburg, he would
+have been quite as much hounded as he subsequently was.
+
+Grant's error in undertaking an impossible work cost him three months'
+time and the loss by disease of many thousands of his men. The event
+showed that he could as readily have crossed the river below Vicksburg
+at first as at last; but, once over, he is entitled to credit for
+promptly availing himself of his adversary's mistakes and vigorously
+following him. The same may be said of his first success at Fort
+Donelson on the Cumberland. The terror inspired by gunboats in the first
+year of the war has been alluded to; and at Fort Donelson General Grant
+had another potent ally. The two senior Confederate generals,
+politicians rather than warriors, retired from command on the approach
+of the enemy. One can imagine the effect of such conduct, unique in war,
+on the raw troops left behind. General Buckner, an educated soldier, was
+too heavily handicapped by his worthy superiors to make a successful
+defense, and General Grant secured an easy victory. "Among the blind,
+the one-eyed are kings."
+
+General Grant's first essay at Belmont failed, and at Shiloh he was
+out-manoeuvred and out-fought by Sidney Johnston, and, indeed, he was
+saved from destruction by Johnston's death. Before he moved against
+Bragg at Missionary Ridge, the latter had detached Longstreet with a
+third of his force, while he (Grant) reenforced Thomas with most of the
+Vicksburg army and two strong corps under Hooker from the east. The
+historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states that, in reply to a
+question of General Meade, Grant said: "I never manoeuvre"; and one
+has but to study the Virginia campaign of 1864, and imagine an exchange
+of resources by Grant and Lee, to find the true place of the former
+among the world's commanders. He will fall into the class represented by
+Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland.
+
+Genius is God-given, but men are responsible for their acts; and it
+should be said of General Grant that, as far as I am aware, he made war
+in the true spirit of a soldier, never by deed or word inflicting wrong
+on non-combatants. It would be to the credit of the United States army
+if similar statements could be made of Generals Sherman and Sheridan.
+
+Released at length from the swamps of the Tensas, where it had suffered
+from sickness, Walker's division of Texas infantry joined me in the
+early autumn, and was posted to the north of Opelousas. Major-General
+J.G. Walker served as a captain of mounted rifles in the war with
+Mexico. Resigning from the United States army to join the Confederacy,
+he commanded a division at the capture of Harper's Ferry in 1862, and in
+the subsequent battle of Antietam; after which he was transferred to
+Arkansas. Seconded by good brigade and regimental officers, he had
+thoroughly disciplined his men, and made them in every sense soldiers;
+and their efficiency in action was soon established.
+
+On the 29th of September Green, with his horse and a part of Mouton's
+brigade of Louisiana infantry, crossed the Atchafalaya at Morgan's
+Ferry, and attacked and routed the enemy on the Fordoche, capturing four
+hundred and fifty prisoners and two guns. Green lost a hundred in killed
+and wounded; the enemy, who fought under cover, less than half that
+number.
+
+In October the Federals moved a large force of all arms up the Teche,
+their advance reaching the Courtableau. I concentrated for a fight, but
+they suddenly retired to the Bayou Bourbeau, three miles south of
+Opelousas, where they left a considerable body under General Burbridge.
+On the 3d of November Green, reenforced by three regiments of Walker's
+division, was ordered to attack them, and they were beaten with the loss
+of six hundred prisoners. This was the first opportunity I had had of
+observing the admirable conduct of Walker's men in action. Green's
+pursuit was stopped by the approach of heavy masses of the enemy from
+the south, who seemed content with the rescue of Burbridge, as they
+retired at once to the vicinity of New Iberia, fifty miles away. Green
+followed with a part of his horse, and kept his pickets close up; but
+one of his regiments permitted itself to be surprised at night, on the
+open prairie near New Iberia, and lost a hundred men out of a hundred
+and twenty-five. So much for want of discipline and over-confidence.
+General Banks's report mentions this capture, but is silent about
+Bourbeau.
+
+The prisoners taken at the Bourbeau were marched to the Red River, where
+supplies could be had. The second day after the action, _en route_ for
+Alexandria in an ambulance, I turned out of the road on to the prairie
+to pass the column, when I observed an officer, in the uniform of a
+colonel, limping along with his leg bandaged. Surprised at this, I
+stopped to inquire the reason, and was told that the colonel refused to
+separate from his men. Descending from the ambulance, I approached him,
+and, as gently as possible, remonstrated against the folly of walking on
+a wounded leg. He replied that his wound was not very painful, and he
+could keep up with the column. His regiment was from Wisconsin,
+recruited among his neighbors and friends, and he was very unwilling to
+leave it. I insisted on his riding with me, for a time at least, as we
+would remain on the road his men were following. With much reluctance he
+got into the ambulance, and we drove on. For some miles he was silent,
+but, avoiding subjects connected with the war, I put him at ease, and
+before Alexandria was reached we were conversing pleasantly. Impressed
+by his bearing and demeanor, I asked him in what way I could serve him,
+and learned that he desired to send a letter to his wife in Wisconsin,
+who was in delicate health and expecting to be confined. She would hear
+of the capture of his regiment, and be uncertain as to his fate. "You
+shall go to the river to-night," I replied, "catch one of your steamers,
+and take home the assurance of your safety. Remain on parole until you
+can send me an officer of equal rank, and I will look to the comfort of
+your men and have them exchanged at the earliest moment." His manly
+heart was so affected by this as to incapacitate him from expressing his
+thanks.
+
+During the administration of Andrew Johnson a convention met in the city
+of Philadelphia which, at the earnest instance of the President, I
+attended. The gallant Wisconsin colonel was also there to lend his
+assistance in healing the wounds of civil strife. My presence in the
+city of _brotherly love_ furnished an occasion to a newspaper to
+denounce me as "a rebel who, with hands dripping with loyal blood, had
+the audacity to show myself in a loyal community." Whereupon my
+Wisconsin friend, accompanied by a number of persons from his State,
+called on me to express condemnation of the article in question, and was
+ready, with the slightest encouragement, to make the newspaper office a
+hot place. This was the difference between brave soldiers and
+non-fighting politicians, who grew fat by inflaming the passions of
+sectional hate.
+
+The ensuing winter of 1863-4 was without notable events. Control of the
+Mississippi enabled the enemy to throw his forces upon me from above and
+below Red River, and by gunboats interfere with my movements along this
+stream; and as soon as the Lafourche campaign ended, steps were taken to
+provide against these contingencies. Twenty miles south of Alexandria a
+road leaves the Boeuf, an effluent of Red River, and passes through
+pine forest to Burr's Ferry on the Sabine. Twenty odd miles from the
+Boeuf this road intersects another from Opelousas to Fort Jesup, an
+abandoned military post, thence to Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, and
+Shreveport. At varying distances of twelve to thirty miles the valley of
+the Red River is an arc, of which this last-mentioned road is the chord,
+and several routes from the valley cross to ferries on the Sabine above
+Burr's. But the country between the Boeuf and Pleasant Hill, ninety
+miles, was utterly barren, and depots of forage, etc., were necessary
+before troops could march through it. With great expenditure of time and
+labor depots were established, with small detachments to guard them; and
+events proved that the time and labor were well bestowed.
+
+Movements of the Federals along the west coast of Texas in November
+induced General Kirby Smith to withdraw from me Green's command of Texas
+horse, and send it to Galveston. This left me with but one mounted
+regiment, Vincent's 2d Louisiana, and some independent companies, which
+last were organized into two regiments--one, on the Washita, by Colonel
+Harrison, the other, on the Teche, by Colonel Bush; but they were too
+raw to be effective in the approaching campaign. Mouton's brigade of
+Louisiana infantry could be recruited to some extent; but the Texas
+infantry received no recruits, and was weakened by the ordinary
+casualties of camp life, as well as by the action of the Shreveport
+authorities. The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department"
+displayed much ardor in the establishment of bureaux, and on a scale
+proportioned rather to the extent of his territory than to the smallness
+of his force. His staff surpassed in numbers that of Von Moltke during
+the war with France; and, to supply the demands of bureaux and staff,
+constant details from the infantry were called for, to the great
+discontent of the officers in the field. Hydrocephalus at Shreveport
+produced atrophy elsewhere. Extensive works for defense were constructed
+there, and heavy guns mounted; and, as it was known that I objected to
+fortifications beyond mere water batteries, for reasons already stated,
+the chief engineer of the "department" was sent to Fort De Russy to
+build an iron-casemated battery and other works. We shall see what
+became of De Russy.
+
+In the winter there joined me from Arkansas a brigade of Texas infantry,
+numbering seven hundred muskets. The men had been recently dismounted,
+and were much discontented thereat. Prince Charles Polignac, a French
+gentleman of ancient lineage, and a brigadier in the Confederate army,
+reported for duty about the same time, and was assigned to command this
+brigade. The Texans swore that a Frenchman, whose very name they could
+not pronounce, should never command them, and mutiny was threatened. I
+went to their camp, assembled the officers, and pointed out the
+consequences of disobedience, for which I should hold them accountable;
+but promised that if they remained dissatisfied with their new commander
+_after an action_, I would then remove him. Order was restored, but it
+was up-hill work for General Polignac for some time, notwithstanding his
+patience and good temper. The incongruity of the relation struck me, and
+I thought of sending my monte-dealing Texas colonel to Paris, to command
+a brigade of the Imperial Guard.
+
+In the first weeks of 1864 the enemy sent a gunboat expedition up the
+Washita, and Polignac's brigade, with a battery, was moved to Trinity
+to meet it. The gunboats were driven off, and Polignac, by his coolness
+under fire, gained the confidence of his men, as he soon gained their
+affections by his care and attention. They got on famously, and he made
+capital soldiers out of them. General Polignac returned to Europe in
+1865, and as he had shown great gallantry and talent for war while
+serving with me, I hoped that he might come to the front during the
+struggle with Germany; but he belonged to that race of historic gentry
+whose ancestors rallied to the white plume of Henry at Ivry, and
+followed the charge of Conde at Rocroy. Had he been a shopkeeper or
+scribbling attorney, he might have found favor with the dictator who
+ruled France.
+
+All the information received during the months of January and February,
+1864, indicated a movement against me in the early spring; and in the
+latter month it was ascertained that Porter's fleet and a part of
+Sherman's army from Vicksburg would join Banks's forces in the movement,
+while Steele would cooeperate from Little Rock, Arkansas. This
+information was communicated to department headquarters, and I asked
+that prompt measures should be taken to reenforce me; but it was "a far
+cry" to Shreveport as to "Lochow," and the emergency seemed less
+pressing in the rear than at the front.
+
+The end of February found my forces distributed as follows: Harrison's
+mounted regiment (just organized), with a four-gun battery, was in the
+north, toward Monroe; Mouton's brigade near Alexandria; Polignac's at
+Trinity on the Washita, fifty-five miles distant; Walker's division at
+Marksville and toward Simmsport on the Atchafalaya, with two hundred men
+under Colonel Byrd detached to assist the gunners at De Russy, which,
+yet unfinished, contained eight heavy guns and two field pieces. Walker
+had three companies of Vincent's horse on the east side of the
+Atchafalaya, watching the Mississippi. The remainder of Vincent's
+regiment was on the Teche.
+
+Increased activity and concentration at Berwick's Bay, and a visit of
+Sherman to New Orleans to confer with Banks, warned me of the impending
+blow; and on the 7th of March Polignac was ordered to move at once to
+Alexandria, and thence, with Mouton's brigade, to the Boeuf,
+twenty-five miles south. Harrison was directed to get his regiment and
+battery to the west bank of the Washita, gather to him several
+independent local companies of horse, and report to General Liddell,
+sent to command on the north bank of Red River, whence he was to harass
+the enemy's advance up that stream. Vincent was ordered to leave flying
+scouts on the Teche and move his regiment, with such men as Bush had
+recruited, to Opelousas, whence he afterward joined me on the Burr's
+Ferry road. At Alexandria steamers were loaded with stores and sent
+above the falls, and everything made ready to evacuate the place. These
+arrangements were not completed a moment too soon.
+
+On March 12th Admiral Porter, with nineteen gunboats, followed by ten
+thousand men of Sherman's army, entered the mouth of Red River. (These
+numbers are from Federal official reports.) On the 13th, under cover of
+a part of the fleet, the troops debarked at Simmsport, on the
+Atchafalaya near the Red, other vessels ascending the latter stream, and
+on the 14th, under command of General A.J. Smith, marched to De Russy,
+thirty miles, which they reached about 5 P.M. As stated, the work was
+incomplete, and had time been given me would have been abandoned.
+Attacked in the rear, the garrison surrendered after losing ten killed
+and wounded. Byrd's two hundred men were in rifle pits on the river
+below, where gunboats, under Commander Phelps, were removing
+obstructions in the channel. A number of Byrd's men and a few gunners
+escaped to the swamps and rejoined their commands; but we lost a hundred
+and eighty-five prisoners, eight heavy guns, and two field pieces. Thus
+much for our Red River Gibraltar.
+
+Cut off from direct communication by the sudden appearance of the enemy
+on the 12th, the three mounted companies east of the Atchafalaya were
+forced to cross at Morgan's Ferry, below Simmsport, and did not rejoin
+Walker until the 15th. This officer was thereby left without means of
+information; but, judging correctly of the numbers of the enemy by a
+personal observation of his transports and fleet, he fell back from his
+advanced position to the Boeuf, forty miles, where he was united with
+Mouton and Polignac. His division at this time was reduced to some
+thirty-three hundred muskets, too weak to make head against A.J. Smith's
+column.
+
+On the afternoon of the 15th of March the advanced boats of Porter's
+fleet reached Alexandria, whence all stores had been removed; but, by
+the mismanagement of a pilot, one steamer was grounded on the falls and
+had to be burned.
+
+In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., page 192, Colonel
+J.S. Clarke, aide-de-camp to General Banks, states that Banks's army in
+this campaign was twenty-eight thousand strong, eighteen thousand under
+Franklin, ten thousand under A.J. Smith. General Steele, operating from
+Arkansas, reports his force at seven thousand; and the number of
+gunboats given is taken from the reports of Admiral Porter to the
+Secretary of the Navy.
+
+To meet Porter and A.J. Smith, Major-General Franklin had left the lower
+Teche on the 13th for Alexandria, with eighteen thousand men. My entire
+force on the south side of Red River consisted of fifty-three hundred
+infantry, five hundred horse, and three hundred artillerymen; and
+Liddell, on the north, had about the same number of horse and a four-gun
+battery. From Texas, if at all, the delayed reenforcements must come,
+and it was vital to cover the roads from the Sabine.
+
+From the Boeuf, on the 16th, I marched on the Burr's Ferry road to
+Carroll Jones's, which was reached on the evening of the 18th. Here,
+where the Burr's Ferry and Natchitoches roads separated, was a depot of
+forage, and I camped.
+
+Polignac's and the Louisiana brigade, under Colonel Gray, were united in
+a division for General Mouton. Vincent's horse, from Opelousas, joined
+on the 19th, and on the following day was sent forward to the Bayou
+Rapides, twelve miles, where it skirmished with the enemy's horse from
+Alexandria, twenty miles below. At dawn of the 21st Edgar's battery,
+four guns, was sent to strengthen Vincent, and posted in a strong
+position near James's Store, where it overlooked and commanded the
+valley.
+
+Meanwhile, couriers were dispatched to the Sabine to inform approaching
+reenforcements of my position, and direct them on to the Fort Jesup
+road. The 21st proved to be a cold, rainy day, with gusts of wind.
+Toward evening the sound of Edgar's guns was heard. Fearing a surprise
+during the night, Captain Elgee of my staff was sent to withdraw the
+battery and warn Vincent of the necessity of vigilance; but the enemy
+had been too prompt. Vincent's pickets found their fires more agreeable
+than outposts. At nightfall the battery and a number of the horse were
+captured, as was Captain Elgee, who rode up just after the event. We
+lost the four guns, with their caissons, and two hundred men. Vincent,
+with the remainder of his command escaped. In truth, my horse was too
+ill disciplined for close work. On the 22d we marched to Beaseley's,
+twelve miles, and remained until the 29th, hoping that reenforcements
+would reach us. Beaseley's was a depot of forage, and covered roads to
+Fort Jesup and Natchitoches; and a cross road reached the Red River
+valley at a point twenty-five miles below the latter place, by which
+some supplies were obtained. As no reenforcements arrived, and the enemy
+was moving up the river, the troops were ordered to Pleasant Hill via
+Fort Jesup, forty miles, and I went to Natchitoches, thirty miles. Here,
+on the night of the 30th, I met Colonel McNeill's regiment of Texas
+horse, numbering two hundred and fifty men, of whom fifty were without
+arms; and the following morning Colonel Herbert came in, with a hundred
+and twenty-five of his three hundred and fifty men unarmed. These were a
+part of Green's command, and the first reenforcements received.
+
+The enemy's advance reached Natchitoches, by the river road, on the
+31st, and McNeill and Herbert were directed to fall back slowly toward
+Pleasant Hill, thirty-six miles. I remained in the town until the enemy
+entered, then rode four miles to Grand Ecore, where, in the main channel
+of Red River, a steamer was awaiting me. Embarking, I went up river to
+Blair's Landing, forty miles by the windings of the stream, whence was a
+road, sixteen miles, to Pleasant Hill. Four miles from Blair's was Bayou
+Pierre, a large arm of the river, crossed by a ferry. At Pleasant Hill,
+on the 1st of April, Walker and Mouton, with their infantry divisions,
+artillery, and trains joined me, as did Green with his staff. From the
+latter I learned that De Bray's regiment of cavalry, with two batteries
+and trains, was in march from Fort Jesup. As the enemy was moving from
+Natchitoches, and could strike the Jesup road across country, De Bray
+was ordered to push forward his artillery and wagons, and look well to
+his right. He reached Pleasant Hill after dark. The enemy attempted to
+impede the march, but was driven off, with a loss of five wounded to De
+Bray. During the day our horse, toward Natchitoches, had some
+skirmishing.
+
+It appeared that General Major, with the remainder of Green's horse,
+could not get up before the 6th, and he was directed to cross the Sabine
+at Logansport and march to Mansfield, twenty miles in my rear. This
+insured his march against disturbance; and, to give him time, I halted
+two days at Pleasant Hill, prepared for action. But the enemy showed no
+disposition to advance seriously, and on the 4th and 5th the infantry
+moved to Mansfield, where on the following day Major, with his horse and
+Buchell's regiment of cavalry, joined. General Major was sent to
+Pleasant Hill to take charge of the advance.
+
+De Bray's and Buchell's regiments have been spoken of as _cavalry_ to
+distinguish them from mounted infantry, herein called _horse_. They had
+never before left their State (Texas), were drilled and disciplined, and
+armed with sabers. Buchell's regiment was organized in the German
+settlement of New Braunfels. The men had a distinct idea that they were
+fighting for their adopted country, and their conduct in battle was in
+marked contrast to that of the Germans whom I had encountered in the
+Federal army in Virginia. Colonel Buchell had served in the Prussian
+army, and was an instructed soldier. Three days after he joined me, he
+was mortally wounded in action, and survived but a few hours. I sat
+beside him as his brave spirit passed away. The old "Fatherland" sent no
+bolder horseman to battle at Rossbach or Gravelotte.
+
+During this long retreat of two hundred miles from the banks of the
+Atchafalaya to Mansfield, I had been in correspondence with General
+Kirby Smith at Shreveport, and always expressed my intention to fight as
+soon as reenforcements reached me. General Kirby Smith thought that I
+would be too weak to meet the enemy, even with all possible
+reenforcements, and suggested two courses: one, to hold the works at
+Shreveport until he could concentrate a force to relieve me; the other,
+to retire into Texas and induce the enemy to follow us.
+
+My objection to the first suggestion was, that it would result in the
+surrender of the troops and Shreveport, as it would be impossible to
+raise a new force for their relief; and to the second, that its
+consequences would be quite as disastrous as a defeat, as it would be an
+abandonment of Louisiana and southern Arkansas. The men from these
+States might be expected to leave us, and small blame to them; while
+from the interior of Texas we could give no more aid to our brethren on
+the east of the Mississippi than from the Sandwich Islands. General
+Kirby Smith did not insist on the adoption of either of his own
+suggestions, nor express an approval of mine; but when Mansfield was
+reached, a decision became necessary.
+
+Three roads lead from this place to Shreveport, the Kingston, Middle,
+and Keachi. The distance by the first, the one nearest to the valley of
+Red River, is thirty-eight miles; by the second, forty; and by the
+third, forty-five. From Keachi, five and twenty miles from Mansfield and
+twenty from Shreveport, roads cross the Sabine into Texas. Past
+Mansfield, then, the enemy would have three roads, one of which would be
+near his fleet on the river, and could avail himself of his great
+superiority in numbers. This was pointed out to the "Aulic Council" at
+Shreveport, but failed to elicit any definite response.
+
+On the 21st of March there had reached Shreveport, from Price's command
+in Arkansas, two brigades of Missouri infantry and two of Arkansas,
+numbering together forty-four hundred muskets. These troops I had
+repeatedly asked for, but they were retained at Shreveport until the
+afternoon of the 4th of April, when they marched to Keachi, and reported
+to me from that place on the morning of the 6th. Supplies were far from
+abundant in the vicinity of Mansfield; and as I might at any moment
+receive an order to retire to Keachi, they were directed to remain there
+for the present. Green, now promoted to major-general, was placed in
+command of all the horse, with Brigadiers Bee, Major, and Bagby under
+him.
+
+On the morning of the 7th of April, Major, from Pleasant Hill, reported
+the enemy advancing in force; whereupon Green went to the front. Later
+in the day the southerly wind brought such distinct sounds of firing to
+Mansfield as to induce me to join Green. Riding hard, I suddenly met
+some fifty men from the front, and reined up to speak to them; but,
+before I could open my mouth, received the following rebuke from one of
+the party for a bad habit: "General! if you won't curse us, we will go
+back with you." I bowed to the implied homily, rode on, followed by the
+men, and found Green fighting a superior force of horse. Putting in my
+little reenforcement, I joined him, and enjoyed his method of managing
+his wild horsemen; and he certainly accomplished more with them than any
+one else could have done. After some severe work, the enemy's progress
+was arrested, and it became evident that Green could camp that night at
+a mill stream seven miles from Pleasant Hill, a matter of importance.
+
+The roads in this region follow the high ridge dividing the drainage of
+Red River from that of the Sabine, and water is very scarce. Between
+Pleasant Hill and Mansfield but two streams are found, the one above
+mentioned, and a smaller, seven miles nearer to the latter place. For
+twenty miles from Pleasant Hill toward Natchitoches there was little or
+no water; and at Pleasant Hill itself we had exhausted the wells and
+reduced the store in cisterns during our stay. This, as it affected
+movements and positions of troops, should be borne in mind.
+
+Leaving Green, I returned to Mansfield, stopping on the road to select
+my ground for the morrow. This was in the edge of a wood, fronting an
+open field eight hundred yards in width by twelve hundred in length,
+through the center of which the road to Pleasant Hill passed. On the
+opposite side of the field was a fence separating it from the pine
+forest, which, open on the higher ground and filled with underwood on
+the lower, spread over the country. The position was three miles in
+front of Mansfield, and covered a cross-road leading to the Sabine. On
+either side of the main Mansfield-Pleasant Hill road, at two miles'
+distance, was a road parallel to it and connected by this Sabine
+cross-road.
+
+General Churchill, commanding the Missouri-Arkansas troops at Keachi,
+was ordered to march for Mansfield at dawn of the 8th, and advised that
+a battle was impending. My medical director was instructed to prepare
+houses in the village for hospitals, and quartermasters were told to
+collect supplies and park surplus wagons. An officer with a small guard
+was selected to preserve order in the town, and especially among the
+wagoners, always disposed to "stampede." Walker and Mouton were ordered
+to move their divisions in the morning, ready for action, to the
+position selected; and a staff officer was sent to Green, with
+instructions to leave a small force in front of the enemy, and before
+dawn withdraw to the appointed ground. These arrangements made, a
+dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith at Shreveport, informing him
+that I had returned from the front, found the enemy advancing in force,
+and would give battle on the following day, April 8, 1864, unless
+positive orders to the contrary were sent to me. This was about 9 P.M.
+of the 7th.
+
+My confidence of success in the impending engagement was inspired by
+accurate knowledge of the Federal movements, as well as the character of
+their commander, General Banks, whose measure had been taken in the
+Virginia campaigns of 1862 and since.
+
+On the morning of the 7th of April Admiral Porter left Grand Ecore with
+six gunboats and twenty transports, on which last were embarked some
+twenty-five hundred troops. The progress of these vessels up the river
+was closely watched by an officer of my staff, who was also in
+communication with General Liddell on the north side. Banks began his
+movement from Grand Ecore to Pleasant Hill on the 6th, with an estimated
+force of twenty-five thousand. Though lateral roads existed, his column
+marched by the main one, and in the following order: Five thousand
+mounted men led the advance, followed by a large wagon train and much
+artillery. Infantry succeeded, then more wagons and artillery, then
+infantry again. In the afternoon of the 7th I knew that the front and
+rear of his column were separated by a distance of twenty miles.
+
+My troops reached the position in front of Sabine cross-road at an early
+hour on the 8th, and were disposed as follows: On the right of the road
+to Pleasant Hill, Walker's infantry division of three brigades, with two
+batteries; on the left, Mouton's, of two brigades and two batteries. As
+Green's men came in from the front, they took position, dismounted, on
+Mouton's left. A regiment of horse was posted on each of the parallel
+roads mentioned, and De Bray's cavalry, with McMahon's battery, held in
+reserve on the main road. Dense forest prevented the employment of much
+artillery, and, with the exception of McMahon's, which rendered
+excellent service, none was used in the action.
+
+I had on the field fifty-three hundred infantry; three thousand horse,
+and five hundred artillerymen--in all, eight thousand eight hundred men,
+a very full estimate. But the vicious dispositions of the enemy made me
+confident of beating all the force he could concentrate during the day;
+and on the morrow Churchill, with forty-four hundred muskets, would be
+up.
+
+The forenoon of the 8th wore on as the troops got into position. Riding
+along the line, I stopped in front of the Louisiana brigade of Mouton's
+division, and made what proved to be an unfortunate remark to the men:
+"As they were fighting in defense of their own soil I wished the
+Louisiana troops to draw the first blood." But they were already
+inflamed by many outrages on their homes, as well as by camp rumors that
+it was intended to abandon their State without a fight. At this moment
+our advanced horse came rushing in, hard followed by the enemy. A shower
+of bullets reached Mouton's line, one of which struck my horse, and a
+body of mounted men charged up to the front of the 18th Louisiana. A
+volley from this regiment sent them back with heavy loss. Infantry was
+reported in the wood opposite my left. This was a new disposition of
+the enemy, for on the 6th and 7th his advance consisted of horse alone;
+and to meet it, Mouton was strengthened by moving Randall's brigade of
+Walker's from the right to the left of the road. To cover this change,
+skirmishers were thrown forward and De Bray's regiment deployed in the
+field.
+
+The enemy showing no disposition to advance, at 4 P.M. I ordered a
+forward movement of my whole line. The ardor of Mouton's troops,
+especially the Louisianians, could not be restrained by their officers.
+Crossing the field under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms, the
+division reached the fence, paused for a moment to draw breath, then
+rushed into the wood on the enemy. Here our loss was severe. General
+Mouton was killed, as were Colonels Armand, Beard, and Walker,
+commanding the 18th, Crescent, and 28th Louisiana regiments of Gray's
+brigade. Major Canfield of the Crescent also fell, and Lieutenant-Colonel
+Clack of the same regiment was mortally wounded. As these officers went
+down, others, among whom Adjutant Blackman was conspicuous, seized the
+colors and led on the men. Polignac's brigade, on the left of Gray's,
+also suffered heavily. Colonel Noble, 17th Texas, with many others, was
+killed. Polignac, left in command by the death of Mouton, displayed
+ability and pressed the shattered division steadily forward. Randall,
+with his fine brigade, supported him on the right; while Major's
+dismounted men, retarded by dense wood, much to the impatience of
+General Green, gradually turned the enemy's right, which was forced
+back with loss of prisoners and guns.
+
+On the right of the main road General Walker, with Waul's and Scurry's
+brigades, encountered but little resistance until he had crossed the
+open field and entered the wood. Finding that he outflanked the enemy's
+left, he kept his right brigade, Scurry's, advanced, and swept
+everything before him.
+
+The first Federal line, consisting of all the mounted force and one
+division of the 13th army corps, was in full flight, leaving prisoners,
+guns, and wagons in our hands. Two miles to the rear of the first
+position, the 2d division of the 13th corps brought up, but was speedily
+routed, losing guns and prisoners; and our advance continued. Near
+sunset, four miles from our original position, the 19th army corps was
+found, drawn up on a ridge overlooking a small stream. Fatigued, and
+disordered by their long advance through dense wood, my men made no
+impression for a time on this fresh body of troops; but possession of
+the water was all-important, for there was none other between this and
+Mansfield. Walker, Green, and Polignac led on their weary men, and I
+rode down to the stream. There was some sharp work, but we persisted,
+the enemy fell back, and the stream was held, just as twilight faded
+into darkness.
+
+Twenty-five hundred prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, several
+stands of colors, many thousands of small arms, and two hundred and
+fifty wagons were the fruits of victory in the battle of Mansfield.
+Eight thousand of the enemy, his horse and two divisions of infantry,
+had been utterly routed, and over five thousand of the 19th corps driven
+back at sunset. With a much smaller force on the field, we invariably
+outnumbered the enemy at the fighting point; and foreseeing the
+possibility of this, I was justified in my confidence of success. The
+defeat of the Federal army was largely due to the ignorance and
+arrogance of its commander, General Banks, who attributed my long
+retreat to his own wonderful strategy.
+
+Night put an end to the struggle along the little stream, and my troops
+camped by the water.
+
+A dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, to inform him
+of the result of the day's fighting, and of my intention to push the
+enemy on the following morning. Leaving instructions for Green, with all
+the mounted force, to pursue at dawn, I rode to Mansfield to look after
+our wounded and meet Churchill. The precautions taken had preserved
+order in the village throughout the day. Hospitals had been prepared,
+the wounded brought in and cared for, prisoners and captured property
+disposed of. Churchill came and reported his command in camp, four miles
+from Mansfield, on the Keachi road; and he was directed to prepare two
+days' rations, and march toward Pleasant Hill at 3 A.M.
+
+Sitting by my camp fire to await the movement of Churchill's column, I
+was saddened by recollection of the many dead, and the pleasure of
+victory was turned to grief as I counted the fearful cost at which it
+had been won. Of the Louisianians fallen, most were acquaintances, many
+had been neighbors and friends; and they were gone. Above all, the death
+of gallant Mouton affected me. He had joined me soon after I reached
+western Louisiana, and had ever proved faithful to duty. Modest,
+unselfish, and patriotic, he showed best in action, always leading his
+men. I thought of his wife and children, and of his father, Governor
+Mouton, whose noble character I have attempted to portray.
+
+Churchill's march disturbed these solemn reveries, and I returned to the
+front, where Walker and Green were awaiting the approaching day. The
+horse, with a battery, moved early to Pleasant Hill, fourteen miles,
+leaving Walker and Polignac to follow Churchill's column as soon as it
+had passed. I rode with Green, and we found many stragglers, scattered
+arms, and burning wagons, showing the haste of the enemy's retreat. The
+mill stream, seven miles distant, was reached, then the vicinity of
+Pleasant Hill, before a shot was fired. A short mile in front of the
+latter place the enemy was found; and as our rapid advance had left the
+infantry far to the rear, feints were made to the right and left to
+develop his position and strength.
+
+The village of Pleasant Hill occupies part of a plateau, a mile wide
+from east to west, along the Mansfield and Fort Jesup road. The highest
+ground, called College Hill, is on the west, and here enters a road from
+the Sabine, which, sixteen miles to the east, strikes the Red River at
+Blair's Landing; while, from the necessity of turning Spanish Lake, the
+distance to Natchitoches and Grand Ecore is thirty-six miles. The
+Federal fleet, with accompanying troops, was now many miles above
+Blair's, which by river is forty-five miles above Grand Ecore. Driven
+from Pleasant Hill to the latter place, the Federal forces would be
+widely separated, and might be destroyed in detail. Though it appeared
+to be the enemy's intention to continue his retreat, as he was known to
+be moving back his trains, yet if undisturbed he might find courage to
+attempt a junction with his fleet at Blair's Landing; and I did not wish
+to lose the advantage of the _morale_ gained by success on the previous
+day.
+
+Our reconnoissance showed that the Federal lines extended across the
+open plateau, from College Hill on their left to a wooded height on the
+right of the road to Mansfield. Winding along in front of this position
+was a gully cut by winter rains, but now dry, and bordered by a thick
+growth of young pines, with fallen timber interspersed. This was held by
+the enemy's advanced infantry, with his main line and guns on the
+plateau. Separating the gully and thicket from the forest toward
+Mansfield was an open field, several hundred yards wide near the road,
+but diminishing in width toward the west. Here the Federal commander had
+concentrated some eighteen thousand, including A.J. Smith's force, not
+engaged on the previous day.
+
+My plan of attack was speedily determined. Orders were sent to the
+infantry to fill canteens at the mill stream, and to the trains to park
+there. Shortly after midday the infantry appeared, Churchill in advance;
+but a glance showed that his men were too much exhausted to attack. They
+had marched forty-five miles, and were thoroughly jaded. Walker's and
+Polignac's divisions had been heavily engaged on the previous day, and
+all were suffering from heat and thirst. Accordingly, two hours were
+given to the troops to lie down and rest.
+
+At 3 P.M. Churchill, with two batteries and three regiments of horse,
+was directed to move to the right and turn the enemy's left. His route
+was through the forest for two miles to the road coming from the Sabine.
+The enemy's left outflanked, he was to attack from the south and west,
+keeping his regiments of horse well to his right, and Walker would
+attack on his left. This was explained to Churchill, and Mr. T.J.
+Williams, formerly sheriff of De Soto parish, and acquainted with every
+road in the vicinity, was sent with him as a guide. On Walker's left,
+near the road from Mansfield, Major Brent had twelve guns in the wood,
+with four on the road, where were posted Buchell's and De Bray's
+cavalry, under General Bee, and Polignac's division, the last in
+reserve. In the wood on the left of the road from Mansfield, Major, with
+two brigades of horse dismounted, was to drive back the enemy's
+skirmishers, turn his right, and gain the road to Blair's Landing. As no
+offensive movement by the enemy was anticipated, he would be turned on
+both flanks, subjected to a concentric fire, and overwhelmed. Though I
+had but twelve thousand five hundred men against eighteen thousand in
+position, the _morale_ was greatly in our favor, and intelligent
+execution of orders was alone necessary to insure success.
+
+At 4.30 P.M. Churchill was reported to be near the position whence he
+would attack; and, to call off attention, Major Brent advanced his
+twelve guns into the field, within seven hundred yards of the enemy's
+line, and opened fire. Soon thereafter the sound of Churchill's attack
+was heard, which the cheers of his men proved to be successful. Walker
+at once led forward his division by echelons of brigades from his right,
+Brent advanced his guns, and Major turned the enemy's right and gained
+possession of the road to Blair's. Complete victory seemed assured when
+Churchill's troops suddenly gave way, and for a time arrested the
+advance of Walker and Major.
+
+The road from the Sabine reached, Churchill formed his line with the two
+Missouri brigades, General Parsons on the right, and the two Arkansas,
+General Tappan, on the left. Advancing three fourths of a mile through
+the forest, he approached the enemy's line, and found that he had not
+gained ground enough to outflank it. Throwing forward skirmishers, he
+moved by the right flank until the Missouri brigades were on the right
+of the Sabine road, the regiments of horse being farther to the right.
+Churchill should have placed his whole command on the right of the
+Sabine road, and he would have found no difficulty in successfully
+executing his orders. In his official report he states "that had my
+[his] line extended a half mile more to the right, a brilliant success
+would have been achieved"; and he gives as the reason for not so
+disposing his force that he judged, from information furnished by his
+guides, the enemy's left to be already outflanked.
+
+The attack ordered, the Missourians threw themselves on the enemy, drove
+him from the gully and thicket, mounted the plateau, broke an opposing
+line, captured and sent to the rear three hundred prisoners, got
+possession of two batteries, the horses of which had been killed, and
+reached the village. Here a Federal brigade, left by Churchill's error
+on his right, attacked them in flank and rear, while their rapid charge
+had put three hundred yards between them and the Arkansas brigades,
+delayed by the gully. The enemy's reserve was thrust into this opening
+and advanced in front. Finding themselves assaulted on all sides, the
+Missourians retreated hastily, and in repassing the gully and thicket
+fell into much confusion. Colonel Hardiman, commanding the horse,
+checked the enemy, and Parsons rallied his men on the line first formed
+by Churchill. The Arkansas brigades had forced the gully and mounted the
+plateau as the Missourians retreated, whereupon they fell back, their
+left brigade (Gause's) running into Walker's right (Scurry's) and
+impeding its advance. Gause imagined that Scurry had fired on him; but
+as his entire loss in the action amounted to but fifteen killed and
+fifty-nine wounded, out of eleven hundred men, there appears little
+ground for this belief. Churchill's two batteries followed the
+Missourians, and with much difficulty reached the plateau, where they
+opened an effective fire. When the infantry retreated three carriages
+broke down in the attempt to get through the thicket and fallen timber,
+and the guns were lost. Night ended the conflict on this part of the
+field, and both sides occupied their original positions. We brought off
+three hundred prisoners, but lost three guns and one hundred and
+seventy-nine prisoners from Churchill's command. Out of two thousand
+men, the Missourians lost three hundred and thirty-one in killed and
+wounded, and the Arkansas brigades, of equal strength, one hundred and
+forty-two.
+
+Within a few minutes of the time when our whole line became engaged, an
+officer came to inform me that General Walker was wounded. Directing
+Polignac to move up his division and hold it in readiness, I left
+General Green in charge of the center and hastened to Walker, whose
+division was now fully engaged in the wood. I found him suffering from
+a contusion in the groin, and ordered him to retire, which he
+unwillingly did. Here it was that our right gave way in the manner
+described. Scurry's brigade of Walker's, disordered by the sudden
+retreat upon it of Gause, was heavily pressed by the enemy. Scurry and
+his men struggled gallantly, but required immediate relief; and to give
+it, Waul and Randall on their left were ordered to drive back the line
+fronting them. Never was order more thoroughly executed. Leading on
+their fine brigades with skill and energy, these officers forced back
+the Federals and relieved Scurry.
+
+Meanwhile, the fire of Brent's guns had overpowered a Federal battery
+posted on the plateau in front of the road from Mansfield. The confusion
+attending the withdrawal of this battery, coupled with the fierce attack
+of Waul and Randall, led General Green to believe that the enemy was
+retreating, and he ordered Bee to charge with his two regiments of
+cavalry, Buchell's and De Bray's. Bee reached the plateau, where he was
+stopped by a heavy fire from infantry, in the wood on both sides of the
+road. Some men and horses went down, Buchell was mortally wounded, and
+Bee and De Bray slightly. The charge was premature and cost valuable
+lives, but was of use in moral effect. I returned to the road as Bee,
+with coolness and pluck, withdrew. Brent advanced his guns close up to
+the opposing line, Polignac attacked on Randall's left with his reduced
+but stubborn division, and Green urged on his dismounted horsemen,
+cleared the wood from the Mansfield to the Blair's Landing road, and at
+nightfall held the position previously occupied by the Federal battery.
+
+Severe fighting continued in the dense thicket, where Polignac, Randall,
+Waul, and Scurry were steadily driving back the enemy. Approaching
+twilight obscured the wood, but resistance in front was becoming feeble,
+and, anxious to reach the village, I urged on our men. As Randall and
+Waul gained ground to the front, they became separated by a ravine in
+which was concealed a brigade of Federals. Isolated by the retreat of
+their friends, these troops attempted to get out. Fired on from both
+sides of the ravine, a part of them appeared on the field in front of
+Brent's guns, to be driven back by grape. With heavy loss they at length
+succeeded in escaping through the thicket. A letter from the commander
+was subsequently captured, wherein he denounces the conduct of his
+superiors who abandoned him to his fate. However true the allegation, it
+is doubtful if his brigade could have rendered more service elsewhere.
+The suddenness of its appearance stopped our forward movement, and a cry
+arose that we were firing on our own people. The thickening gloom made
+it impossible to disabuse the troops of this belief, and I ordered them
+to withdraw to the open field. The movement was made slowly and in
+perfect order, the men forming in the field as they emerged from the
+thicket. The last light of day was fading as I rode along the line, and
+the noise of battle had ceased.
+
+Churchill came to report the result of his attack, and seemed much
+depressed. I gave such consolation as I could, and directed him to move
+his command to the mill stream, seven miles to the rear, where he would
+find his trains and water. A worthy, gallant gentleman, General
+Churchill, but not fortunate in war.
+
+The mill stream was the nearest water to be had, and I was compelled to
+send the troops back to it. The enemy made no attempt to recover the
+ground from which his center and right had been driven. Bee picketed the
+field with his cavalry, his forage wagons were ordered up from the mill
+stream, and it was hoped that water for his two regiments could be found
+in the wells and cisterns of the village. Sounds of retreat could be
+heard in the stillness of the night. Parties were sent on the field to
+care for the wounded, and Bee was ordered to take up the pursuit toward
+Grand Ecore at dawn, to be followed by the horse from the mill stream as
+soon as water and forage had been supplied. These dispositions for the
+morning made, worn out by fatigue and loss of sleep, I threw myself on
+the ground, within two hundred yards of the battle field, and sought
+rest. The enemy retreated during the night, leaving four hundred
+wounded, and his many dead unburied. On the morning of the 10th Bee
+pursued for twenty miles before he overtook his rear guard, finding
+stragglers and burning wagons and stores, evidences of haste.
+
+In the two actions of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill my loss in killed and
+wounded was twenty-two hundred. At Pleasant Hill we lost three guns and
+four hundred and twenty-six prisoners, one hundred and seventy-nine from
+Churchill's, and two hundred and forty-seven from Scurry's brigade at
+the time it was so nearly overwhelmed. The Federal loss in killed and
+wounded exceeded mine, and we captured twenty guns and twenty-eight
+hundred prisoners, not including stragglers picked up after the battle.
+The enemy's campaign for conquest was defeated by an inferior force, and
+it was doubtful if his army and fleet could escape destruction.
+
+These were creditable results, yet of much less importance than those
+that would have been accomplished but for my blunder at Pleasant Hill.
+Instead of intrusting the important attack by my right to a subordinate,
+I should have conducted it myself and taken Polignac's division to
+sustain it. True, this would have removed my reserve from the center and
+line of retreat, and placed it on a flank; but I was confident that the
+enemy had no intention of resuming the offensive, and should have acted
+on that conviction. All this flashed upon me the instant I learned of
+the disorder of my right. Herein lies the vast difference between genius
+and commonplace: one anticipates errors, the other discovers them too
+late.
+
+The foregoing account of Churchill's attack at Pleasant Hill, hidden
+from me by intervening wood, is taken from his official report and the
+reports of his subordinates; and I will now supplement it by some
+extracts from the testimony given by General Francis Fessenden of the
+Federal army. On pages 94 and 95 of the second volume of the "Report on
+the Conduct of the War," the following appears:
+
+"In the afternoon we were changed, from a position in the woods in front
+of Pleasant Hill, to a position in rear of a deep ditch near the town.
+We were placed behind this ditch, in open ground, and practically held
+the left of the front line; and my regiment was on the left. I think it
+was not expected that an attack would be made by the enemy in that
+direction. The attack was expected by the road which led in by the right
+center of the army. Instead of that, however, the enemy came around
+through the woods, and about half-past 5 o'clock drove in our
+skirmishers, and made a very fierce attack on the brigade I was
+in--Colonel Benedict's brigade. The brigade fell back under the attack a
+great deal broken up, and my regiment was separated from the other three
+regiments which went off in another direction. I had fallen back still
+further to the left, as I knew there was a brigade of troops in there to
+protect our left flank and rear from attack in that direction. My
+regiment being the last of the brigade to fall back, the enemy had
+already advanced so far after the other three regiments that I could not
+fall back where they did. I therefore fell back in another direction,
+rallying my regiment and forming on the right of the brigade referred
+to; and that brigade, my regiment, and another brigade, which I think
+had been brought up under General Emory, made an attack upon the enemy's
+column, which had advanced some distance, and drove them back with great
+loss. We continued to advance, and drove them a mile or more, so
+completely off the field that there was no other attack made by the
+enemy in that direction.
+
+"That night we fell back again, marching all night and all the next
+morning, until we reached the camping ground at the end of our first
+day's march from Grand Ecore. I ought to state here that in that attack
+of the enemy on our left the brigade commander, Colonel Benedict, was
+killed, and I then assumed command of the brigade. We remained at Grand
+Ecore some eight or nine days, where we built intrenchments to a certain
+extent--rifle pits. I think the whole army threw up a kind of temporary
+work in front."
+
+General Fessenden's statements accord with the reports of Churchill and
+his officers, and in other respects are accurate.
+
+On page 62 of the volume quoted from, General A.L. Lee, commanding
+mounted division of Banks's army, testifies:
+
+"The next morning (9th of April) I was ordered by General Banks to
+detach one thousand cavalry to act as scouts and skirmishers, and to
+take the remainder of my division, and take whatever was left of the
+detachment of the 13th army corps and some negro troops that were there,
+and take the trains and the majority of the artillery of the army to
+Grand Ecore. It was thought that the enemy would get between us and
+Grand Ecore. I started about 11 o'clock with this train, and with six or
+eight batteries of artillery, and reached Grand Ecore the next day. The
+battle of the 9th of April commenced just as I was leaving. The next day
+at night the main army had reached Grand Ecore and joined me there.
+General Banks impressed on me very strongly that, in sending me back
+from Pleasant Hill just as the fight was commencing, it was of the
+greatest importance to save what material we had left. Early the next
+morning, when I was distant from Pleasant Hill eighteen miles, I
+received a dispatch from General Banks. I have not the dispatch with me,
+but it was to this effect: that they had whipped the enemy terribly;
+that Price was killed, also two or three other rebel generals whom he
+named, but who have since recovered; and that I was to send back the
+subsistence trains for such and such troops. I was very much puzzled by
+that order, and immediately sent a staff officer back for more specific
+instructions. But he had not been gone more than half an hour when a
+staff officer of General Banks arrived with an order to me, with which
+he had left in the night, for me to continue pressing on with the whole
+train to Grand Ecore, and with instructions if any wagons broke down to
+burn them, not stop to fix anything, but get everything into Grand Ecore
+as quickly as I could, and look out very carefully on the flanks."
+
+There can be no question of the correctness of these statements of
+General A.L. Lee.
+
+The following quotations from the reports of Admiral Porter to the
+Secretary of the Navy are taken from page 239, and succeeding pages of
+the same volume:
+
+"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, GRAND ECORE, _April 14, 1864_.
+
+"The army here has met with a great defeat, no matter what the generals
+try to make ofit. With the defeat has come demoralization, and it will
+take some time to reorganize and make up the deficiencies in killed and
+prisoners. The whole affair has been seriously mismanaged. It was well
+we came up, for I am convinced the rebels would have attacked this
+broken army at Grand Ecore had we not been here to cover them. I do not
+think our army would be in a condition to resist them. I must confess
+that I feel a little uncertain how to act. I could not leave this army
+now without disgracing myself forever; and, when running a risk in their
+cause, I do not want to be deserted. One of my officers has already been
+asked 'If we would not burn our gunboats as soon as the army left?'
+speaking as if a gunboat was a very ordinary affair, and could be burned
+with indifference. I inclose two notes I received from Generals Banks
+and Stone. There is a faint attempt to make a victory out of this, but
+two or three such victories would cost us our existence."
+
+Again, on page 166 of the same volume appears this dispatch from
+Lieutenant-General Grant, at Culpepper, Virginia, to General Halleck,
+Chief of Staff, at Washington:
+
+"You can see from General Brayman's dispatch to me something of General
+Banks's disaster."
+
+Concerning the battle of Pleasant Hill General Banks reports (page 326):
+
+"The whole of the reserves were now ordered up, and in turn we drove the
+enemy, continuing the pursuit until night compelled us to halt. The
+battle of the 9th was desperate and sanguinary. The defeat of the enemy
+was complete, and his loss in officers and men more than double that
+sustained by our forces. There was nothing in the immediate position and
+condition of the two armies to prevent a forward movement the next
+morning, and orders were given to prepare for an advance. But
+representations subsequently received from General Franklin and all the
+general officers of the 19th corps, as to the condition of their
+respective commands for immediate active operations against the enemy,
+caused a suspension of this order, and a conference of the general
+officers was held in the evening, in which it was determined to retire
+upon Grand Ecore the following day. The reasons urged for this course
+were: 1. That the absence of water made it absolutely necessary to
+advance or retire without delay. General Emory's command had been
+without rations for two days, and the train, which had been turned to
+the rear during the battle, could not be put in condition to move
+forward upon the single road through dense woods, in which it stood,
+without great difficulty and much loss of time."
+
+Again, on page 13, General Banks states:
+
+"The enemy was driven from the field. It was as clear a rout as it was
+possible for any army to suffer. After consulting with my officers, I
+concluded, against my own judgment, to fall back to Grand Ecore and
+reorganize. We held the field of battle. Our dead were buried. The
+wounded men were brought in and placed in the best hospitals we could
+organize, and surgeons were left with them, with provisions, medicines,
+and supplies; and at daybreak we fell back to Grand Ecore."
+
+Here the proportion of fiction to fact surpasses that of sack to bread
+in Sir John's tavern bill; and it may be doubted if a mandarin from the
+remotest province of the Celestial Empire ever ventured to send such a
+report to Peking. General Fessenden's testimony, given above, shows that
+the army marched during the night of the 9th, and continued to Grand
+Ecore, where it intrenched; and General A.L. Lee's, that the main army
+joined him at that place on the evening of the 10th. Twenty of the
+thirty-six miles between Pleasant Hill and Grand Ecore were passed on
+the 10th by my cavalry before the rear of the enemy's column was seen;
+yet General Banks officially reports that his army left Pleasant Hill at
+daybreak of the 10th. Homeric must have been the laughter of his troops
+when this report was published.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER.
+
+
+From my resting-place on the ground at Pleasant Hill, after the battle
+of the 9th, I was aroused about 10 P.M. by General Kirby Smith, just
+arrived from Shreveport. This officer disapproved of further pursuit of
+Banks, except by a part of our mounted force, and ordered the infantry
+back to Mansfield. He was apprehensive that the troops on the transports
+above would reach Shreveport, or disembark below me and that place. In
+addition, Steele's column from Arkansas caused him much uneasiness, and
+made him unwilling for my troops to increase their distance from the
+capital of the "Trans-Mississippi Department." It was pointed out that
+the water in Red River was falling, and navigation becoming more and
+more difficult; that I had a staff officer watching the progress of the
+fleet, which was not accompanied by more than three thousand men, too
+few to attempt a landing, and that they would certainly hear of Banks's
+defeat and seek to rejoin him at Grand Ecore. As to Steele he was more
+than a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, harassed by Price's force;
+he must learn of Banks's misfortune, and, leading but a subsidiary
+column, would retire to Little Rock. Banks, with the remains of his
+beaten army, was before us, and the fleet of Porter, with barely water
+enough to float upon. We had but to strike vigorously to capture or
+destroy both. But it was written that the sacrifices of my little army
+should be wasted, and, on the morning of the 10th, I was ordered to take
+all the infantry and much of the horse to Mansfield.
+
+The Bayou Pierre, three hundred feet wide and too deep to ford, leaves
+the Red River a few miles below Shreveport, and after a long course, in
+which it frequently expands into lakes, returns to its parent stream
+three miles above Grand Ecore, dividing the pine-clad hills on the west
+from the alluvion of the river on the east. Several roads lead from the
+interior to landings on the river, crossing Bayou Pierre by ferries. One
+from Pleasant Hill to Blair's Landing, sixteen miles, has been
+mentioned. Another led from Mansfield to Grand Bayou Landing, eighteen
+miles. Dispatches from Captain McCloskey informed me that the enemy's
+fleet had passed this last place on the morning of the 9th, pushing
+slowly up river, impeded by low water. Feeling assured that intelligence
+of Banks's defeat would send the fleet back to Grand Ecore, and hoping
+to cut off its communication, at dawn of the 11th I sent General Bagby,
+with a brigade of horse and a battery, from Mansfield to Grand Bayou
+Landing. Before reaching the ferry at Bayou Pierre, he ascertained that
+the fleet had turned back on the afternoon of the 10th. There was a
+pontoon train at Shreveport that I had in vain asked for, and Bagby
+experienced great delay in crossing Bayou Pierre by means of one small
+flat. The fleet, descending, passed Grand Bayou Landing at 10 o'clock
+A.M. of the 11th, some hours before Bagby reached the river; and he
+pushed on toward Blair's Landing, where he arrived on the night of the
+12th, after the close of Green's operations of that day.
+
+General Green, from Pleasant Hill, had been directing the movements of
+our advanced horse, a part of which, under Bee, was in front of Grand
+Ecore and Natchitoches. Advised of the movements of the enemy's fleet,
+he, with seven hundred and fifty horse and two batteries, left Pleasant
+Hill for Blair's Landing at 6 o'clock P.M. on the 11th. As in the case
+of Bagby, he was delayed at Bayou Pierre, and, after hard work, only
+succeeded in crossing three guns and a part of his horse before the
+fleet came down on the 12th. Green attacked at once, and leading his men
+in his accustomed fearless way, was killed by a discharge of grape from
+one of the gunboats. Deprived of their leader, the men soon fell back,
+and the fleet reached Grand Ecore without further molestation from the
+west bank. The enemy's loss, supposed by our people to have been
+immense, was officially reported at seven on the gunboats and fifty on
+the transports. _Per contra_, the enemy believed that our loss was
+stupendous; whereas we had scarcely a casualty except the death of
+General Green, an irreparable one. No Confederate went aboard the fleet
+and no Federal came ashore; so there was a fine field of slaughter in
+which the imagination of both sides could disport itself.
+
+With facilities for crossing the Pierre at hand, the fleet, during the
+11th and 12th, would have been under the fire of two thousand riflemen
+and eighteen guns and suffered heavily, especially the transports,
+crowded with troops. As it was, we accomplished but little and lost
+General Green.
+
+Like Mouton, this officer had joined me at an early period of my service
+in western Louisiana. Coming to me with the rank of colonel, his
+conspicuous services made it my pleasant duty to recommend him for
+promotion to brigadier and major-general. Upright, modest, and with the
+simplicity of a child, danger seemed to be his element, and he rejoiced
+in combat. His men adored him, and would follow wherever he led; but
+they did not fear him, for, though he scolded at them in action, he was
+too kind-hearted to punish breaches of discipline. In truth, he had no
+conception of the value of discipline in war, believing that all must be
+actuated by his own devotion to duty. His death was a public calamity,
+and mourned as such by the people of Texas and Louisiana. To me he was a
+tried and devoted friend, and our friendship was cemented by the fact
+that, through his Virginia mother, we were related by blood. The great
+Commonwealth, whose soil contains his remains, will never send forth a
+bolder warrior, a better citizen, nor a more upright man than Thomas
+Green.
+
+The brigade of horse brought by General Green to Louisiana, and with
+which he was so long associated, had some peculiar characteristics. The
+officers such as Colonels Hardiman, Baylor, Lane, Herbert, McNeill, and
+others, were bold and enterprising. The men, hardy frontiersmen,
+excellent riders, and skilled riflemen, were fearless and self-reliant,
+but discharged their duty as they liked and when they liked. On a march
+they wandered about at will, as they did about camp, and could be kept
+together only when a fight was impending. When their arms were injured
+by service or neglect, they threw them away, expecting to be supplied
+with others. Yet, with these faults, they were admirable fighters, and
+in the end I became so much attached to them as to be incapable of
+punishing them.
+
+After the affair at Blair's Landing on the 12th, the horse returned to
+Pleasant Hill, and thence joined Bee in front of Grand Ecore, where
+Banks had his army concentrated behind works, with gunboats and
+transports in the river, Bee occupying the town of Natchitoches, four
+miles away. On the morning of the 13th General Kirby Smith visited me at
+Mansfield. Relieved of apprehension about the fleet, now at Grand Ecore,
+he expressed great anxiety for the destruction of Steele's column. I was
+confident that Steele, who had less than ten thousand men and was more
+than a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, would hear of Banks's
+disaster and retreat; but General Kirby Smith's views differed from
+mine. I then expressed my willingness to march, with the main body of
+the infantry, to join Price in Arkansas, and serve under his command
+until Steele's column was destroyed or driven back; insisting, however,
+that in the event of Steele's retreat I should be permitted to turn on
+Banks and Porter, to complete the work of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.
+The destruction of the Federal army and capture of the fleet, helpless
+alone by reason of low and falling water in Red River, were the
+legitimate fruits of those victories, and I protested with all possible
+earnestness against a policy that would fail to reap them. After this
+conversation General Kirby Smith returned to Shreveport, leaving me
+under the impression that my last proposition was acceded to. The loss
+of valuable time incurred by a wild-goose chase after Steele was most
+annoying, but I was hopeful it might be recovered. To get the fleet down
+to Alexandria and over the falls at that place would require much time
+in the low condition of the water; and Banks's army was so much
+demoralized by defeat that Bee found no difficulty in restraining its
+movements with his horse.
+
+At dawn of the 14th Walker's and Churchill's divisions of infantry, with
+their artillery, prepared for an active campaign, marched for
+Shreveport, forty miles. The same day Polignac's infantry division,
+reduced to some twelve hundred muskets, was sent toward Grand Ecore to
+strengthen the horse in front of the enemy. On the evening of the 15th I
+reached Shreveport, and had a short interview with General Kirby Smith,
+who informed me that Steele had begun his retreat from a point a hundred
+and ten miles distant, but that he hoped to overtake him, and would
+personally direct the pursuit. I was further informed that my presence
+with the troops was not desired, and that I would remain in nominal
+command of Shreveport, but might join the force near Grand Ecore if I
+thought proper. All this with the curt manner of a superior to a
+subordinate, as if fearing remonstrance. General Kirby Smith marched
+north of Shreveport on the 16th, and three days thereafter I received a
+dispatch from his "chief of staff" informing me that the pontoon train,
+asked for in vain when it would have been of priceless value, would be
+sent back from his army and placed at my disposition. Doubtless General
+Kirby Smith thought that a pontoon train would supply the place of seven
+thousand infantry and six batteries.
+
+I remained at Shreveport three days, occupied with reports and sending
+supplies to my little force near Grand Ecore, toward which I proceeded
+on the 19th of April. Major-General Wharton, who had gained reputation
+as a cavalry officer in the Confederate Army of Tennessee, accompanied
+me. He had reported for duty at Shreveport on the 18th, and was assigned
+to the command of the horse to replace the lamented Green. We reached
+Polignac's camp, in the vicinity of Grand Ecore, ninety odd miles from
+Shreveport, on the evening of the 21st, and learned that the enemy had
+threatened an advance during the day. This convinced me of his intention
+to retreat, and an officer was sent to General Bee to warn him.
+
+Cane River leaves the main channel of the Red below Grand Ecore, and,
+passing by Natchitoches, returns to the Red after a winding course of
+sixty miles. Except at the season of floods, it is not navigable; but
+the alluvion through which it flows is very productive, while the pine
+forest immediately to the west is sterile. Bee, under instructions,
+occupied the valley of Cane River with his horse, and had been ordered
+to keep his pickets close to Grand Ecore and Natchitoches, draw his
+forage from plantations along the river, and, when the enemy retreated
+toward Alexandria, fall back before him to Monette's Ferry, which he was
+expected to hold. Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Natchitoches, was
+on the only practicable road to Alexandria. Here the river made a wide,
+deep ford, and pine-clad hills rose abruptly from the southern bank. On
+the left, looking toward Natchitoches, were hills and impassable lakes,
+easily held against any force. On the right, hills, rugged and
+pine-clad, extended eight miles to the point at which Cane River
+reenters the Red. The distance from Monette's to Alexandria is
+thirty-five miles, of which fourteen is through wooded hills. Roads led
+west to Carroll Jones's and Beaseley's, twelve and thirty miles
+respectively; and on these roads Bee was directed to keep his trains.
+
+Concerning the position at Monette's General Banks reports: "The army
+marched from Grand Ecore on the morning of the 22d of April. To prevent
+the occupation of Monette's Bluff, on Cane River, a strong position
+commanding the only road leading across the river to Alexandria, or to
+prevent the concentration of the enemy's forces at that point, it became
+necessary to accomplish the evacuation without his knowledge." As before
+stated, the threatened advance of the 21st convinced me that the enemy's
+retreat was imminent, and so I advised Bee; but there was not time to
+send General Wharton to him after I reached Polignac's camp. Bee had two
+thousand horse and four batteries, and, after several days to examine
+and prepare his ground, might well be expected to hold it with tenacity.
+
+Immediately after the battle of Pleasant Hill I had sent Vincent, with
+his own and Bush's regiments of Louisiana horse, to threaten Alexandria
+and drive out small parties of the enemy from the Attakapas and Teche
+regions. Subsequently, a brigade of Texas horse, seven hundred strong,
+under Brigadier William Steele, joined me, and was now with Polignac.
+
+As anticipated, the enemy left Grand Ecore during the night of the 21st
+and marched without halting to Cloutierville, thirty-two miles. With
+Steele's brigade, Wharton drove his rear guard from Natchitoches on the
+morning of the 22d, capturing some prisoners, and continued the pursuit
+to the twenty-four-mile ferry. On the 23d, after a sharp action, he
+pushed the enemy's rear below Cloutierville, taking some score of
+prisoners. Polignac's infantry joined that evening, and covered a road
+leading through the hills from Cloutierville to Beaseley's. If Bee stood
+firm at Monette's, we were in position to make Banks unhappy on the
+morrow, separated as he was from the fleet, on which he relied to aid
+his demoralized forces. But Bee gave way on the afternoon of the 23d,
+permitting his strong position to be forced at the small cost to the
+enemy of less than four hundred men, and suffering no loss himself.
+Then, instead of attacking the great trains, during their fourteen
+miles' march through the forest, and occupying with artillery McNutt's
+Hill, a high bluff twenty miles from Alexandria and commanding the road
+thither in the valley, he fell back at once to Beaseley's, thirty miles.
+Before this mistake could be rectified, the enemy crossed at Monette's,
+burning many wagons at the ford, and passed below McNutt's Hill. General
+Bee had exhibited much personal gallantry in the charge at Pleasant
+Hill, but he was without experience in war, and had neglected to study
+the ground or strengthen his position at Monette's. Leaving Mansfield
+for Shreveport on the 15th, under orders from General Kirby Smith, I
+only got back to the front on the night of the 21st, too late to reach
+Monette's or send Wharton there.
+
+It was very disheartening, but, persuaded that the enemy could not pass
+the falls at Alexandria with his fleet, I determined to stick to him
+with my little force of less than forty-five hundred of all arms. It was
+impossible to believe that General Kirby Smith would continue to persist
+in his inexplicable policy, and fail to come, ere long, to my
+assistance.
+
+On the 26th Bee's horse, from Beaseley's, joined Steele's at McNutt's
+Hill; and together, under Wharton, they attacked the enemy in the valley
+and drove him, with loss of killed and prisoners, to the immediate
+vicinity of Alexandria.
+
+When General Banks retreated so hastily from Grand Ecore, Admiral Porter
+was laboring to get his fleet down to Alexandria. In a communication to
+the Secretary of the Navy from his flag-ship below Grand Ecore, he says
+("Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 234-5):
+
+"I soon saw that the army would go to Alexandria again, and we would be
+left above the bars in a helpless condition. The vessels are mostly at
+Alexandria, above the falls, excepting this one and two others I kept to
+protect the Eastport. The Red River is falling at the rate of two inches
+a day. If General Banks should determine to evacuate this country, the
+gunboats will be cut off from all communication with the Mississippi. It
+cannot be possible that the country would be willing to have eight
+iron-clads, three or four other gunboats, and many transports sacrificed
+without an effort to save them. It would be the worst thing that has
+happened this war."
+
+The Eastport, the most formidable iron-clad of the Mississippi squadron,
+grounded on a bar below Grand Ecore. Three tin-clad gunboats and two
+transports remained near to assist in getting her off; and, to prevent
+this, some mounted riflemen were sent, on the morning of the 26th, to
+cooeperate with Liddell's raw levies on the north bank of the river.
+These forced the enemy to destroy the Eastport, and drove away the
+gunboats and transports. Our loss in the affair was two killed and four
+wounded. Meantime, to intercept the gunboats and transports on their way
+down, Colonel Caudle of Polignac's division, with two hundred riflemen
+and Cornay's four-gun battery, had been posted at the junction of Cane
+and Red Rivers, twenty miles below. At 6 o'clock P.M. of the 26th the
+leading gunboat and one transport came down. Our fire speedily crippled
+and silenced the gunboat, and a shot exploded the boiler of the
+transport. Under cover of escaping steam the gunboat drifted out of
+fire, but the loss of life on the transport was fearful. One hundred
+dead and eighty-seven severely scalded, most of whom subsequently died,
+were brought on shore. These unfortunate creatures were negroes, taken
+from plantations on the river above. The object of the Federals was to
+remove negroes from their owners; but for the lives of these poor people
+they cared nothing, or, assuredly, they would not have forced them, on
+an unprotected river steamer, to pass riflemen and artillery, against
+which gunboats were powerless. On the following day, the 27th, the two
+remaining gunboats and transport attempted to pass Caudle's position;
+and the former, much cut up, succeeded, but the transport was captured.
+Colonel Caudle had one man wounded, and the battery one killed--its
+commander, Captain Cornay, who, with Mouton, Armand, and many other
+creoles, proved by distinguished gallantry that the fighting qualities
+of the old French breed had suffered no deterioration on the soil of
+Louisiana.
+
+The following extracts from the report of Admiral Porter well exhibit
+the efficiency of Caudle and Cornay in this affair:
+
+"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, OFF ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_.
+
+"When rounding the point, the vessels in close order and ready for
+action, we descried a party of the enemy with artillery on the right
+bank, and we immediately opened fire with our bow guns. The enemy
+immediately returned it with a _large number of cannon, eighteen in
+all_, every shot of which struck this vessel. The captain gave orders to
+stop the engines. I corrected this mistake, and got headway on the
+vessel again, but not soon enough to avoid the pelting showers of shot
+and shell which the enemy poured into us, every shot going through and
+through us, clearing all our decks in a moment. I took charge of the
+vessel, and, _as the battery was a very heavy one_, I determined to pass
+it, which was done under the heaviest fire I ever witnessed. Seeing that
+the Hindman did not pass the batteries, the Juliet disabled, and that
+one of the pump boats (transport) had her boiler exploded by a shot, I
+ran down to a point three or four miles below. Lieutenant-Commander
+Phelps had two vessels in charge, the Juliet and Champion (transport),
+which he wished to get through safely. He kept them out of range until
+he could partially repair the Juliet, and then, starting under a heavy
+fire, he make a push by. Unfortunately the pump boat (Champion) was
+disabled and set fire to. The Hindman had her wheel ropes cut away, and
+drifted past, turning round and round, and getting well cut up in going
+by. The Juliet was cut to pieces in hull and machinery; had fifteen
+killed and wounded. I inclose the report of Lieutenant-Commander Phelps,
+from the time of his first misfortune until his arrival at this place
+(Alexandria), where I now am with all the fleet, but very much surprised
+that I have any left, considering all the difficulties encountered. I
+came up here with the river on the rise, and water enough for our
+largest vessels; and even on my way up to Shreveport from Grand Ecore
+the water rose, while it commenced falling where I left the largest
+gunboats. Falling or not, I could not go back while in charge of the
+transports and material on which _an army of thirty thousand men
+depended_."
+
+This is high testimony to the fighting capacity of two hundred riflemen
+and four guns, two twelve-pounder smooth-bores and two howitzers, all
+that Admiral Porter's three gunboats had to contend with. It proves the
+utter helplessness of gunboats in narrow streams, when deprived of the
+protection of troops on the banks. Even the iron-clads, with armor
+impenetrable by field guns, were readily driven off by sharp-shooters,
+who, under cover, closed their ports or killed every exposed man.
+
+On the 24th Liddell, from the north bank of Red River, dashed into
+Pineville, opposite Alexandria, killed and captured a score of the
+enemy's party, and drove the remainder over the river.
+
+On the 27th Admiral Porter's fleet was lying above the falls, now
+impassable, and Banks's army, over twenty thousand strong, was in and
+around Alexandria behind earthworks. Such was the condition to which
+this large force had been reduced by repeated defeat, that we not only
+confined it to its works, driving back many attacks on our advanced
+positions, but I felt justified in dividing my little command in order
+to blockade the river below, and cut off communication with the
+Mississippi. Wharton's horse was divided into three parts, each a
+thousand strong, and accompanied by artillery. The first, under Steele,
+held the river and Rapides roads, above and west of Alexandria; the
+second, under Bagby, the Boeuf road to the south of that place; while
+Major, with the third, was sent to Davide's Ferry, on the river,
+twenty-five miles below. Polignac's infantry, twelve hundred muskets,
+was posted on the Boeuf within supporting distance of the two last.
+Liddell's seven hundred newly-organized horse, with four guns, was of
+little service beyond making feints to distract the enemy.
+
+Major reached his position on the 30th, and on the following day, the
+1st of May, captured and sunk the transport Emma. On the 3d he captured
+the transport City Belle, on her way up to Alexandria, with the 120th
+Ohio regiment on board. All the officers and two hundred and seventy-six
+men were taken, with many killed and wounded. On the evening of the 4th
+the gunboats Covington and Signal, each mounting eight heavy guns, with
+the transport Warner, attempted to pass. The Covington was blown up by
+her crew to escape capture, but the Signal and Warner surrendered. Four
+guns, two three-inch rifled and two howitzers, were engaged in this
+action with the Covington and Signal. They were run up to the river's
+bank by hand, the howitzers above, the three-inch rifles below the
+gunboats, which, overpowered by the rapid fire, moved back and forth
+until one surrendered and the other was destroyed, affording a complete
+illustration of the superiority of field guns to gunboats in narrow
+streams. There was no further attempt to pass Major's position, and
+Federal communication with the Mississippi was closed for fifteen days.
+
+During these operations the enemy was engaged night and day in the
+construction of a dam across the Red River, to enable him to pass his
+fleet over the falls; and the following extracts from the report of
+Admiral Porter to the Secretary of the Navy well exhibit the condition
+of affairs in and around Alexandria ("Report on the Conduct of the War,"
+vol. ii., page 250):
+
+"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_.
+
+"SIR: I have written you an account of the operations of the fleet in
+these waters, but take the liberty of writing to you confidentially the
+true state of affairs. I find myself blockaded by a fall of three feet
+of water, three feet four inches being the amount now on the falls.
+Seven feet being required to get over, no amount of lightening will
+accomplish the object. I have already written to you how the whole state
+of things has been changed by a too blind carelessness on the part of
+our military leader, and our retreat back to Alexandria from place to
+place has so demoralized General Banks's army that the troops have no
+confidence in anybody or anything. Our army is now all here, with the
+best general (Franklin) wounded and unfit for duty in the field. General
+Banks seems to hold no communication with any one, and it is impossible
+for me to say what he will do. I have no confidence in his promises, as
+he asserted in a letter, herein inclosed, that he had no intention of
+leaving Grand Ecore, when he had actually already made all his
+preparations to leave. The river is crowded with transports, and every
+gunboat I have is required to convoy them. I have to withdraw many
+light-draughts from other points on the Mississippi to supply demands
+here. In the mean time the enemy are splitting up into parties of two
+thousand, and bringing in the artillery (with which we have supplied
+them) to blockade points below here; and what will be the upshot of it
+all I can not foretell. I know that it will be disastrous in the
+extreme, for this is a country in which a retreating army is completely
+at the mercy of an enemy. Notwithstanding that the rebels are reported
+as coming in from Washita, with heavy artillery to plant on the hills
+opposite Alexandria, no movement is being made to occupy the position,
+and I am in momentary expectation of hearing the rebel guns open on the
+transports on the town side; or if they go down or come up the river, it
+will be at the risk of destruction. Our light-clads can do nothing
+against hill batteries. I am in momentary expectation of seeing this
+army retreat, when the result will be disastrous. Unless instructed by
+the Government, I do not think that General Banks will make the least
+effort to save the navy here. The following vessels are above the falls
+and command the right of the town: Mound City, Louisville, Pittsburgh,
+Carondelet, Chillicothe, Osage, Neosho, Ozark, Lexington, and Fort
+Hindman. At this moment the enemy have attacked our outposts, and driven
+in our indifferent cavalry, which came up numbering six thousand, and
+have brought nothing but calamity in their train. Our whole army is
+cooped up in this town, while a much inferior force is going rampant
+about the country, making preparations to assail our helpless
+transports, which, if caught filled with men, would be perfect
+slaughter-houses. Quick remedies are required, and I deem it my duty to
+lay the true state of affairs before you. If left here by the army, I
+will be obliged to destroy this fleet to prevent it falling into the
+enemy's hands. I can not conceive that the nation will permit such a
+sacrifice to be made, when men and money can prevent it. We have fought
+hard for the opening of the Mississippi, and have reduced the naval
+forces of the rebels in this quarter to two vessels. If we have to
+destroy what we have here, there will be material enough to build half a
+dozen iron-clads, and the Red River, which is now of no further dread to
+us, will require half the Mississippi squadron to watch it. I am
+apprehensive that the turrets of the monitors will defy any efforts we
+can make to destroy them. Our prestige will receive a shock from which
+it will be long in recovering; and if the calamities I dread should
+overtake us, the annals of this war will not present so dire a one as
+will have befallen us."
+
+Thus Admiral Porter, who even understates the facts.
+
+In vain had all this been pointed out to General Kirby Smith, when he
+came to me at Pleasant Hill in the night after the battle. Granted that
+he was alarmed for Shreveport, sacred to him and his huge staff as
+Benares, dwelling-place of many gods, to the Hindoo; yet, when he
+marched from that place on the 16th of April against Steele, the latter,
+already discomfited by Price's horse, was retreating, and, with less
+than a third of Banks's force at Grand Ecore, was then further from
+Shreveport than was Banks. To pursue a retreating foe, numbering six
+thousand men, he took over seven thousand infantry, and left me twelve
+hundred to operate against twenty odd thousand and a powerful fleet.
+From the evening of the 21st of April, when I returned to the front near
+Grand Ecore, to the 13th of May, the day on which Porter and Banks
+escaped from Alexandria, I kept him advised of the enemy's movements and
+condition. Couriers and staff officers were sent to implore him to
+return and reap the fruits of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, whose price
+had been paid in blood. Not a man was sent me; even the four-gun battery
+with Liddell on the north of the river was, without my knowledge,
+withdrawn toward Arkansas. From first to last, General Kirby Smith
+seemed determined to throw a protecting shield around the Federal army
+and fleet.
+
+In all the ages since the establishment of the Assyrian monarchy no
+commander has possessed equal power to destroy a cause. Far away from
+the great centers of conflict in Virginia and Georgia, on a remote
+theatre, the opportunity of striking a blow decisive of the war was
+afforded. An army that included the strength of every garrison from
+Memphis to the Gulf had been routed, and, by the incompetency of its
+commander, was utterly demoralized and ripe for destruction. But this
+army was permitted to escape, and its 19th corps reached Chesapeake Bay
+in time to save Washington from General Early's attack, while the 13th,
+16th, and 17th corps reenforced Sherman in Georgia. More than all, we
+lost Porter's fleet, which the falling river had delivered into our
+hands; for the protection of an army was necessary to its liberation, as
+without the army a dam at the falls could not have been constructed.
+With this fleet, or even a portion of it, we would have at once
+recovered possession of the Mississippi, from the Ohio to the sea, and
+undone all the work of the Federals since the winter of 1861. Instead of
+Sherman, Johnston would have been reenforced from west of the
+Mississippi, and thousands of absent men, with fresh hope, would have
+rejoined Lee. The Southern people might have been spared the humiliation
+of defeat, and the countless woes and wrongs inflicted on them by their
+conquerors.
+
+It was for this that Green and Mouton and other gallant spirits fell! It
+was for this that the men of Missouri and Arkansas made a forced march
+to die at Pleasant Hill! It was for this that the divisions of Walker
+and Polignac had held every position intrusted to them, carried every
+position in their front, and displayed a constancy and valor worthy of
+the Guards at Inkermann or Lee's veterans in the Wilderness! For this,
+too, did the handful left, after our brethren had been taken from us,
+follow hard on the enemy, attack him constantly at any odds, beat off
+and sink his gunboats, close the Red River below him and shut up his
+army in Alexandria for fifteen days! Like "Sister Ann" from her watch
+tower, day after day we strained our eyes to see the dust of our
+approaching comrades arise from the north bank of the Red. Not a camp
+follower among us but knew that the arrival of our men from the North
+would give us the great prize in sight. Vain, indeed, were our hopes.
+The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department" had the power to
+destroy the last hope of the Confederate cause, and exercised it with
+all the success of Bazaine at Metz.
+
+"The affairs of mice and men aft gang aglee," from sheer stupidity and
+pig-headed obstinacy. General Kirby Smith had publicly announced that
+Banks's army was too strong to be fought, and that the proper policy was
+either to defend the works protecting Shreveport, or retreat into Texas.
+People do not like to lose their reputations as prophets or sons of
+prophets. Subsequently, it was given out that General Kirby Smith had a
+wonderful plan for the destruction of the enemy, which I had disturbed
+by rashly beating his army at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill; but this
+plan, like Trochu's for the defense of Paris, was never
+disclosed--undoubtedly, because _c'etait le secret de Polichinelle_.
+
+After many days of energetic labor, the enemy on the 13th of May
+succeeded in passing his fleet over the falls at Alexandria, evacuated
+the place, and retreated down the river, the army, on the south bank,
+keeping pace with the fleet. Admiral Porter, in his report to the
+Secretary of the Navy, gives a graphic account of the passage of the
+falls, and under date of May 19th, says: "In my report in relation to
+the release of the gunboats from their unpleasant position above the
+falls, I did not think it prudent to mention that I was obliged to
+destroy eleven thirty-two-pounders, not having time to haul them from
+above the falls to Alexandria, the army having moved and drawn in all
+their pickets. For the same reason I also omitted to mention that I was
+obliged to take off the iron from the sides of the Pook gunboats and
+from the Ozark, to enable them to get over."
+
+To harass the retreat, the horse and artillery, on the river above
+Alexandria, were directed to press the enemy's rear, and the remaining
+horse and Polignac's infantry to intercept his route at Avoyelles
+Prairie. During the 14th, 15th, and 16th he was constantly attacked in
+front, rear, and right flank; and on the 17th Wharton charged his rear
+near Mansura, capturing many prisoners, while Colonel Yager, with two
+regiments of horse, cut in on the wagon train at Yellow Bayou, killed
+and drove off the guard, and destroyed much property. Meanwhile Liddell,
+on the north bank of the Red, followed the fleet and kept up a constant
+fire on the transports. But for the unfortunate withdrawal of his
+battery, before alluded to, he could have destroyed many of these
+vessels. On the 18th we attacked the enemy at Yellow Bayou, near
+Simmsport, and a severe engagement ensued, lasting until night. We held
+the field, on which the enemy left his dead, but our loss was heavy,
+four hundred and fifty-two in killed and wounded; among the former,
+Colonel Stone, commanding Polignac's old brigade. Polignac, in charge of
+division, was conspicuous in this action. The following day, May 19,
+1864, the enemy crossed the Atchafalaya and was beyond our reach. Here,
+at the place where it had opened more than two months before, the
+campaign closed.
+
+The army I had the honor to command in this campaign numbered, at its
+greatest strength, about thirteen thousand of all arms, including
+Liddell's force on the north bank of Red River; but immediately after
+the battle of Pleasant Hill it was reduced to fifty-two hundred by the
+withdrawal of Walker's and Churchill's divisions. Many of the troops
+marched quite four hundred miles, and from the 5th of April to the 18th
+of May not a day passed without some engagement with the enemy, either
+on land or river. Our total loss in killed, wounded, and missing was
+three thousand nine hundred and seventy-six; that of the enemy, nearly
+three times this number.
+
+From the action at Yellow Bayou on the 18th of May, 1864, to the close
+of the war in the following year, not a shot was fired in the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department." Johnston was forced back to Atlanta and
+relieved from command, and Atlanta fell. Not even an effective
+demonstration was made toward Arkansas and Missouri to prevent troops
+from being sent to reenforce Thomas at Nashville, and Hood was
+overthrown. Sherman marched unopposed through Georgia and South
+Carolina, while Lee's gallant army wasted away from cold and hunger in
+the trenches at Petersburg. Like Augustus in the agony of his spirit,
+the sorely pressed Confederates on the east of the Mississippi asked,
+and asked in vain: "Varus! Varus! Where are our legions?"
+
+The enemy's advance, fleet and army, reached Alexandria on the 16th of
+March, but he delayed sixteen days there and at Grand Ecore. My first
+reenforcements, two small regiments of horse, joined at Natchitoches on
+the 31st; but the larger part of Green's force came in at Mansfield on
+the 6th of April, Churchill's infantry reaching Keachi the same day. Had
+Banks pushed to Mansfield on the 5th instead of the 8th of April, he
+would have met but little opposition; and, once at Mansfield, he had the
+choice of three roads to Shreveport, where Steele could have joined him.
+
+Judging from the testimony given to the Congressional Committee on the
+Conduct of the War, cotton and elections seem to have been the chief
+causes of delay. In the second volume of "Report" may be found much
+crimination and recrimination between the Navy and Army concerning the
+seizure of cotton. Without attempting to decide the question, I may
+observe that Admiral Porter informs the Secretary of the Navy of "the
+capture from the rebels of three thousand bales of cotton on the Washita
+river, and two thousand on the Red, all of which I have sent to Cairo";
+while General Banks testifies that he "took from western Louisiana ten
+thousand bales of cotton and twenty thousand beef cattle, horses, and
+mules." From this, the Army appears to have surpassed the navy to the
+extent of five thousand bales of cotton and the above-mentioned number
+of beef cattle, etc. Whether Admiral Porter or General Banks was the
+more virtuous, the unhappy people of Louisiana were deprived of "cakes
+and ale."
+
+In his enthusiasm for art the classic cobbler forgot his last; but "all
+quality, pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war" could not make
+General Banks forget his politics, and he held elections at Alexandria
+and Grand Ecore. The General describes with some unction the devotion of
+the people to the "Union," which was and was to be, to them, "the fount
+of every blessing."
+
+Says General Banks in his report: "It became necessary to accomplish the
+evacuation [of Grand Ecore] without the enemy's knowledge. The
+conflagration of a portion of the town at the hour appointed for the
+movement partially frustrated the object." And further on: "Rumors were
+circulated freely throughout the camp at Alexandria, that upon the
+evacuation of the town it would be burned, and a considerable portion of
+the town was destroyed." Evidently, these burnings were against the
+orders of General Banks, who appears to have lost authority over some of
+his troops. Moreover, in their rapid flight from Grand Ecore to
+Monette's Ferry, a distance of forty miles, the Federals burned nearly
+every house on the road. In pursuit, we passed the smoking ruins of
+homesteads, by which stood weeping women and children. Time for the
+removal of the most necessary articles of furniture had been refused. It
+was difficult to restrain one's inclination to punish the ruffians
+engaged in this work, a number of whom were captured; but they asserted,
+and doubtless with truth, that they were acting under orders.
+
+From the universal testimony of citizens, I learned that General Banks
+and the officers and men of the 19th corps, Eastern troops, exerted
+themselves to prevent these outrages, and that the perpetrators were the
+men of General A.J. Smith's command from Sherman's army. Educated at
+West Point, this General Smith had long served in the regular army of
+the United States, and his men were from the West, whose brave sons
+might well afford kindness to women and babes. A key to their conduct
+can be found in the "Memoirs" of General W.T. Sherman, the commander who
+formed them, and whose views are best expressed in his own words.
+
+The city of Atlanta, from which the Confederates had withdrawn, was
+occupied by Slocum's corps of Sherman's army on the 2d of September,
+1864. In vol. ii. of his "Memoirs," page 111, General Sherman says: "I
+was resolved to make Atlanta a pure military garrison or depot, with no
+civil population to influence military measures. I gave notice of this
+purpose as early as the 4th of September, to General Halleck, in a
+letter concluding with these words: 'If the people raise a howl against
+my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not
+popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relations must
+stop the war.'" On pages 124-6 appears the correspondence of General
+Sherman with the mayor and councilmen of Atlanta concerning the removal
+of citizens, in which the latter write: "We petition you to reconsider
+the order requiring them to leave Atlanta. It will involve in the
+aggregate consequences appalling and heartrending. Many poor women are
+in an advanced state of pregnancy, others now having young children, and
+whose husbands for the greater part are either in the army, prisoners,
+or dead. Some say, 'I have such a one sick at my house; who will wait on
+them when I am gone?' Others say, 'What are we to do? we have no house
+to go to, and no means to buy, build, or rent any; no parents,
+relatives, or friends to go to.' This being so, how is it possible for
+the people still here, mostly women and children, to find shelter? And
+how can they live through the winter in the woods?" To this General
+Sherman replies: "I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a
+petition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabitants from Atlanta.
+I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of the
+distress that will be occasioned, and yet shall not revoke my orders,
+because _they were not intended to meet the humanities of the case_. You
+might as well appeal against the thunderstorm as against these terrible
+hardships of war. They are inevitable; and the only way the people of
+Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home is to stop
+the war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error and
+is perpetuated in pride." Again, on page 152 is Sherman's telegram to
+General Grant: "Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us to
+occupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people
+will cripple their military resources. I can make this march, and make
+Georgia howl." It could hardly be expected that troops trained by this
+commander would respect _the humanities_.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+Prostrated by two years of constant devotion to work--work so severe,
+stern, and exacting as to have prevented me from giving the slightest
+attention to my family, even when heavily afflicted--and persuaded that
+under existing administration nothing would be accomplished in the
+"Trans-Mississippi Department," a month after the close of the Red River
+campaign I applied for relief from duty. After several applications this
+was granted, and with my wife and two surviving children I retired to
+the old Spanish-French town of Natchitoches. The inhabitants, though
+impoverished by the war, had a comfortable house ready for my family, to
+which they invited me, with all the warmth of Southern hearts and all
+the good taste of the Latin race. Here I remained for several weeks,
+when information of my promotion to lieutenant-general came from
+Richmond, with orders to report for duty on the east side of the
+Mississippi. The officers of my staff, who had long served with me,
+desired and were permitted to accompany me, with the exception of Brent,
+now colonel of artillery, who could not be spared. Colonel Brent
+remained in west Louisiana until the close of the war, attaining the
+rank of brigadier. Of his merit and services I have already written.
+
+The Red River campaign of 1864 was the last Federal campaign undertaken
+for political objects, or intrusted to political generals. Experience
+taught the Washington Government that its enormous resources must be
+concentrated, and henceforth unity of purpose and action prevailed.
+Posts on the Mississippi between Memphis and New Orleans were
+strengthened, intervening spaces closely guarded by numerous gunboats,
+and parties thrown ashore to destroy all boats that could be found.
+Though individuals, with precaution, could cross the great river, it was
+almost impossible to take over organized bodies of troops or supplies,
+and the Confederates on the west were isolated. The Federal Government
+now directed its energies against Richmond and Atlanta.
+
+Upon what foundations the civil authorities of the Confederacy rested
+their hopes of success, after the campaign of 1864 fully opened, I am
+unable to say; but their commanders in the field, whose rank and
+position enabled them to estimate the situation, fought simply to afford
+statesmanship an opportunity to mitigate the sorrows of inevitable
+defeat.
+
+A grand old oak, on the east bank of the Black River, the lower Washita,
+protected my couch; and in the morning, with two guides, the faithful
+Tom following, I threaded my way through swamp and jungle to the
+Mississippi, which was reached at sunset. A light canoe was concealed
+some distance from the river bank, and after the short twilight faded
+into night this was borne on the shoulders of the guides, and launched.
+One of the guides embarked to paddle, and Tom and I followed, each
+leading a horse. A gunboat was lying in the river a short distance
+below, and even the horses seemed to understand the importance of
+silence, swimming quietly alongside of our frail craft. The eastern
+shore reached, we stopped for a time to rub and rest the cattle,
+exhausted by long-continued exertion in the water; then pushed on to
+Woodville, some five and twenty miles east. This, the chief town of
+Wilkison county, Mississippi, was in telegraphic communication with
+Richmond, and I reported my arrival to the war office. An answer came,
+directing me to take command of the department of Alabama, Mississippi,
+etc., with the information that President Davis would shortly leave
+Richmond to meet me at Montgomery, Alabama. While awaiting telegram, I
+learned of the fall of Atlanta and the forts at the entrance of Mobile
+Bay. My predecessor in the department to the command of which
+telegraphic orders had just assigned me was General Bishop Polk, to whom
+I accord all his titles; for in him, after a sleep of several
+centuries, was awakened the church militant. Before he joined Johnston
+in northern Georgia, Polk's headquarters were at Meridian, near the
+eastern boundary of Mississippi, where the Mobile and Ohio Railway,
+running north, is crossed by the Vicksburg, Jackson, and Selma line,
+running east. To this point I at once proceeded, _via_ Jackson, more
+than a hundred miles northeast of Woodville. Grierson's and other
+"raids," in the past summer, had broken the New Orleans and Jackson
+Railway, so that I rode the distance to the latter place. It was in
+September, and the fierce heat was trying to man and beast. The open
+pine forests of southern Mississippi obstruct the breeze, while
+affording no protection from the sun, whose rays are intensified by
+reflection from the white, sandy soil. Jackson reached, I stopped for an
+hour to see the Governor of Mississippi, Clarke, an old acquaintance,
+and give instructions to Brigadier Wirt Adams, the local commander; then
+took rail to Meridian, eighty miles, where I found the records of the
+department left by General Polk, as well as several officers of the
+general staff. These gentlemen had nothing especial to do, and appeared
+to be discharging that duty conscientiously; but they were zealous and
+intelligent, and speedily enabled me to judge of the situation.
+Major-General Maury, in immediate command at Mobile, and the senior
+officer in the department before my arrival, had ordered General Forrest
+with his cavalry to Mobile in anticipation of an attack. Forrest himself
+was expected to pass through Meridian that evening, _en route_ for
+Mobile.
+
+Just from the Mississippi river, where facilities for obtaining
+information from New Orleans were greater than at Mobile, I was
+confident that the enemy contemplated no immediate attack on the latter
+place. Accordingly, General Maury was informed by telegraph of my
+presence, that I assumed command of the department, and would arrest
+Forrest's movement. An hour later a train from the north, bringing
+Forrest in advance of his troops, reached Meridian, and was stopped; and
+the General, whom I had never seen, came to report. He was a tall,
+stalwart man, with grayish hair, mild countenance, and slow and homely
+of speech. In few words he was informed that I considered Mobile safe
+for the present, and that all our energies must be directed to the
+relief of Hood's army, then west of Atlanta. The only way to accomplish
+this was to worry Sherman's communications north of the Tennessee river,
+and he must move his cavalry in that direction at the earliest moment.
+
+To my surprise, Forrest suggested many difficulties and asked numerous
+questions: how he was to get over the Tennessee; how he was to get back
+if pressed by the enemy; how he was to be supplied; what should be his
+line of retreat in certain contingencies; what he was to do with
+prisoners if any were taken, etc. I began to think he had no stomach for
+the work; but at last, having isolated the chances of success from
+causes of failure with the care of a chemist experimenting in his
+laboratory, he rose and asked for Fleming, the superintendent of the
+railway, who was on the train by which he had come. Fleming appeared--a
+little man on crutches (he had recently broken a leg), but with the
+energy of a giant--and at once stated what he could do in the way of
+moving supplies on his line, which had been repaired up to the Tennessee
+boundary. Forrest's whole manner now changed. In a dozen sharp sentences
+he told his wants, said he would leave a staff officer to bring up his
+supplies, asked for an engine to take him back north twenty miles to
+meet his troops, informed me he would march with the dawn, and hoped to
+give an account of himself in Tennessee.
+
+Moving with great rapidity, he crossed the Tennessee river, captured
+stockades with their garrisons, burned bridges, destroyed railways,
+reached the Cumberland River below Nashville, drove away gunboats,
+captured and destroyed several transports with immense stores, and
+spread alarm over a wide region. The enemy concentrated on him from all
+directions, but he eluded or defeated their several columns, recrossed
+the Tennessee, and brought off fifteen hundred prisoners and much spoil.
+Like Clive, Nature made him a great soldier; and he was without the
+former's advantages. Limited as was Clive's education, he was a person
+of erudition compared with Forrest, who read with difficulty. In the
+last weeks of the war he was much with me, and told me the story of his
+life. His father, a poor trader in negroes and mules, died when he was
+fifteen years of age, leaving a widow and several younger children
+dependent on him for support. To add to his burden, a posthumous infant
+was born some weeks after the father's death. Continuing the paternal
+occupations in a small way, he continued to maintain the family and give
+some education to the younger children. His character for truth,
+honesty, and energy was recognized, and he gradually achieved
+independence and aided his brethren to start in life. Such was his short
+story up to the war.
+
+Some months before the time of our first meeting, with two thousand men
+he defeated the Federal General Sturgis, who had five times his force,
+at Tishimingo; and he repeated his success at Okalona, where his
+opponent, General Smith, had even greater odds against him. The battle
+of Okalona was fought on an open plain, and Forrest had no advantage of
+position to compensate for great inferiority of numbers; but it is
+remarkable that he employed the tactics of Frederick at Leuthen and
+Zorndorf, though he had never heard these names. Indeed, his tactics
+deserve the closest study of military men. Asked after the war to what
+he attributed his success in so many actions, he replied: "Well, I _got
+there first with the most men_." Jomini could not have stated the key to
+the art of war more concisely. I doubt if any commander since the days
+of lion-hearted Richard has killed as many enemies with his own hand as
+Forrest. His word of command as he led the charge was unique: "Forward,
+men, and _mix_ with 'em!" But, while cutting down many a foe with
+long-reaching, nervous arm, his keen eye watched the whole fight and
+guided him to the weak spot. Yet he was a tender-hearted, kindly man.
+The accusations of his enemies that he murdered prisoners at Fort Pillow
+and elsewhere are absolutely false. The prisoners captured on his
+expedition into Tennessee, of which I have just written, were negroes,
+and he carefully looked after their wants himself, though in rapid
+movement and fighting much of the time. These negroes told me of Mass
+Forrest's kindness to them. After the war I frequently met General
+Forrest, and received many evidences of attachment from him. He has
+passed away within a month, to the regret of all who knew him. In the
+States of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, to generations yet
+unborn, his name will be a "household word."
+
+Having devoted several hours at Meridian to the work mentioned, I took
+rail for Mobile, a hundred and forty miles. This town of thirty thousand
+inhabitants is situated on the west bank of the Alabama (here called
+Mobile) River, near its entrance into Mobile Bay, which is
+five-and-twenty miles long by ten broad. A month before my arrival
+Admiral Farragut had captured Fort Morgan at the eastern mouth of the
+bay, after defeating the Confederate fleet under Admiral Buchanan, who
+was severely wounded in the action. Two or three of Buchanan's vessels
+had escaped, and were in charge of Commodore Farrand near Mobile. The
+shallow waters of the bay were thickly planted with torpedoes, and many
+heavy guns were mounted near the town, making it safe in front. Mobile
+had excellent communications with the interior. The Alabama, Tombigby,
+and Black Warrior Rivers afforded steam navigation to central Alabama
+and eastern Mississippi, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway reached the
+northern limit of the latter State. Supplies from the fertile
+"cane-brake" region of Alabama and the prairies of eastern Mississippi
+were abundant. Before they abandoned Pensacola, the Confederates had
+taken up fifty miles of rails from the Pensacola and Montgomery line,
+and used them to make a connection between the latter place and
+Blakeley, at the eastern head of the bay, opposite Mobile. From the
+known dispositions of the Federal forces, I did not think it probable
+that any serious attempt on Mobile would be made until spring. Already
+in possession of Fort Morgan and Pensacola, thirty miles east of the
+first, and the best harbor on the Gulf, the enemy, when he attacked,
+would doubtless make these places his base. It was important, then, to
+look to defensive works on the east side of the bay, and such works were
+vigorously pushed at Blakeley, above mentioned, and at Spanish Fort,
+several miles south. I had no intention of standing a siege in Mobile,
+but desired to hold the place with a small force, so as to compel the
+employment of an army to reduce it; and for this its situation was
+admirably adapted. The Mobile River, forty miles long, and formed by the
+Alabama and Tombigby, is but the estuary at the head of Mobile Bay,
+silted up with detritus by the entering streams. Several miles wide, it
+incloses numerous marshy islands in its many channels. These features
+make its passage difficult, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway, trending
+to the west as it leaves the town to gain the high land above the
+valley, affords a ready means for the withdrawal of a limited force.
+
+The officer commanding at Mobile was well qualified for his task.
+Major-General D.H. Maury, nephew to the distinguished Matthew Maury,
+formerly of the United States navy, graduated from West Point in time to
+serve in the war with Mexico, where he was wounded. A Virginian, he
+resigned from the United States cavalry to share the fortunes of his
+State. Intelligent, upright, and devoted to duty, he gained the respect
+and confidence of the townspeople, and was thereby enabled to supplement
+his regular force of eight thousand of all arms with a body of local
+militia. It was a great comfort to find an able officer in this
+responsible position, who not only adopted my plans, but improved and
+executed them. General Maury had some excellent officers under him, and
+the sequel will show how well they discharged their duty to the end.
+
+From Mobile to Meridian, and after some days to Selma, ninety miles
+east. The railway between these last places had been recently laid down,
+and was very imperfect. There was no bridge over the Tombigby at
+Demopolis, and a steam ferry was employed. East of Demopolis, the line
+passed through the cane-brake country, a land of fatness. The army of
+Lee, starving in the trenches before Richmond and Petersburg, could have
+been liberally supplied from this district but for lack of
+transportation.
+
+Here it may be asserted that we suffered less from inferiority of
+numbers than from want of mechanical resources. Most of the mechanics
+employed in the South were Northern men, and returned to their section
+at the outbreak of war. The loss of New Orleans, our only large city,
+aggravated this trouble, and we had no means of repairing the long lines
+of railway, nor the plant. Even when unbroken by raids, wear and tear
+rendered them inefficient at an early period of the struggle. This had a
+more direct influence on the sudden downfall of the Confederacy than is
+generally supposed.
+
+Selma, a place of some five thousand people, is on the north bank of the
+Alabama River, by which it has steam communication with Mobile and
+Montgomery, forty miles above on the opposite bank. In addition to the
+railway from Meridian, there was a line running to the northeast in the
+direction of Dalton, Georgia, the existing terminus of which was at Blue
+Mountain, a hundred and odd miles from Selma; and, to inspect the line,
+I went to Blue Mountain. This, the southern limit of the Alleghanies,
+which here sink into the great plain of the gulf, was distant from the
+Atlanta and Chattanooga Railway, Sherman's only line of communication,
+sixty miles. A force operating from Blue Mountain would approach this
+line at a right angle, and, drawing its supplies from the fertile
+country near Selma, would cover its own communications while threatening
+those of an enemy from Atlanta to Chattanooga. On this account the road
+might be of importance.
+
+Returning to Selma, I stopped at Talladega, on the east bank of the
+Coosa River, the largest affluent of the Alabama, and navigable by small
+steamers to Rome, Georgia. Here I met Brigadier Daniel Adams, in local
+command, and learned much of the condition of the surrounding region.
+After passing Chattanooga the Tennessee River makes a great bend to the
+South, inclosing a part of Alabama between itself and the Tennessee
+State line; and in this district was a small Confederate force under
+Brigadier Roddy, which was enabled to maintain an exposed position by
+knowledge of the country. General Adams thought he could procure wire
+enough to establish communication with Roddy, or materially shorten the
+courier line between them; and, as this would duplicate my means of
+getting news, especially of Forrest, he was directed to do so. I had no
+knowledge of Hood's plans or condition, saving that he had been defeated
+and was southwest of Atlanta; but if he contemplated operations on
+Sherman's communications, which was his true policy, he must draw
+supplies from Selma, as much of the country between the Tennessee and
+Alabama Rivers was sterile and sparsely populated. Accordingly, I moved
+my headquarters to Selma and ordered the collection of supplies there,
+and at Talladega; then took steamer for Montgomery, to meet the General
+Assembly of Alabama, called in extra session in view of the crisis
+produced by Hood's defeat and the fall of Atlanta. Just as the steamer
+was leaving Selma, I received dispatches from Forrest, announcing his
+first success after crossing the Tennessee river. Traveling alone, or
+with one staff officer, and unknown to the people, I had opportunities
+of learning something of the real state of public sentiment in my new
+department. Citizens were universally depressed and disheartened. Sick
+and wounded officers and men from Hood's army were dissatisfied with the
+removal of Johnston from command, and the subsequent conduct of affairs.
+From conversations in railway carriages and on river steamers I had
+gathered this, and nothing but this, since my arrival.
+
+Reaching Montgomery in the morning, I had interviews with the Governor
+and leading members of the Assembly, who promised all the assistance in
+their power to aid in the defense of the State. The Governor, Watts, who
+had resigned the office of Attorney-General of the Confederacy to accept
+his present position, was ever ready to cooeperate with me.
+
+Late in the afternoon a dispatch was received from President Davis,
+announcing his arrival for the following morning. He came, was received
+by the State authorities, visited the Capitol, addressed the Assembly,
+and then received leading citizens; all of which consumed the day, and
+it was ten o'clock at night when he took me to his chamber, locked the
+door, and said we must devote the night to work, as it was imperative
+for him to return to Richmond the next morning. He began by saying that
+he had visited Hood and his army on his way to Montgomery, and was
+gratified to find officers and men in excellent spirits, not at all
+depressed by recent disasters, and that he thought well of a movement
+north toward Nashville. I expressed surprise at his statement of the
+condition of Hood's army, as entirely opposed to the conclusions forced
+on me by all the evidence I could get, and warned him of the danger of
+listening to narrators who were more disposed to tell what was agreeable
+than what was true. He readily admitted that persons in his position
+were exposed to this danger. Proceeding to discuss the suggested
+movement toward Nashville, I thought it a serious matter to undertake a
+campaign into Tennessee in the autumn, with troops so badly equipped as
+were ours for the approaching winter. Every mile the army marched north,
+it was removing farther from supplies, and no reenforcements were to be
+hoped for from any quarter. Besides, Sherman could control force enough
+to garrison Chattanooga and Nashville, and, if time were allowed him to
+accumulate supplies at Atlanta by his one line of rail, could abandon
+everything south of Chattanooga, and with fifty thousand men, in the
+absence of Hood's army, march where he liked. The President asked what
+assistance might be expected from the trans-Mississippi. I replied,
+none. There would not be another gun fired there; for the Federals had
+withdrawn their troops to concentrate east of the river. The difficulty
+of bringing over organized bodies of men was explained, with the
+addition of their unwillingness to come. The idea prevailed that the
+States west of the Mississippi had been neglected by the Government, and
+this idea had been encouraged by many in authority. So far from desiring
+to send any more men to the east, they clamored for the return of those
+already there. Certain senators and representatives, who had bitterly
+opposed the administration at Richmond, talked much wild nonsense about
+setting up a government west of the Mississippi, uniting with
+Maximilian, and calling on Louis Napoleon for assistance. The President
+listened attentively to this, and asked, "What then?" I informed him of
+the work Forrest was doing, pointed out the advantages of Blue Mountain
+as a base from which to operate, and suggested that Hood's army be
+thrown on Sherman's line of railway, north of Atlanta. As Johnston had
+been so recently removed from command, I would not venture to recommend
+his return, but believed that our chances would be increased by the
+assignment of Beauregard to the army. He still retained some of the
+early popularity gained at Sumter and Manassas, and would awaken a
+certain enthusiasm. Apprehending no immediate danger for Mobile, I would
+strip the place of everything except gunners and join Beauregard with
+four thousand good troops. Even the smallest reenforcement is
+inspiriting to a defeated army, and by seizing his railway we would
+force Sherman to battle. Granting we would be whipped, we could fall
+back to Blue Mountain without danger of pursuit, as the enemy was
+chained to his line of supply, and we certainly ought to make the fight
+hot enough to cripple him for a time and delay his projected movements.
+At the same time, I did not disguise my conviction that the best we
+could hope for was to protract the struggle until spring. It was for
+statesmen, not soldiers, to deal with the future.
+
+The President said Beauregard should come, and, after consultation with
+Hood and myself, decide the movements of the army; but that he was
+distressed to hear such gloomy sentiments from me. I replied that it was
+my duty to express my opinions frankly to him, when he asked for them,
+though there would be impropriety in giving utterance to them before
+others; but I did not admit the gloom. In fact, I had cut into this game
+with eyes wide open, and felt that in staking life, fortune, and the
+future of my children, the chances were against success. It was not for
+me, then, to whimper when the cards were bad; that was the right of
+those who were convinced there would be no war, or at most a holiday
+affair, in which everybody could display heroism. With much other talk
+we wore through the night. In the morning he left, as he purposed, and I
+returned to Selma. My next meeting with President Davis was at Fortress
+Monroe, under circumstances to be related.
+
+Some days at Selma were devoted to accumulation of supplies, and General
+Maury was advised that he must be prepared to forward a part of his
+command to that place, when a message from Beauregard informed me that
+he was on the way to Blue Mountain and desired to meet me there. He had
+not seen Hood, whose army, after an ineffectual attack on Altoona, had
+left Sherman's line of communication, moved westward, and was now some
+fifteen miles to the north of Blue Mountain. Having told me this,
+Beauregard explained the orders under which he was acting. To my
+disappointment, he had not been expressly assigned to command Hood's
+army, but to the general direction of affairs in the southwest. General
+Maury, a capable officer, was at Mobile; Forrest, with his cavalry
+division, I had sent into Tennessee; and a few scattered men were
+watching the enemy in various quarters--all together hardly constituting
+a command for a lieutenant-general, my rank. Unless Beauregard took
+charge of Hood's army, there was nothing for him to do except to command
+me. Here was a repetition of 1863. Then Johnston was sent with a roving
+commission to command Bragg in Tennessee, Pemberton in Mississippi, and
+others in sundry places. The result was that he commanded nobody, and,
+when Pemberton was shut up in Vicksburg, found himself helpless, with a
+handful of troops, at Jackson. To give an officer discretion to remove
+another from command of an army in the field is to throw upon him the
+responsibility of doing it, and this should be assumed by the
+government, not left to an individual.
+
+However, I urged on Beauregard the considerations mentioned in my
+interview with President Davis, that Sherman had detached to look after
+Forrest, was compelled to keep garrisons at many points from Atlanta to
+Nashville, and, if forced to action fifty or sixty miles north of the
+former place, would be weaker then than we could hope to find him later,
+after he had accumulated supplies. I mentioned the little reenforcement
+we could have at once from Mobile, my readiness to take any command,
+division, brigade, or regiment to which he might assign me, and, above
+all, the necessity of prompt action. There were two persons present,
+Colonel Brent, of Beauregard's staff, and Mr. Charles Villere, a member
+of the Confederate Congress from Louisiana. The former said all that was
+proper for a staff officer in favor of my views; the latter,
+Beauregard's brother-in-law, warmly urged their adoption. The General
+ordered his horse, to visit Hood, and told me to await intelligence
+from him. On his return from Hood, he informed me that the army was
+moving to the northwest, and would cross the Tennessee river near the
+Muscle Shoals. As this plan of campaign had met the sanction of
+President Davis, and Hood felt confident of success, he declined to
+interfere. I could not blame Beauregard; for it was putting a cruel
+responsibility on him to supersede a gallant veteran, to whom fortune
+had been adverse. There was nothing to be said and nothing to be done,
+saving to discharge one's duty to the bitter end. Hood's line of march
+would bring him within reach of the Mobile and Ohio Railway in northern
+Mississippi, and supplies could be sent him by that road. Selma ceased
+to be of importance, and my quarters were returned to Meridian. Forrest,
+just back from Tennessee, was advised of Hood's purposes and ordered to
+cooeperate. Maury was made happy by the information that he would lose
+none of his force, and the usual routine of inspections, papers, etc.,
+occupied the ensuing weeks.
+
+My attention was called about this time to the existence of a
+wide-spread evil. A practice had grown up of appointing provost-marshals
+to take private property for public use, and every little post commander
+exercised the power to appoint such officials. The land swarmed with
+these vermin, appointed without due authority, or self-constituted, who
+robbed the people of horses, mules, cattle, corn, and meat. The wretched
+peasants of the middle ages could not have suffered more from the "free
+companies" turned loose upon them. Loud complaints came up from State
+governors and from hundreds of good citizens. I published an order,
+informing the people that their property was not to be touched unless by
+authority given by me and in accordance with the forms of law, and they
+were requested to deal with all violators of the order as with
+highwaymen. This put an end to the tyranny, which had been long and
+universally submitted to.
+
+The readiness of submission to power displayed by the American people in
+the war was astonishing. Our British forefathers transmitted to us
+respect for law and love of liberty founded upon it; but the influence
+of universal suffrage seemed to have destroyed all sense of personal
+manhood, all conception of individual rights. It may be said of the
+South, that its people submitted to wrong because they were engaged in a
+fierce struggle with superior force; but what of the North, whose people
+were fighting for conquest? Thousands were opposed to the war, and
+hundreds of thousands to its conduct and objects. The wonderful vote
+received by McClellan in 1864 showed the vast numbers of the Northern
+minority; yet, so far from modifying in the smallest degree the will and
+conduct of the majority, this multitude of men dared not give utterance
+to their real sentiments; and the same was true of the South at the time
+of secession. Reformers who have tried to improve the morals of
+humanity, discoverers who have striven to alleviate its physical
+conditions, have suffered martyrdom at its hands. Years upon years have
+been found necessary to induce the masses to consider, much less adopt,
+schemes for their own advantage. A government of numbers, then, is not
+one of virtue or intelligence, but of force, intangible, irresistible,
+irresponsible--resembling that of Caesar depicted by the great historian,
+which, covering the earth as a pall, reduced all to a common level of
+abject servitude. For many years scarce a descendant of the colonial
+gentry in the Eastern States has been elected to public office. To-day
+they have no existence even as a social force and example. Under the
+baleful influence of negro suffrage it is impossible to foretell the
+destiny of the South. Small wonder that pure democracies have ever
+proved ready to exchange "Demos" for some other tyrant.
+
+Occasional visits for inspection were made to Mobile, where Maury was
+strengthening his defenses. On the east side of the bay, Blakeley and
+Spanish Fort were progressing steadily, as I held that the enemy would
+attack there, tempted by his possession of Pensacola and Fort Morgan.
+Although this opinion was justified in the end, hope may have had some
+influence in its formation; for we could meet attack from that quarter
+better than from the west, which, indeed, would have speedily driven us
+from the place. The loss of the Mobile and Ohio railway would have
+necessitated the withdrawal of the garrison across the bay, a difficult
+operation, if pressed by superior force.
+
+The Confederate Congress had enacted that negro troops, captured, should
+be restored to their owners. We had several hundreds of such, taken by
+Forrest in Tennessee, whose owners could not be reached; and they were
+put to work on the fortifications at Mobile, rather for the purpose of
+giving them healthy employment than for the value of the work. I made it
+a point to visit their camps and inspect the quantity and quality of
+their food, always found to be satisfactory. On one occasion, while so
+engaged, a fine-looking negro, who seemed to be leader among his
+comrades, approached me and said: "Thank you, Massa General, they give
+us plenty of good victuals; but how you like our work?" I replied that
+they had worked very well. "If you will give us guns we will fight for
+these works, too. We would rather fight for our own white folks than for
+strangers." And, doubtless, this was true. In their dealings with the
+negro the white men of the South should ever remember that no instance
+of outrage occurred during the war. Their wives and little ones remained
+safe at home, surrounded by thousands of faithful slaves, who worked
+quietly in the fields until removed by the Federals. This is the highest
+testimony to the kindness of the master and the gentleness of the
+servant; and all the dramatic talent prostituted to the dissemination of
+falsehood in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and similar productions can not rebut
+it.
+
+About the middle of November I received from General Lee, now commanding
+the armies of the Confederacy, instructions to visit Macon and Savannah,
+Georgia, if I could leave my department, and report to him the condition
+of affairs in that quarter, and the probabilities of Sherman's
+movements, as the latter had left Atlanta. I proceeded at once, taking
+rail at Montgomery, and reached Macon, _via_ Columbus, Georgia, at dawn.
+It was the bitterest weather I remember in this latitude. The ground was
+frozen and some snow was falling. General Howell Cobb, the local
+commander, met me at the station and took me to his house, which was
+also his office. Arrived there, horses appeared, and Cobb said he
+supposed that I would desire to ride out and inspect the fortifications,
+on which he had been at work all night, as the enemy was twelve miles
+north of Macon at noon of the preceding day. I asked what force he had
+to defend the place. He stated the number, which was utterly inadequate,
+and composed of raw conscripts. Whereupon I declined to look at the
+fortifications, and requested him to order work upon them to be stopped,
+so that his men could get by a fire, as I then was and intended to
+remain. I had observed a movement of stores in passing the railway
+station, and now expressed the opinion that Macon was the safest place
+in Georgia, and advised Cobb to keep his stores. Here entered General
+Mackall, one of Cobb's subordinates, who was personally in charge of the
+defensive works, and could not credit the order he had received to stop.
+Cobb referred him to me, and I said: "The enemy was but twelve miles
+from you at noon of yesterday. Had he intended coming to Macon, you
+would have seen him last evening, before you had time to strengthen
+works or remove stores." This greatly comforted Cobb, who up to that
+moment held me to be a lunatic. Breakfast was suggested, to which I
+responded with enthusiasm, having been on short commons for many hours.
+While we were enjoying the meal, intelligence was brought that the enemy
+had disappeared from the north of Macon and marched eastward. Cobb was
+delighted. He pronounced me to be the wisest of generals, and said he
+knew nothing of military affairs, but had entered the service from a
+sense of duty.
+
+Cobb had been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and
+Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Buchanan.
+Beloved and respected in his State, he had been sent to Georgia to
+counteract the influence of Governor Joe Brown, who, carrying out the
+doctrine of State rights, had placed himself in opposition to President
+Davis. Cobb, with his conscripts, had been near Atlanta before Sherman
+moved out, and gave me a laughable account of the expeditious manner in
+which he and "his little party" got to Macon, just as he was inditing a
+superb dispatch to General Lee to inform him of the impossibility of
+Sherman's escape.
+
+While we were conversing Governor Brown was announced, as arrived from
+Milledgeville, the State capital, forty miles to the northeast. Cobb
+remarked that it was awkward; for Governor Brown was the only man in
+Georgia to whom he did not speak. But he yielded to the ancient jest,
+that for the time being we had best hang together, as there seemed a
+possibility of enjoying that amusement separately, and brought the
+Governor in, who told me that he had escaped from Milledgeville as the
+Federals entered. People said that he had brought off his cow and his
+cabbages, and left the State's property to take care of itself. However,
+Governor Brown deserves praise at my hands, for he promptly acceded to
+all my requests. With him were General Robert Toombs, the most original
+of men, and General G.W. Smith, both of whom had been in the Confederate
+army. Toombs had resigned to take the place of Adjutant-General of
+Georgia; Smith, to superintend some iron works, from which he had been
+driven by Sherman's movements, and was now in command of Governor
+Brown's "army," composed of men that he had refused to the Confederate
+service. This "army" had some hours before marched east toward Savannah,
+taking the direct route along the railway. I told the Governor that his
+men would be captured unless they were called back at once; and Smith,
+who undertook the duty in person, was just in time. "Joe Brown's army"
+struck the extreme right of Sherman, and suffered some loss before Smith
+could extricate it. To Albany, ninety miles south of Macon, there was a
+railway, and some forty miles farther south, across the country,
+Thomasville was reached. Here was the terminus of the Savannah and Gulf
+Railway, two hundred miles, or thereabouts, southwest of Savannah. This
+route I decided to take, and suggested it to the Governor as the only
+safe one for his troops. He acquiesced at once, and Toombs promised to
+have transportation ready by the time Smith returned. Taking leave of
+Cobb, I departed.
+
+Several years after the close of the war General Cobb and I happened to
+be in New York, accompanied by our families, but stopping at different
+inns. He dined with me, seemed in excellent health and spirits, and
+remained to a late hour, talking over former times and scenes. I walked
+to his lodgings with him, and promised to call with my wife on Mrs. Cobb
+the following day at 1 o'clock. We were there at the hour, when the
+servant, in answer to my request to take up our cards, stated that
+General Cobb had just fallen dead. I sprang up the stair, and saw his
+body lying on the floor of a room, his wife, dazed by the shock, looking
+on. A few minutes before he had written a letter and started for the
+office of the inn to post it, remarking to his wife that he would return
+immediately, as he expected our visit. A step from the threshold, and he
+was dead. Thus suddenly passed away one of the most genial and generous
+men I have known. His great fortune suffered much by the war, but to the
+last he shared its remains with less fortunate friends.
+
+Traveling all night, I reached Thomasville in the early morning, and
+found that there was telegraphic communication with General Hardee at
+Savannah, whom I informed of my presence and requested to send down
+transportation for Governor Brown's troops. There was much delay at
+Thomasville, the railway people appearing to think that Sherman was
+swarming all over Georgia. At length I discovered an engine and a
+freight van, which the officials promised to get ready for me; but they
+were dreadfully slow, until Toombs rode into town and speedily woke them
+up. Smith returned to Macon after my departure, found transportation
+ready for his men, brought them to Albany by rail, and was now marching
+to Thomasville. Toombs, who had ridden on in advance, was not satisfied
+with Hardee's reply to my dispatch, but took possession of the telegraph
+and threatened dire vengeance on superintendents and road masters if
+they failed to have the necessary engines and carriages ready in time.
+He damned the dawdling creatures who had delayed me to such an extent as
+to make them energetic, and my engine appeared, puffing with anxiety to
+move. He assured me that he would not be many hours after me at
+Savannah, for Smith did not intend to halt on the road, as his men could
+rest in the carriages. A man of extraordinary energy, this same Toombs.
+
+Savannah was reached about midnight, and Hardee was awaiting me. A short
+conversation cleared the situation and enabled me to send the following
+report to General Lee. Augusta, Georgia, held by General Bragg with a
+limited force, was no longer threatened, as the enemy had passed south
+of it. Sherman, with sixty or seventy thousand men, was moving on the
+high ground between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers; and as this
+afforded a dry, sandy road direct to Savannah, where he would most
+readily meet the Federal fleet, it was probable that he would adhere to
+it. He might cross the Savannah river forty or fifty miles above and
+march on Charleston, but this was hardly to be expected; for, in
+addition to the river named, there were several others and a difficult
+country to pass before Charleston could be reached, and his desire to
+communicate with the fleet by the nearest route and in the shortest time
+must be considered. Hardee's force was inadequate to the defense of
+Savannah, and he should prepare to abandon the place before he was shut
+up. Uniting, Bragg and Hardee should call in the garrison from
+Charleston, and all scattered forces along the coast south of
+Wilmington, North Carolina, and be prepared to resist Sherman's march
+through the Carolinas, which he must be expected to undertake as soon as
+he had established a base on the ocean. Before this report was
+dispatched, Hardee read and approved it.
+
+Meanwhile scores of absurd rumors about the enemy came in. Places I had
+passed within an hour were threatened by heavy columns; others, from
+which the enemy was distant a hundred miles, were occupied, etc. But one
+of importance did come. The railway from Savannah to Charleston passes
+near the coast. The officer commanding at Pocotaligo, midway of the two
+places, reported an advance of the enemy from Port Royal, and that he
+must abandon his post the following morning unless reenforced. To lose
+the Charleston line would seriously interfere with the concentration
+just recommended. Hardee said that he could ill spare men, and had no
+means of moving them promptly. I bethought me of Toombs, Smith, and
+Governor Brown's "army." The energetic Toombs had frightened the railway
+people into moving him, and, from his telegrams, might be expected
+before dawn. Hardee thought but little of the suggestion, because the
+ground of quarrel between Governor Brown and President Davis was the
+refusal of the former to allow his guards to serve beyond their state.
+However, I had faith in Toombs and Smith. A short distance to the south
+of Savannah, on the Gulf road, was a switch by which carriages could be
+shunted on to a connection with the Charleston line. I wrote to Toombs
+of the emergency, and sent one of Hardee's staff to meet him at the
+switch. The governor's army was quietly shunted off and woke up at
+Pocotaligo in South Carolina, where it was just in time to repulse the
+enemy after a spirited little action, thereby saving the railway.
+Doubtless the Georgians, a plucky people, would have responded to an
+appeal to leave their State under the circumstances, but Toombs enjoyed
+the joke of making them unconscious patriots.
+
+In the past autumn Cassius Clay of Kentucky killed a colored man who had
+attacked him. For more than thirty years Mr. Clay had advocated the
+abolition of slavery, and at the risk of his life. Dining with Toombs in
+New York just after the event, he said to me: "Seen the story about old
+Cassius Clay? Been an abolitionist all his days, and ends by shooting a
+nigger. I knew he would." A droll fellow is Robert Toombs. Full of
+talent and well instructed, he affects quaint and provincial forms of
+speech. His influence in Georgia is great, and he is a man to know.
+
+Two days at Savannah served to accomplish the object of my mission, and,
+taking leave of Hardee, I returned to my own department. An educated
+soldier of large experience, Hardee was among the best of our
+subordinate generals, and, indeed, seemed to possess the requisite
+qualities for supreme command; but this he steadily refused, alleging
+his unfitness for responsibility. Such modesty is not a common American
+weakness, and deserves to be recorded. General Hardee's death occurred
+after the close of the war.
+
+In this journey through Georgia, at Andersonville, I passed in sight of
+a large stockade inclosing prisoners of war. The train stopped for a few
+moments, and there entered the carriage, to speak to me, a man who said
+his name was _Wirtz_, and that he was in charge of the prisoners near
+by. He complained of the inadequacy of his guard and of the want of
+supplies, as the adjacent region was sterile and thinly populated. He
+also said that the prisoners were suffering from cold, were destitute of
+blankets, and that he had not wagons to supply fuel. He showed me
+duplicates of requisitions and appeals for relief that he had made to
+different authorities, and these I indorsed in the strongest terms
+possible, hoping to accomplish some good. I know nothing of this Wirtz,
+whom I then met for the first and only time, but he appeared to be
+earnest in his desire to mitigate the condition of his prisoners. There
+can be but little doubt that his execution was a "sop" to the passions
+of the "many-headed."
+
+Returned to Meridian, the situation of Hood in Tennessee absorbed all my
+attention. He had fought at Franklin, and was now near Nashville.
+Franklin was a bloody affair, in which Hood lost many of his best
+officers and troops. The previous evening, at dusk, a Federal column,
+retreating north, passed within pistol-shot of Hood's forces, and an
+attack on it might have produced results; but it reached strong works at
+Franklin, and held them against determined assaults, until night enabled
+it to withdraw quietly to Nashville. This mistake may be ascribed to
+Hood's want of physical activity, occasioned by severe wounds and
+amputations, which might have been considered before he was assigned to
+command. Maurice of Saxe won Fontenoy in a litter, unable from disease
+to mount his horse; but in war it is hazardous to convert exceptions
+into rules.
+
+Notwithstanding his frightful loss at Franklin, Hood followed the enemy
+to Nashville, and took position south of the place, where he remained
+ten days or more. It is difficult to imagine what objects he had in
+view. The town was open to the north, whence the Federal commander,
+Thomas, was hourly receiving reenforcements, while he had none to hope
+for. His plans perfected and his reenforcements joined, Thomas moved,
+and Hood was driven off; and, had the Federal general possessed dash
+equal to his tenacity and caution, one fails to see how Hood could have
+brought man or gun across the Tennessee River. It is painful to
+criticise Hood's conduct of this campaign. Like Ney, "the bravest of the
+brave," he was a splendid leader in battle, and as a brigade or division
+commander unsurpassed; but, arrived at higher rank, he seems to have
+been impatient of control, and openly disapproved of Johnston's conduct
+of affairs between Dalton and Atlanta. Unwillingness to obey is often
+interpreted by governments into capacity for command.
+
+Reaching the southern bank of the Tennessee, Hood asked to be relieved,
+and a telegraphic order assigned me to the duty. At Tupelo, on the
+Mobile and Ohio Railway, a hundred and odd miles north of Meridian, I
+met him and the remains of his army. Within my experience were assaults
+on positions, in which heavy losses were sustained without success; but
+the field had been held--retreats, but preceded by repulse of the foe
+and followed by victory. This was my first view of a beaten army, an
+army that for four years had shown a constancy worthy of the "Ten
+Thousand"; and a painful sight it was. Many guns and small arms had been
+lost, and the ranks were depleted by thousands of prisoners and missing.
+Blankets, shoes, clothing, and accouterments were wanting. I have
+written of the unusual severity of the weather in the latter part of
+November, and it was now near January. Some men perished by frost; many
+had the extremities severely bitten. Fleming, the active superintendent
+mentioned, strained the resources of his railway to transport the troops
+to the vicinity of Meridian, where timber for shelter and fuel was
+abundant and supplies convenient; and every energy was exerted to
+reequip them.
+
+Sherman was now in possession of Savannah, but an interior line of rail
+by Columbus, Macon, and Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina,
+was open. Mobile was not immediately threatened, and was of inferior
+importance as compared with the safety of Lee's army at Petersburg.
+Unless a force could be interposed between Sherman and Lee's rear, the
+game would be over when the former moved. Accordingly, I dispatched to
+General Lee the suggestion of sending the "Army of Tennessee" to North
+Carolina, where Johnston had been restored to command. He approved, and
+directed me to send forward the men as rapidly as possible. I had long
+dismissed all thought of the future. The duty of a soldier in the field
+is simple--to fight until stopped by the civil arm of his government, or
+his government has ceased to exist; and military men have usually come
+to grief by forgetting this simple duty.
+
+Forrest had fought and worked hard in this last Tennessee campaign, and
+his division of cavalry was broken down. By brigades it was distributed
+to different points in the prairie and cane-brake regions, where forage
+could be had, and I hoped for time to restore the cattle and refit the
+command. With our limited resources of transportation, it was a slow
+business to forward troops to Johnston in North Carolina; but at length
+it was accomplished, and the month of March came round to raise the
+curtain for the last act of the bloody drama. Two clouds appeared on the
+horizon of my department. General Canby, a steady soldier, whom I had
+long known, had assumed command of all the Federal forces in the
+southwest, and was concentrating fifty thousand men at Fort Morgan and
+Pensacola against Mobile. In northern Alabama General Wilson had ten
+thousand picked mounted men ready for an expedition. At Selma was a
+foundry, where the best ordnance I have seen was made of Briarsfield
+iron, from a furnace in the vicinity; and, as this would naturally
+attract the enemy's attention to Selma, I endeavored to prepare for him.
+The Cahawba River, from the northeast, enters the Alabama below Selma,
+north of which it separates the barren mineral region from the fertile
+lands of the river basin; and at its crossing I directed Forrest to
+concentrate.
+
+Wilson, with the smallest body, would probably move first; and, once
+disposed of, Forrest could be sent south of the Alabama River to delay
+Canby and prolong the defense of Mobile. For a hundred miles north of
+the gulf the country is sterile, pine forest on a soil of white sand;
+but the northern end of the Montgomery and Pensacola Railway was in our
+possession, and would enable us to transport supplies. In a conference
+with Maury at Mobile I communicated the above to him, as I had
+previously to Forrest, and hastened to Selma. Distributed for forage,
+and still jaded by hard work, Forrest ordered his brigades to the
+Cahawba crossing, leading one in person. His whole force would have been
+inferior to Wilson's, but he was a host in himself, and a dangerous
+adversary to meet at any reasonable odds.
+
+Our information of the enemy had proved extremely accurate; but in this
+instance the Federal commander moved with unusual rapidity, and threw
+out false signals. Forrest, with one weak brigade, was in the path; but
+two of his brigadiers permitted themselves to be deceived by reports of
+the enemy's movements toward Columbus, Mississippi, and turned west,
+while another went into camp under some misconception of orders. Forrest
+fought as if the world depended on his arm, and sent to advise me of the
+deceit practiced on two of his brigades, but hoped to stop the enemy if
+he could get up the third, the absence of which he could not account
+for. I directed such railway plant as we had to be moved out on the
+roads, retaining a small yard engine to take me off at the last moment.
+There was nothing more to be done. Forrest appeared, horse and man
+covered with blood, and announced the enemy at his heels, and that I
+must move at once to escape capture. I felt anxious for him, but he said
+he was unhurt and would cut his way through, as most of his men had
+done, whom he had ordered to meet him west of the Cahawba. My engine
+started toward Meridian, and barely escaped. Before headway was attained
+the enemy was upon us, and capture seemed inevitable. Fortunately, the
+group of horsemen near prevented their comrades from firing, so we had
+only to risk a fusillade from a dozen, who fired wild. The driver and
+stoker, both negroes, were as game as possible, and as we thundered
+across Cahawba bridge, all safe, raised a loud "Yah! yah!" of triumph,
+and smiled like two sable angels. Wilson made no delay at Selma, but,
+crossing the Alabama River, pushed on to Montgomery, and thence into
+Georgia. I have never met this General Wilson, whose soldierly qualities
+are entitled to respect; for of all the Federal expeditions of which I
+have any knowledge, his was the best conducted.
+
+It would have been useless to pursue Wilson, had there been troops
+disposable, as many hundred miles intervened between him and North
+Carolina, where Johnston commanded the nearest Confederate forces, too
+remote to be affected by his movements. Canby was now before the eastern
+defenses of Mobile, and it was too late to send Forrest to that quarter.
+He was therefore directed to draw together and reorganize his division
+near Meridian.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR--SURRENDER.
+
+
+On the 26th of March Canby invested Spanish Fort, and began the siege by
+regular approaches, a part of his army investing Blakeley on the same
+day. General R.L. Gibson, now a member of Congress from Louisiana, held
+Spanish Fort with twenty-five hundred men. Fighting all day and working
+all night, Gibson successfully resisted the efforts of the immense force
+against him until the evening of April 8, when the enemy effected a
+lodgment threatening his only route of evacuation. Under instructions
+from Maury, he withdrew his garrison in the night to Mobile, excepting
+his pickets, necessarily left. Gibson's stubborn defense and skillful
+retreat make this one of the best achievements of the war. Although
+invested on the 26th of March, the siege of Blakeley was not pressed
+until April 1, when Steele's corps of Canby's army joined the original
+force before it. Here, with a garrison of twenty-eight hundred men,
+commanded General Liddell, with General Cockrell, now a Senator from
+Missouri, as his second. Every assault of the enemy, who made but little
+progress, was gallantly repulsed until the afternoon of the 9th, when,
+learning by the evacuation of Spanish Fort how small a force had delayed
+him, he concentrated on Blakeley and carried it, capturing the garrison.
+Maury intended to withdraw Liddell during the night of the 9th. It would
+have been more prudent to have done so on the night of the 8th, as the
+enemy would naturally make an energetic effort after the fall of Spanish
+Fort; but he was unwilling to yield any ground until the last moment,
+and felt confident of holding the place another day. After dismantling
+his works, Maury marched out of Mobile on the 12th of April, with
+forty-five hundred men, including three field batteries, and was
+directed to Cuba Station, near Meridian. In the interest of the thirty
+thousand non-combatants of the town, he properly notified the enemy that
+the place was open. During the movement from Mobile toward Meridian
+occurred the last engagement of the civil war, in a cavalry affair
+between the Federal advance and our rear guard under Colonel Spence.
+Commodore Farrand took his armed vessels and all the steamers in the
+harbor up the Tombigby River, above its junction with the Alabama, and
+planted torpedoes in the stream below. Forrest and Maury had about eight
+thousand men, but tried and true. Cattle were shod, wagons overhauled,
+and every preparation for rapid movement made.
+
+From the North, by wire and courier, I received early intelligence of
+passing events. Indeed, these were of a character for the enemy to
+disseminate rather than suppress. Before Maury left Mobile I had learned
+of Lee's surrender, rumors of which spreading among the troops, a number
+from the neighboring camps came to see me. I confirmed the rumor, and
+told them the astounding news, just received, of President Lincoln's
+assassination. For a time they were silent with amazement, then asked if
+it was possible that any Southern man had committed the act. There was a
+sense of relief expressed when they learned that the wretched assassin
+had no connection with the South, but was an actor, whose brains were
+addled by tragedies and Plutarch's fables.
+
+It was but right to tell these gallant, faithful men the whole truth
+concerning our situation. The surrender of Lee left us little hope of
+success; but while Johnston remained in arms we must be prepared to
+fight our way to him. Again, the President and civil authorities of our
+Government were on their way to the south, and might need our
+protection. Granting the cause for which we had fought to be lost, we
+owed it to our own manhood, to the memory of the dead, and to the honor
+of our arms, to remain steadfast to the last. This was received, not
+with noisy cheers, but solemn murmurs of approval, showing that it was
+understood and adopted. Forrest and Maury shared my opinions and
+objects, and impressed them on their men. Complete order was maintained
+throughout, and public property protected, though it was known later
+that this would be turned over to the Federal authorities. A
+considerable amount of gold was near our camps, and safely guarded; yet
+it is doubtful if our united means would have sufficed to purchase a
+breakfast.
+
+Members of the Confederate Congress from the adjoining and more western
+States came to us. These gentlemen had left Richmond very hurriedly, in
+the first days of April, and were sorely jaded by fatigue and anxiety,
+as the presence of Wilson's troops in Georgia had driven them to
+by-paths to escape capture. Arrived at a well-ordered camp, occupied by
+a formidable-looking force, they felt as storm-tossed mariners in a
+harbor of refuge, and, ignorant of recent events, as well as uncertain
+of the future, were eager for news and counsel. The struggle was
+virtually over, and the next few days, perhaps hours, would decide my
+course. In my judgment it would speedily become their duty to go to
+their respective homes. They had been the leaders of the people, had
+sought and accepted high office at their hands, and it was for them to
+teach the masses, by example and precept, how best to meet impending
+troubles. Possibly they might suffer annoyance and persecution from
+Federal power, but manhood and duty required them to incur the risk. To
+the credit of these gentlemen it should be recorded that they followed
+this advice when the time for action came. There was one exception which
+deserves mention.
+
+Ex-Governor Harris, now a United States Senator from Tennessee, occupied
+the executive chair of his State in 1862, and withdrew from Nashville
+when the army of General Sidney Johnston retreated to the Tennessee
+River in the spring of that year. By the death of President Lincoln,
+Andrew Johnson had succeeded to power, and he was from Tennessee, and
+the personal enemy of Governor Harris. The relations of their State with
+the Federal Union had been restored, and Harris's return would be
+productive of discord rather than peace. I urged him to leave the
+country for a time, and offered to aid him in crossing the Mississippi
+River; but he was very unwilling to go, and only consented after a
+matter was arranged, which I anticipate the current of events to relate.
+He had brought away from Nashville the coin of the Bank of Tennessee,
+which, as above mentioned, was now in our camp. An official of the bank
+had always been in immediate charge of this coin, but Harris felt that
+honor was involved in its safe return. At my request, General Canby
+detailed an officer and escort to take the coin to Nashville, where it
+arrived intact; but the unhappy official accompanying it was
+incarcerated for his fidelity. Had he betrayed his trust, he might have
+received rewards instead of stripes. 'Tis dangerous to be out of harmony
+with the practices of one's time.
+
+Intelligence of the Johnston-Sherman convention reached us, and Canby
+and I were requested by the officers making it to conform to its terms
+until the civil authorities acted. A meeting was arranged to take place
+a few miles north of Mobile, where the appearance of the two parties
+contrasted the fortunes of our respective causes. Canby, who preceded me
+at the appointed spot, a house near the railway, was escorted by a
+brigade with a military band, and accompanied by many officers in "full
+fig." With one officer, Colonel William Levy, since a member of Congress
+from Louisiana, I made my appearance on a hand-car, the motive power of
+which was two negroes. Descendants of the ancient race of Abraham,
+dealers in cast-off raiment, would have scorned to bargain for our rusty
+suits of Confederate gray. General Canby met me with much urbanity. We
+retired to a room, and in a few moments agreed upon a truce, terminable
+after forty-eight hours' notice by either party. Then, rejoining the
+throng of officers, introductions and many pleasant civilities passed. I
+was happy to recognize Commodore (afterward Admiral) James Palmer, an
+old friend. He was second to Admiral Thatcher, commanding United States
+squadron in Mobile Bay, and had come to meet me. A bountiful luncheon
+was spread, of which we partook, with joyous poppings of champagne corks
+for accompaniment, the first agreeable explosive sounds I had heard for
+years. The air of "Hail Columbia," which the band in attendance struck
+up, was instantly changed by Canby's order to that of "Dixie"; but I
+insisted on the first, and expressed a hope that Columbia would be again
+a happy land, a sentiment honored by many libations.
+
+There was, as ever, a skeleton at the feast, in the person of a general
+officer who had recently left Germany to become a citizen and soldier of
+the United States. This person, with the strong accent and idioms of the
+Fatherland, comforted me by assurances that we of the South would
+speedily recognize our ignorance and errors, especially about slavery
+and the rights of States, and rejoice in the results of the war. In vain
+Canby and Palmer tried to suppress him. On a celebrated occasion an
+Emperor of Germany proclaimed himself above grammar, and this earnest
+philosopher was not to be restrained by canons of taste. I apologized
+meekly for my ignorance, on the ground that my ancestors had come from
+England to Virginia in 1608, and, in the short intervening period of two
+hundred and fifty-odd years, had found no time to transmit to me correct
+ideas of the duties of American citizenship. Moreover, my grandfather,
+commanding the 9th Virginia regiment in our Revolutionary army, had
+assisted in the defeat and capture of the Hessian mercenaries at
+Trenton, and I lamented that he had not, by association with these
+worthies, enlightened his understanding. My friend smiled blandly, and
+assured me of his willingness to instruct me. Happily for the world,
+since the days of Huss and Luther, neither tyranny nor taste can repress
+the Teutonic intellect in search of truth or exposure of error. A
+kindly, worthy people, the Germans, but wearing on occasions.
+
+The party separated, Canby for Mobile, I for Meridian, where within two
+days came news of Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, the capture of
+President Davis in Georgia, and notice from Canby that the truce must
+terminate, as his Government disavowed the Johnston-Sherman convention.
+I informed General Canby that I desired to meet him for the purpose of
+negotiating a surrender of my forces, and that Commodore Farrand would
+accompany me to meet Admiral Thatcher. The military and civil
+authorities of the Confederacy had fallen, and I was called to
+administer on the ruins as residuary legatee. It seemed absurd for the
+few there present to continue the struggle against a million of men. We
+could only secure honorable interment for the remains of our cause--a
+cause that for four years had fixed the attention of the world, been
+baptized in the blood of thousands, and whose loss would be mourned in
+bitter tears by countless widows and orphans throughout their lives. At
+the time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind,
+but such have since crept in. Many Southern warriors, from the hustings
+and in print, have declared that they were anxious to die in the last
+ditch, and by implication were restrained from so doing by the readiness
+of their generals to surrender. One is not permitted to question the
+sincerity of these declarations, which have received the approval of
+public opinion by the elevation of the heroes uttering them to such
+offices as the people of the South have to bestow; and popular opinion
+in our land is a court from whose decisions there is no appeal on this
+side of the grave.
+
+On the 8th of May, 1865, at Citronelle, forty miles north of Mobile, I
+delivered the epilogue of the great drama in which I had played a humble
+part. The terms of surrender demanded and granted were consistent with
+the honor of our arms; and it is due to the memory of General Canby to
+add that he was ready with suggestions to soothe our military pride.
+Officers retained their side arms, mounted men their horses, which in
+our service were private property; and public stores, ordnance,
+commissary, and quartermaster, were to be turned over to officers of the
+proper departments and receipted for. Paroles of the men were to be
+signed by their officers on rolls made out for the purpose, and I was to
+retain control of railways and river steamers to transport the troops as
+nearly as possible to their homes and feed them on the road, in order to
+spare the destitute people of the country the burden of their
+maintenance. Railways and steamers, though used by the Confederate
+authorities, were private property, and had been taken by force which
+the owners could not resist; and it was agreed that they should not be
+seized by civil jackals following the army without special orders from
+Washington. Finally, I was to notify Canby when to send his officers to
+my camp to receive paroles and stores.
+
+Near the Tombigby River, to the east of Meridian, were many thousands of
+bales of cotton, belonging to the Confederate Government and in charge
+of a treasury agent. It seemed to me a duty to protect public property
+and transfer it to the United States, successors by victory to the
+extinct Confederacy. Accordingly, a guard had been placed over this
+cotton, though I hated the very name of the article, as the source of
+much corruption to our people. Canby remarked that cotton had been a
+curse to his side as well, and he would send to New Orleans for a United
+States Treasury agent, so that we might rid ourselves of this at the
+earliest moment. The conditions of surrender written out and signed, we
+had some conversation about the state of the country, disposition of the
+people, etc. I told him that all were weary of strife, and he would meet
+no opposition in any quarter, and pointed out places in the interior
+where supplies could be had, recommending him to station troops at such
+places. I was persuaded that moderation by his officers and men would
+lead to intercourse, traffic, and good feeling with the people. He
+thanked me for the suggestions, and adopted them.
+
+The Governors of Mississippi and Alabama, Clarke and Watts, had asked
+for advice in the emergency produced by surrender, which they had been
+informed was impending, and I thought their best course would be to
+summon their State Legislatures. These would certainly provide for
+conventions of the people to repeal ordinances of secession and abolish
+slavery, thus smoothing the way for the restoration of their States to
+the Union. Such action would be in harmony with the theory and practice
+of the American system, and clear the road of difficulties. The North,
+by its Government, press, and people, had been declaring for years that
+the war was for the preservation of the Union and for nothing else, and
+Canby and I, in the innocence of our hearts, believed it. As Canby
+thought well of my plan, I communicated with the Governors, who acted on
+it; but the Washington authorities imprisoned them for abetting a new
+rebellion.
+
+Returned to Meridian, I was soon ready for the Federal officers, who
+came quietly to our camp and entered on their appointed work; and I have
+now in my possession receipts given by them for public stores.
+Meanwhile, I received from Canby a letter informing me that he had
+directed two of his corps commanders, Generals Steele and Granger, to
+apply to me for instructions concerning the movement of their troops, as
+to time, places, and numbers. It was queer for one to be placed in
+_quasi_ command of soldiers that he had been fighting for four years,
+and to whom he had surrendered; but I delicately made some suggestions
+to these officers, which were adopted.
+
+With two or three staff officers, I remained at Meridian until the last
+man had departed, and then went to Mobile. General Canby most
+considerately took me, Tom, and my two horses on his boat to New
+Orleans; else I must have begged my way. The Confederate paper (not
+currency, for it was without exchangeable value) in my pocket would not
+have served for traveling expenses; and my battered old sword could
+hardly be relied on for breakfasts, dinners, and horse feed.
+
+After an absence of four years, I saw my native place and home, New
+Orleans. My estate had been confiscated and sold, and I was without a
+penny. The man of Uz admitted that naked he came into the world, and
+naked must leave it; but to find himself naked in the midst of it tried
+even his patience. My first care was to sell my horses, and a purchaser
+was found who agreed to take and pay for them the following morning. I
+felt somewhat eager to get hold of the "greenbacks," and suffered for my
+avarice. The best horse, one that had carried me many a weary mile and
+day without failing, could not move a hoof when the purchaser came to
+take him. Like other veterans, long unaccustomed to abundance of prog,
+he had overfed and was badly foundered. Fortunately, the liveryman
+proposed to take this animal as a consideration for the keep of the two,
+and the price received for the other would suffice to bring my wife and
+children from the Red River to New Orleans, and was sent to them for
+that purpose.
+
+Awaiting the arrival of my family, I had a few days of rest at the house
+of an old friend, when Generals Price, Buckner, and Brent came from
+Shreveport, the headquarters of the "Trans-Mississippi Department,"
+under flag of truce, and sent for me. They reported a deplorable
+condition of affairs in that region. Many of the troops had taken up the
+idea that it was designed to inveigle them into Mexico, and were greatly
+incensed. Some generals of the highest rank had found it convenient to
+fold their tents and quietly leave for the Rio Grande; others, who
+remained, were obliged to keep their horses in their quarters and guard
+them in person; and numbers of men had disbanded and gone off. By a
+meeting of officers, the gentlemen present were deputed to make a
+surrender and ask for Federal troops to restore order. The officers in
+question requested me to be present at their interview with General
+Canby, who also invited me, and I witnessed the conclusion. So, from the
+Charleston Convention to this point, I shared the fortunes of the
+Confederacy, and can say, as Grattan did of Irish freedom, that I "sat
+by its cradle and followed its hearse."
+
+For some weeks after my return to New Orleans, I had various occasions
+to see General Canby on matters connected with the surrender, and recall
+no instance in which he did not conform to my wishes. Narrow perhaps in
+his view, and harsh in discharge of duty, he was just, upright, and
+honorable, and it was with regret that I learned of his murder by a band
+of Modoc savages.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS.
+
+
+The military collapse of the South was sudden and unexpected to the
+world without, but by no means so to some within. I happen to know that
+one or two of our ablest and most trusted generals concurred with me in
+opinion that the failure at Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg in
+July, 1863, should have taught the Confederate Government and people the
+necessity of estimating the chances for defeat; but soldiers in the
+field can not give utterance to such opinions unless expressly solicited
+by the civil head of their government, and even then are liable to
+misconstruction.
+
+Of many of the important battles of the civil war I have written, and
+desire to dwell somewhat on Shiloh, but will first say a few words about
+Gettysburg, because of recent publications there-anent.
+
+Some facts concerning this battle are established beyond dispute. In the
+first day's fighting a part of Lee's army defeated a part of Meade's.
+Intending to continue the contest on that field, a commander not smitten
+by idiocy would desire to concentrate and push the advantage gained by
+previous success and its resultant _morale_. But, instead of attacking
+at dawn, Lee's attack was postponed until afternoon of the following
+day, in consequence of the absence of Longstreet's corps. Federal
+official reports show that some of Meade's corps reached him on the
+second day, several hours after sunrise, and one or two late in the
+afternoon. It is positively asserted by many officers present, and of
+high rank and character, that Longstreet was nearer to Lee on the first
+day than Meade's reenforcing corps to their chief, and even nearer than
+a division of Ewell's corps, which reached the field in time to share in
+the first day's success. Now, it nowhere appears in Lee's report of
+Gettysburg that he ordered Longstreet to him or blamed him for
+tardiness; but his report admits errors, and quietly takes the
+responsibility for them on his own broad shoulders. A recent article in
+the public press, signed by General Longstreet, ascribes the failure at
+Gettysburg to Lee's mistakes, which he (Longstreet) in vain pointed out
+and remonstrated against. That any subject involving the possession and
+exercise of intellect should be clear to Longstreet and concealed from
+Lee, is a startling proposition to those having knowledge of the two
+men. We have Biblical authority for the story that the angel in the path
+was visible to the ass, though unseen by the seer his master; but
+suppose, instead of smiting the honest, stupid animal, Balaam had
+caressed him and then been kicked by him, how would the story read? And
+thus much concerning Gettysburg.
+
+Shiloh was a great misfortune. At the moment of his fall Sidney
+Johnston, with all the energy of his nature, was pressing on the routed
+foe. Crouching under the bank of the Tennessee River, Grant was
+helpless. One short hour more of life to Johnston would have completed
+his destruction. The second in command, Beauregard, was on another and
+distant part of the field, and before he could gather the reins of
+direction darkness fell and stopped pursuit. During the night Buell
+reached the northern bank of the river and crossed his troops. Wallace,
+with a fresh division, got up from below. Together, they advanced in the
+morning, found the Confederates rioting in the plunder of captured
+camps, and drove them back with loss. But all this was as nothing
+compared to the calamity of Johnston's death.
+
+Educated at West Point, Johnston remained for eight years in the army of
+the United States, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the details of
+military duty. Resigning to aid the cause of the infant Republic of
+Texas, he became her Adjutant-General, Senior Brigadier, and Secretary
+of War. During our contest with Mexico, he raised a regiment of Texans
+to join General Zachary Taylor, and was greatly distinguished in the
+fighting around and capture of Monterey. General Taylor, with whom the
+early years of his service had been passed, declared him to be the best
+soldier he had ever commanded. More than once I have heard General
+Zachary Taylor express this opinion. Two cavalry regiments were added to
+the United States army in 1854, and to the colonelcy of one of these
+Johnston was appointed. Subsequently, a brigadier by brevet, he
+commanded the expedition against the Mormons in Utah.
+
+Thus he brought to the Southern cause a civil and military experience
+surpassing that of any other leader. Born in Kentucky, descended from an
+honorable colonial race, connected by marriage with influential families
+in the West, where his life had been passed, he was peculiarly fitted to
+command western armies. With him at the helm, there would have been no
+Vicksburg, no Missionary Ridge, no Atlanta. His character was lofty and
+pure, his presence and demeanor dignified and courteous, with the
+simplicity of a child; and he at once inspired the respect and gained
+the confidence of cultivated gentlemen and rugged frontiersmen.
+
+Besides, he had passed through the furnace of ignorant newspapers,
+hotter than that of the Babylonian tyrant. Commanding some raw,
+unequipped forces at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the habitual American
+exaggeration represented him as at the head of a vast army prepared and
+eager for conquest. Before time was given him to organize and train his
+men, the absurdly constructed works on his left flank were captured. At
+Fort Donelson on the Cumberland were certain political generals, who,
+with a self-abnegation worthy of Plutarch's heroes, were anxious to get
+away and leave the glory and renown of defense to others. Johnston was
+in no sense responsible for the construction of the forts, nor the
+assignment to their command of these self-denying warriors; but his line
+of communication was uncovered by their fall, and he was compelled to
+retire to the southern bank of the Tennessee River. From the
+enlighteners of public opinion a howl of wrath came forth, and Johnston,
+who had just been Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Napoleon, was now a
+miserable dastard and traitor, unfit to command a corporal's guard.
+President Davis sought to console him, and some of the noblest lines
+ever penned by man were written by Johnston in reply. They even wrung
+tears of repentance from the pachyderms who had attacked him, and will
+be a text and consolation to future commanders, who serve a country
+tolerant of an ignorant and licentious press. Like pure gold, he came
+forth from the furnace above the reach of slander, the foremost man of
+all the South; and had it been possible for one heart, one mind, and one
+arm to save her cause, she lost them when Albert Sidney Johnston fell on
+the field of Shiloh.
+
+As soon after the war as she was permitted, the Commonwealth of Texas
+removed his remains from New Orleans, to inter them in a land he had
+long and faithfully served. I was honored by a request to accompany the
+coffin from the cemetery to the steamer; and as I gazed upon it there
+arose the feeling of the Theban who, after the downfall of the glory and
+independence of his country, stood by the tomb of Epaminondas.
+
+"Amid the clash of arms laws are silent," and so was Confederate
+statesmanship; or at least, of its objects, efforts, and expectations
+little is known, save the abortive mission of Messrs. Stevens, Hunter,
+and Campbell to Fortress Monroe in the last months of the struggle, and
+about this there has recently been an unseemly wrangle.
+
+The followers of the Calhoun school, who controlled the Government, held
+the right of secession to be too clear for discussion. The adverse
+argument of Mr. Webster, approved by a large majority of the Northern
+people, was considered to be founded on lust of power, not on reason.
+The governments of western Europe, with judgments unclouded by
+selfishness, would at once acknowledge it. France, whose policy since
+the days of the eleventh Louis had been one of intense centralization,
+and Germany and Italy, whose hopes and aspirations were in the same
+direction, would admit it, while England would not be restrained by
+anti-slavery sentiment. Indeed, the statesmen of these countries had
+devoted much time to the study of the Constitution of the United
+States, knew that it was a compact, and were in complete harmony with
+the opinions of Mr. Calhoun. There was to be no revolution, for this,
+though justified by oppression, involved the recognition of some measure
+of obligation to the Union, from which the right to secede was manifest.
+Hence the haste to manufacture a paper constitution, in which the powers
+of different departments were as carefully weighed as are dangerous
+drugs by dispensing chemists. Hence two houses of Congress, refuge for
+mischievous twaddlers to worry the executive and embarrass the armies.
+Hence the Governor Browns, who, reasoning that one State had as much
+right to disagree with eleven as eleven with twenty, declared each of
+their hamlets of more importance than the cities of others. While the
+sections were marching through the streets, with pikes crowned by gory
+heads, and clamoring for more, Sieyes had his pockets stuffed with
+constitutions and felt that his country was safe. It is not pretended
+that these ideas were entertained by the larger part of the Southern
+people, or were confessed by the ruling minority; but they existed,
+nevertheless, under different forms.
+
+Aggrieved by the action and tendencies of the Federal Government, and
+apprehending worse in the future, a majority of the people of the South
+approved secession as the only remedy suggested by their leaders. So
+travelers enter railway carriages, and are dragged up grades and through
+tunnels with utter loss of volition, the motive power, generated by
+fierce heat, being far in advance and beyond their control.
+
+We set up a monarch, too, King Cotton, and hedged him with a divinity
+surpassing that of earthly potentates. To doubt his royalty and power
+was a confession of ignorance or cowardice. This potent spirit, at the
+nod of our Prosperos, the cotton-planters, would arrest every loom and
+spindle in New England, destroy her wealth, and reduce her population to
+beggary. The power of Old England, the growth of eight hundred years,
+was to wither as the prophet's gourd unless she obeyed its behests. And
+a right "tricksy spirit" it proved indeed. There was a complete mental
+derangement on this subject. The Government undertook to own all cotton
+that could be exported. Four millions of bales, belonging to many
+thousands of individuals, could be disposed of to better advantage by
+the Government than by the proprietors; and this was enforced by our
+authorities, whose ancestors for generations had been resisting the
+intrusion of governments into private business. All cotton, as well as
+naval stores, that was in danger of falling into the enemy's possession,
+was, by orders based on legislative enactment, to be burned; and this
+policy continued to the end. It was fully believed that this destruction
+would appall our enemies and convince the world of our earnestness.
+Possibly there was a lurking idea that it was necessary to convince
+ourselves.
+
+In their long struggle for independence, the Dutch trafficked freely
+with the Spaniards, got rich by the trade, paid enormous taxes to
+support the war, and achieved their liberty. But the Dutch fought to rid
+themselves of a tyrant, while our first care was to set up one, Cotton,
+and worship it. Rules of common sense were not applicable to it. The
+Grand Monarque could not eat his dinners or take his emetics like
+ordinary mortals. Our people were much debauched by it. I write
+advisedly, for during the last two and a half years of the war I
+commanded in the State of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the great
+producing States. Out-post officers would violate the law, and trade. In
+vain were they removed; the temptation was too strong, and their
+successors did the same. The influence on the women was dreadful, and in
+many cases their appeals were heartrending. Mothers with suffering
+children, whose husbands were in the war or already fallen, would
+beseech me for permits to take cotton through the lines. It was useless
+to explain that it was against law and orders, and that I was without
+authority to act. This did not give food and clothing to their children,
+and they departed, believing me to be an unfeeling brute. In fact, the
+instincts of humanity revolted against this folly.
+
+It is with no pleasure that I have dwelt on the foregoing topics, but
+the world can not properly estimate the fortitude of the Southern people
+unless it understands and takes account of the difficulties under which
+they labored. Yet, great as were their sufferings during the war, they
+were as nothing compared to those inflicted upon them after its close.
+
+Extinction of slavery was expected by all and regretted by none,
+although loss of slaves destroyed the value of land. Existing since the
+earliest colonization of the Southern States, the institution was
+interwoven with the thoughts, habits, and daily lives of both races, and
+both suffered by the sudden disruption of the accustomed tie. Bank
+stocks, bonds, all personal property, all accumulated wealth, had
+disappeared. Thousands of houses, farm-buildings, work-animals, flocks
+and herds, had been wantonly burned, killed, or carried off. The land
+was filled with widows and orphans crying for aid, which the universal
+destitution prevented them from receiving. Humanitarians shuddered with
+horror and wept with grief for the imaginary woes of Africans; but their
+hearts were as adamant to people of their own race and blood. These had
+committed the unpardonable sin, had wickedly rebelled against the Lord's
+anointed, the majority. Blockaded during the war, and without journals
+to guide opinion and correct error, we were unceasingly slandered by our
+enemies, who held possession of every avenue to the world's ear.
+
+Famine and pestilence have ever followed war, as if our Mother Earth
+resented the defilement of her fair bosom by blood, and generated fatal
+diseases to punish humanity for its crimes. But there fell upon the
+South a calamity surpassing any recorded in the annals or traditions of
+man. An article in the "North American Review," from the pen of Judge
+Black, well describes this new curse, the carpet-baggers, as worse than
+Attila, scourge of God. He could only destroy existing fruits, while, by
+the modern invention of public credit, these caterans stole the labor of
+unborn generations. Divines, moralists, orators, and poets throughout
+the North commended their thefts and bade them God-speed in spoiling the
+Egyptians; and the reign of these harpies is not yet over. Driven from
+the outworks, they hold the citadel. The epithet of August, first
+applied to the mighty Julius and to his successor Octavius, was
+continued, by force of habit, to the slobbering Claudius; and so of the
+Senate of the United States, which august body contained in March last
+several of these freebooters. Honest men regarded them as monsters,
+generated in the foul ooze of a past era, that had escaped destruction
+to linger in a wholesomer age; and their speedy extinction was expected,
+when another, the most hideous of the species, was admitted. This
+specimen had been kept by force of bayonets for four years upon the
+necks of an unwilling people, had no title to a seat in the Senate, and
+was notoriously despised by every inhabitant of the State which he was
+seated to misrepresent. The Senators composing the majority by which
+this was done acted under solemn oaths to do the right; but the Jove of
+party laughs at vows of politicians. Twelve years of triumph have not
+served to abate the hate of the victors in the great war. The last
+presidential canvass was but a crusade of vengeance against the South.
+The favorite candidate of his party for the nomination, though in the
+prime of vigor, had not been in the field, to which his eloquent appeals
+sent thousands, but preferred the pleasanter occupation of making money
+at home. He had converted the power of his great place, that of Speaker
+of the House of Representatives, into lucre, and was exposed. By mingled
+chicanery and audacity he obtained possession of his own criminating
+letters, flourished them in the face of the House, and, in the Cambyses
+vein, called on his people to rally and save the luster of his loyalty
+from soil at the hands of rebels; and they came. From all the North
+ready acclaims went up, and women shed tears of joy, such as in King
+Arthur's day rewarded some peerless deed of Galahad. In truth, it was a
+manly thing to hide dishonorable plunder beneath the prostrate body of
+the South. The Emperor Commodus, in full panoply, met in the arena
+disabled and unarmed gladiators. The servile Romans applauded his easy
+victories. Ancient Pistol covers with patches the ignoble scabs of a
+corrupt life. The vulgar herd believes them to be wounds received in the
+Gallic wars, as it once believed in the virtue and patriotism of Marat
+and Barrere.
+
+In the Sermon on the Mount, the Divine Moralist instructed his hearers
+to forgive those who had injured them; but He knew too well the malice
+of the human heart to expect them to forgive those whom they had
+injured. The leaders of the radical masses of the North have inflicted
+such countless and cruel wrongs on the Southern people as to forbid any
+hope of disposition or ability to forgive their victims; and the land
+will have no rest until the last of these persecutors has passed into
+oblivion.
+
+During all these years the conduct of the Southern people has been
+admirable. Submitting to the inevitable, they have shown fortitude and
+dignity, and rarely has one been found base enough to take wages of
+shame from the oppressor and maligner of his brethren. Accepting the
+harshest conditions and faithfully observing them, they have struggled
+in all honorable ways, and for what? For their slaves? Regret for their
+loss has neither been felt nor expressed. But they have striven for that
+which brought our forefathers to Runnymede, the privilege of exercising
+some influence in their own government. Yet we fought for nothing but
+slavery, says the world, and the late Vice-President of the Confederacy,
+Mr. Alexander Stephens, reechoes the cry, declaring that it was the
+corner-stone of his Government.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON.
+
+
+The following considerations induced me to make a pilgrimage to
+Washington, where, by accident of fortune, I had a larger acquaintance
+with influential politicians than other Southern commanders. When the
+Whig party dissolved, most of its Northern members joined the
+Republicans, and now belonged to the reigning faction; and I had
+consorted with many of them while my father was President and afterward.
+
+Mention has been made of the imprisonment of Governors Clarke and Watts
+for adopting my advice, and it was but right for me to make an effort to
+have them released. Moreover, Jefferson Davis was a prisoner in irons,
+and it was known that his health was feeble. Lee, Johnston, and I, with
+our officers and men, were at large, protected by the terms of our
+surrenders--terms which General Grant had honorably prevented the civil
+authorities from violating. If Mr. Davis had sinned, we all were guilty,
+and I could not rest without making an attempt for his relief.
+
+At the time, it was understood that prisoners on parole should not
+change their residence without military permission, and leave to go to
+New York was asked and obtained of General Canby. By steamer I reached
+that place in a week, and found that General Dix had just been relieved
+by General Hooker, to whom I at once reported. He uttered a shout of
+welcome (we were old acquaintances), declared that he was more pleased
+to see me than to see a church (which was doubtless true), made
+hospitable suggestions of luncheon, champagne, etc., and gave me a
+permit to go to Washington, regretting that he could not keep me with
+him. A warm-hearted fellow is "fighting Joe," who carried on war like a
+soldier.
+
+In Washington, at Willard's--a huge inn, filled from garret to cellar
+with a motley crowd--an acquaintance, whom I chanced to meet, informed
+me that a recent disturbance had induced the belief of the existence of
+a new plot for assassination, and an order had been published forbidding
+rebels to approach the capital without the permission of the War
+Secretary. Having been at sea for a week, I knew nothing of this, and
+Hooker had not mentioned it when he gave me the permit to come to
+Washington. My informant apprehended my arrest, and kindly undertook to
+protect me. Through his intervention I received from the President,
+Andrew Johnson, permission to stay or go where I chose, with an
+invitation to visit him at a stated time.
+
+Presenting myself at the "White House," I was ushered in to the
+President--a saturnine man, who made no return to my bow, but, after
+looking at me, asked me to take a seat. Upon succeeding to power Mr.
+Johnson breathed fire and hemp against the South, proclaimed that he
+would make treason odious by hanging traitors, and ordered the arrest of
+General Lee and others, when he was estopped by the action of General
+Grant. He had now somewhat abated his wolfish desire for vengeance, and
+asked many questions about the condition of the South, temper of the
+people, etc. I explained the conduct of Governors Clarke and Watts, how
+they were imprisoned for following my advice, submitted to and approved
+by General Canby, who would hardly have abetted a new rebellion; and he
+made memoranda of their cases, as well as of those of many other
+prisoners, confined in different forts from Boston to Savannah, all of
+whom were released within a short period. Fearing to trespass on his
+time, I left with a request that he would permit me to call again, as I
+had a matter of much interest to lay before him, and was told the hours
+at which I would be received.
+
+Thence to the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, who in former Whig times,
+as Senator from New York, had been a warm supporter of my father's
+administration. He greeted me cordially, and asked me to dine. A loin of
+veal was the _piece de resistance_ of his dinner, and he called
+attention to it as evidence that he had killed the fatted calf to
+welcome the returned prodigal. Though not entirely recovered from the
+injuries received in a fall from his carriage and the wounds inflicted
+by the knife of Payne, he was cheerful, and appeared to sympathize with
+the objects of my mission--at least, so far as I could gather his
+meaning under the cloud of words with which he was accustomed to cover
+the slightest thought. One or two other members of the Cabinet, to whom
+Mr. Seward presented me, were also favorably inclined. One, the War
+Secretary, I did not meet. A spy under Buchanan, a tyrant under Lincoln,
+and a traitor to Johnson, this man was as cruel and crafty as Domitian.
+I never saw him. In the end conscience, long dormant, came as Alecto,
+and he was not; and the temple of Justice, on whose threshold he stood,
+escaped profanation.
+
+In a second interview, President Johnson heard the wish I had so much at
+heart, permission to visit Jefferson Davis. He pondered for some time,
+then replied that I must wait and call again.
+
+Meantime, an opportunity to look upon the amazing spectacle presented by
+the dwellers at the capital was afforded. The things seen by the
+Pilgrims in a dream were at this Vanity Fair visible in the flesh: "all
+such merchandise sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honors,
+preferments, states, lusts, pleasures; and delights of all sorts, as
+bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood,
+bodies, souls, greenbacks, pearls, precious stones, and what not." The
+eye of the inspired tinker had pierced the darkness of two hundred
+years, and seen what was to come. The martial tread of hundreds of
+volunteer generals, just disbanded, resounded in the streets. Gorged
+with loot, they spent it as lavishly as Morgan's buccaneers after the
+sack of Panama. Their women sat at meat or walked the highways,
+resplendent in jewels, spoil of Southern matrons. The camp-followers of
+the army were here in high carnival, and in character and numbers
+rivaled the attendants of Xerxes. Courtesans swarmed everywhere, about
+the inns, around the Capitol, in the antechambers of the "White House,"
+and were brokers for the transaction of all business. Of a tolerant
+disposition and with a wide experience of earthly wickedness, I did not
+feel called upon to cry aloud against these enormities, remembering the
+fate of Faithful; but I had some doubts concerning divine justice; for
+why were the "cities of the Plain" overthrown and this place suffered to
+exist?
+
+The officers of the army on duty at Washington were very civil to me,
+especially General Grant, whom I had known prior to and during the
+Mexican war, as a modest, amiable, but by no means promising lieutenant
+in a marching regiment. He came frequently to see me, was full of
+kindness, and anxious to promote my wishes. His action in preventing
+violation of the terms of surrender, and a subsequent report that he
+made of the condition of the South--a report not at all pleasing to the
+radicals--endeared him to all Southern men. Indeed, he was in a position
+to play a role second only to that of Washington, who founded the
+republic; for he had the power to restore it. His bearing and conduct at
+this time were admirable, modest and generous; and I talked much with
+him of the noble and beneficent work before him. While his heart seemed
+to respond, he declared his ignorance of and distaste for politics and
+politicians, with which and whom he intended to have nothing to do, but
+confine himself to his duties of commander-in-chief of the army. Yet he
+expressed a desire for the speedy restoration of good feeling between
+the sections, and an intention to advance it in all proper ways. We
+shall see when and under what influences he adopted other views.
+
+The President put me off from day to day, receiving me to talk about
+Southern affairs, but declining to give an answer to my requests. I
+found that he always postponed action, and was of an obstinate,
+suspicious temper. Like a badger, one had to dig him out of his hole;
+and he was ever in one except when on the hustings, addressing the
+crowd. Of humble birth, a tailor by trade, nature gave him a strong
+intellect, and he had learned to read after his marriage. He had
+acquired much knowledge of the principles of government, and made
+himself a fluent speaker, but could not rise above the level of the
+class in which he was born and to which he always appealed. He well
+understood the few subjects laboriously studied, and affected to despise
+other knowledge, while suspicious that those possessing such would take
+advantage of him. Self-educated men, as they are called, deprived of the
+side light thrown on a particular subject by instruction in cognate
+matters, are narrow and dogmatic, and, with an uneasy consciousness of
+ignorance, soothe their own vanity by underrating the studies of others.
+To the vanity of this class he added that of the demagogue (I use the
+term in its better sense), and called the wise policy left him by his
+predecessor "my policy." Compelled to fight his way up from obscurity,
+he had contracted a dislike of those more favored of fortune, whom he
+was in the habit of calling "the slave-aristocracy," and became
+incapable of giving his confidence to any one, even to those on whose
+assistance he relied in a contest, just now beginning, with the
+Congress.
+
+President Johnson never made a dollar by public office, abstained from
+quartering a horde of connections on the Treasury, refused to uphold
+rogues in high places, and had too just a conception of the dignity of a
+chief magistrate to accept presents. It may be said that these are
+humble qualities for a citizen to boast the possession of by a President
+of the United States. As well claim respect for a woman of one's family
+on the ground that she has preserved her virtue. Yet all whose eyes were
+not blinded by partisanship, whose manhood was not emasculated by
+servility, would in these last years have welcomed the least of them as
+manna in the desert.
+
+The President, between whom and the Congressional leaders the seeds of
+discord were already sown, dallied with me from day to day, and at
+length said that it would spare him embarrassment if I could induce
+Stevens, Davis, and others of the House, and Sumner of the Senate, to
+recommend the permission to visit Jefferson Davis; and I immediately
+addressed myself to this unpleasant task.
+
+Thaddeus Stevens received me with as much civility as he was capable of.
+Deformed in body and temper like Caliban, this was the Lord Hategood of
+the fair; but he was frankness itself. He wanted no restoration of the
+Union under the Constitution, which he called a worthless bit of old
+parchment. The white people of the South ought never again to be trusted
+with power, for they would inevitably unite with the Northern
+"Copperheads" and control the Government. The only sound policy was to
+confiscate the lands and divide them among the negroes, to whom, sooner
+or later, suffrage must be given. Touching the matter in hand, Johnson
+was a fool to have captured Davis, whom it would have been wiser to
+assist in escaping. Nothing would be done with him, as the executive had
+only pluck enough to hang two poor devils such as Wirtz and Mrs.
+Surratt. Had the leading traitors been promptly strung up, well; but the
+time for that had passed. (Here, I thought, he looked lovingly at my
+neck, as Petit Andre was wont to do at those of his merry-go-rounds.) He
+concluded by saying that it was silly to refuse me permission to visit
+Jefferson Davis, but he would not say so publicly, as he had no desire
+to relieve Johnson of responsibility.
+
+There was no excuse for longer sporting with this radical Amaryllis
+either in shade or in sunshine; so I sought Henry Winter Davis. Like the
+fallen angel, Davis preferred to rule in hell rather than serve in
+heaven or on earth. With the head of Medusa and the eye of the Basilisk,
+he might have represented Siva in a Hindoo temple, and was even more
+inaccessible to sentiment than Thaddeus Stevens. Others, too numerous
+and too insignificant to particularize, were seen. These were the
+cuttle-fish of the party, whose appointed duty it was to obscure popular
+vision by clouds of loyal declamation. As Sicilian banditti prepare for
+robberies and murders by pious offerings on shrines of favorite saints,
+these brought out the altar of the "nation," and devoted themselves
+afresh, whenever "Credits Mobiliers" and kindred enormities were afoot,
+and sharpened every question of administration, finance, law, taxation,
+on the grindstone of sectional hate. So sputtering tugs tow from her
+moorings the stately ship, to send her forth to winds and waves of
+ocean, caring naught for the cargo with which she is freighted, but,
+grimy in zeal to earn fees, return to seek another.
+
+Hopeless of obtaining assistance from such statesmen, I visited Mr.
+Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts, who received me pleasantly.
+A rebel, a slave-driver, and, without the culture of Boston, ignorant, I
+was an admirable vessel into which he could pour the inexhaustible
+stream of his acquired eloquence. I was delighted to listen to beautiful
+passages from the classic as well as modern poets, dramatists,
+philosophers, and orators, and recalled the anecdote of the man sitting
+under a fluent divine, who could not refrain from muttering, "That is
+Jeremy Taylor; that, South; that, Barrow," etc. It was difficult to
+suppress the thought, while Mr. Sumner was talking, "That is Burke, or
+Howard, Wilberforce, Brougham, Macaulay, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Exeter
+Hall," etc.; but I failed to get down to the particular subject that
+interested me. The nearest approach to the practical was his
+disquisition on negro suffrage, which he thought should be accompanied
+by education. I ventured to suggest that negro education should precede
+suffrage, observing that some held the opinion that the capacity of the
+white race for government was limited, although accumulated and
+transmitted through many centuries. He replied that "the ignorance of
+the negro was due to the tyranny of the whites," which appeared in his
+view to dispose of the question of the former's incapacity. He seemed
+over-educated--had retained, not digested his learning; and beautiful
+flowers of literature were attached to him by filaments of memory, as
+lovely orchids to sapless sticks. Hence he failed to understand the
+force of language, and became the victim of his own metaphors, mistaking
+them for facts. He had the irritable vanity and weak nerves of a woman,
+and was bold to rashness in speculation, destitute as he was of the
+ordinary masculine sense of responsibility. Yet I hold him to have been
+the purest and most sincere man of his party. A lover, nay, a devotee of
+liberty, he thoroughly understood that it could only be preserved by
+upholding the supremacy of civil law, and would not sanction the
+garrison methods of President Grant. Without vindictiveness, he forgave
+his enemies as soon as they were overthrown, and one of the last efforts
+of his life was to remove from the flag of a common country all records
+of victories that perpetuated the memory of civil strife.
+
+Foiled in this direction, I worried the President, as old Mustard would
+a stot, until he wrote the permission so long solicited. By steamer from
+Baltimore I went down Chesapeake Bay, and arrived at Fortress Monroe in
+the early morning. General Burton, the commander, whose civility was
+marked, and who bore himself like a gentleman and soldier, received me
+on the dock and took me to his quarters to breakfast, and to await the
+time to see Mr. Davis.
+
+It was with some emotion that I reached the casemate in which Mr. Davis
+was confined. There were two rooms, in the outer of which, near the
+entrance, stood a sentinel, and in the inner was Jefferson Davis. We met
+in silence, with grasp of hands. After an interval he said, "This is
+kind, but no more than I expected of you." Pallid, worn, gray, bent,
+feeble, suffering from inflammation of the eyes, he was a painful sight
+to a friend. He uttered no plaint, and made no allusion to the irons
+(which had been removed); said the light kept all night in his room hurt
+his eyes a little, and, added to the noise made every two hours by
+relieving the sentry, prevented much sleep; but matters had changed for
+the better since the arrival of General Burton, who was all kindness,
+and strained his orders to the utmost in his behalf. I told him of my
+reception at Washington by the President, Mr. Seward, and others, of the
+attentions of Generals Grant and Humphreys, who promoted my wish to see
+him, and that with such aid I was confident of obtaining permission for
+his wife to stay with him. I could solicit favors for him, having
+declined any for myself. Indeed, the very accident of position, that
+enabled me to get access to the governing authorities, made indecent
+even the supposition of my acceptance of anything personal while a
+single man remained under the ban for serving the Southern cause; and
+therefore I had no fear of misconstruction. Hope of meeting his family
+cheered him much, and he asked questions about the condition and
+prospects of the South, which I answered as favorably as possible,
+passing over things that would have grieved him. In some way he had
+learned of attacks on his character and conduct, made by some Southern
+curs, thinking to ingratiate themselves with the ruling powers. I could
+not deny this, but remarked that the curse of unexpected defeat and
+suffering was to develop the basest passions of the human heart. Had he
+escaped out of the country, it was possible he might have been made a
+scapegoat by the Southern people, and, great as were the sufferings that
+he had endured, they were as nothing to coward stabs from beloved hands.
+The attacks mentioned were few, and too contemptible for notice; for now
+his calamities had served to endear him to all. I think that he derived
+consolation from this view.
+
+The day passed with much talk of a less disturbing character, and in the
+evening I returned to Baltimore and Washington. After some delay Mr.
+Davis's family was permitted to join him, and he speedily recovered
+strength. Later I made a journey or two to Richmond, Virginia, on
+business connected with his trial, then supposed to be impending.
+
+The slight service, if simple discharge of duty can be so called, I was
+enabled to render Mr. Davis, was repaid ten thousand fold. In the month
+of March, 1875, my devoted wife was released from suffering, long and
+patiently endured, originating in grief for the loss of her children and
+exposure during the war. Smitten by this calamity, to which all that had
+gone before seemed as blessings, I stood by her coffin, ere it was
+closed, to look for the last time upon features that death had respected
+and restored to their girlish beauty. Mr. Davis came to my side, and
+stooped reverently to touch the fair brow, when the tenderness of his
+heart overcame him and he burst into tears. His example completely
+unnerved me for the time, but was of service in the end. For many
+succeeding days he came to me, and was as gentle as a young mother with
+her suffering infant. Memory will ever recall Jefferson Davis as he
+stood with me by the coffin.
+
+Duty to imprisoned friends and associates discharged, I returned to New
+Orleans, and remained for some weeks, when an untoward event occurred,
+productive of grave consequences. The saints and martyrs who have
+attained worldly success have rarely declined to employ the temporal
+means of sinners. While calling on Hercules, they put their own
+shoulders to the wheel, and, in the midst of prayer, keep their powder
+dry. To prepare for the reelection of President Lincoln in 1864,
+pretended State governments had been set up by the Federal military in
+several Southern States, where fragments of territory were occupied. In
+the event of a close election in the North, the electoral votes in these
+manufactured States would be under the control of the executive
+authority, and serve to determine the result. For some years the
+Southern States were used as thimble-riggers use peas: now they were
+under the cup of the Union, and now they were out. During his reign in
+New Orleans the Federal General Banks had prepared a Louisiana pea for
+the above purpose.
+
+At this time negro suffrage, as yet an unaccomplished purpose, was in
+the air, and the objective point of radical effort. To aid the movement,
+surviving accomplices of the Banks fraud were instigated to call a
+"State Convention" in Louisiana, though with no more authority so to do
+than they had to call the British Parliament. The people of New Orleans
+regarded the enterprise as those of London did the proposed meeting of
+tailors in Tooley street; and just before this debating society was to
+assemble, the Federal commander, General Sheridan, selected especially
+to restrain the alleged turbulent population of the city, started on an
+excursion to Texas, proving that he attached no importance to the matter
+and anticipated no disturbance.
+
+Living in close retirement, I had forgotten all about the "Convention."
+Happening to go to the center of the town, from my residence in the
+upper suburb, the day on which it met, on descending from the carriage
+of the tramway I heard pistol shots and saw a crowd of roughs, Arabs,
+and negroes running across Canal Street. I walked in the direction of
+the noise to inquire the cause of excitement, as there was nothing
+visible to justify it. The crowd seemed largely composed of boys of from
+twelve to fifteen, and negroes. I met no acquaintance, and could obtain
+no information, when a negro came flying past, pursued by a white boy,
+certainly not above fifteen years of age, with a pistol in hand. I
+stopped the boy without difficulty, and made him tell what he was up to.
+He said the niggers were having a meeting at Mechanics' Institute to
+take away his vote. When asked how long he had enjoyed that inestimable
+right of a freeman, the boy gave it up, pocketed his "Derringer," and
+walked off.
+
+By this time the row appeared to be over, so I went on my way without
+seeing the building called Mechanics' Institute, as it was around the
+corner near which the boy was stopped. Speedily the town was filled with
+excitement, and Baird, the Federal commander in the absence of Sheridan,
+occupied the streets with troops and arrested the movements of citizens.
+Many poor negroes had been killed most wantonly, indignation ran high
+among decent people, and the perpetrators of the bloody deeds deserved
+and would have received swift, stern punishment had civil law been
+permitted to act. But this did not suit the purposes of the radicals,
+who rejoiced as Torquemada might have done when the discovery of a score
+of heretics furnished him an excuse to torment and destroy a province.
+Applying the theory of the detective police, that among the
+beneficiaries of crime must be sought the perpetrators, one would
+conclude that the radical leaders prompted the assassination of Lincoln
+and the murder of negroes; for they alone derived profit from these
+acts.
+
+From this time forth the entire white race of the South devoted itself
+to the killing of negroes. It appeared to be an inherent tendency in a
+slave-driver to murder a negro. It was a law of his being, as of the
+monkey's to steal nuts, and could not be resisted. Thousands upon
+thousands were slain. Favorite generals kept lists in their pockets,
+proving time, place, and numbers, even to the smallest piccaninny. Nay,
+such was the ferocity of the slave-drivers, that unborn infants were
+ripped from their mothers' wombs. Probably these sable Macduffs were
+invented to avenge the wrongs of their race on tyrants protected by
+Satanic devices from injury at the hands of Africans of natural birth.
+Individual effort could not suffice the rage for slaughter, and the
+ancient order of "assassins" was revived, with an "Old Man" of the
+swamps at its head. Thus "Ku-Klux" originated, and covered the land with
+a network of crime. Earnest, credulous women in New England had their
+feelings lacerated by these stories, in which they as fondly believed as
+their foremothers in Salem witches.
+
+As crocodiles conceal their prey until it becomes savory and tender and
+ripe for eating, so the Radicals kept these dark corpses to serve up to
+the public when important elections approached, or some especial
+villainy was to be enacted by the Congress. People who had never been
+south of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers knew all about this "Ku-Klux"; but
+I failed, after many inquiries, to find a single man in the South who
+ever heard of it, saving in newspapers. Doubtless there were many acts
+of violence. When ignorant negroes, instigated by pestilent emissaries,
+went beyond endurance, the whites killed them; and this was to be
+expected. The breed to which these whites belong has for eight centuries
+been the master of the earth wherever it has planted its foot. A handful
+conquered and holds in subjection the crowded millions of India. Another
+and smaller bridles the fierce Caffre tribes of South Africa. Place but
+a score of them on the middle course of the Congo, and they will rule
+unless exterminated; and all the armies and all the humanitarians can
+not change this, until the appointed time arrives for Ham to dominate
+Japhet.
+
+Two facts may here be stated. Just in proportion as the whites recovered
+control of their local governments, in that proportion negroes ceased to
+be killed; and when it was necessary to Radical success to multiply
+negro votes, though no census was taken, formal statistics were
+published to prove large immigration of negroes into the very districts
+of slaughter. Certainty of death could not restrain the colored lambs,
+impelled by an uncontrollable ardor to vote the radical ticket, from
+traveling to the wolves. Such devotion deserved the tenderest
+consideration of Christian men and women, and all means of protection
+and loving care were due to this innocent, credulous race. A great
+bureau, the Freedmen's, was established, and in connection with it, at
+the seat of government, a bank. It was of importance to teach the
+freedmen, unused to responsibility, industry and economy; and the bank
+was to encourage these virtues by affording a safe place of deposit for
+their small savings. To make assurance doubly sure, the "Christian
+soldier of the United States army" was especially selected to keep the
+money, and he did--so securely, in point of fact, that it is to be
+apprehended the unfortunate depositors will never see it more. After so
+brilliant an experience in banking, prudence might have suggested to
+this officer the wisdom of retiring from public view. Fortune is
+sometimes jealous of great reputations and fresh laurels. The success of
+his first speech prevented "Single-speech Hamilton" from rising again in
+the House of Commons; Frederick failed to repeat Rossbach, and Napoleon,
+Austerlitz; but the "Christian soldier" rushed on his fate, and met it
+at the hands of the Nez Perces. The profound strategy, the skillful
+tactics, the ready valor that had extinguished bank balances, all failed
+against this wily foe.
+
+While the excitement growing out of the untoward event mentioned was at
+its height, President Johnson summoned me to Washington, where I
+explained all the circumstances, as far as I knew them, of the recent
+murders, and urged him to send General Hancock to command in New
+Orleans. He was sent, and immediately restored order and confidence. A
+gentleman, one of the most distinguished and dashing officers of the
+United States army, General Hancock recognizes both the great duties of
+a soldier of the Republic--to defend its flag and obey its laws,
+discharging the last with a fidelity equal to his devotion to the first
+in front of battle.
+
+The contest between the Congress and the President now waxed fierce, and
+Thaddeus Stevens, from his place in the House, denounced "the man at the
+other end of the avenue." The President had gone back to wise, lawful
+methods, and desired to restore the Union under the Constitution; and in
+this he was but following the policy declared in his last public
+utterance by President Lincoln. Mr. Johnson could establish this fact by
+members of his predecessor's Cabinet whom he had retained, and thus
+strengthen his position; but his vanity forbade him, so he called it "my
+policy," as if it were something new.
+
+At his instance, I had many interviews with him, and consulted
+influential men from different parts of the country. His Secretary of
+War was in close alliance with his enemies in the Congress, and
+constantly betraying him. This was susceptible of proof, and I so
+informed the President, and pointed out that, so far from assisting the
+people of the South, he was injuring them by inaction; for the Congress
+persecuted them to worry him. He was President and powerful; they were
+weak and helpless. In truth, President Johnson, slave to his own temper
+and appetites, was unfit to control others.
+
+General Grant yet appeared to agree with me about "reconstruction," as
+it was called; and I was anxious to preserve good feeling on his part
+toward the President. In the light of subsequent events, it is curious
+to recall the fact that he complained of Stanton's retention in the
+Cabinet, because the latter's greed of power prevented the
+Commander-in-Chief of the army from controlling the most minute details
+without interference. I urged this on the President as an additional
+motive for dismissing his War Secretary and replacing him by some one
+agreeable to General Grant; but all in vain. This official "old man of
+the sea" kept his seat on the Presidential neck, never closing crafty
+eye nor traitorous mouth, and holding on with the tenacity of an
+octopus.
+
+Many moderate and whilom influential Republicans determined to assemble
+in convention at Philadelphia, and invited delegates from all parts,
+North and South, to meet them. The object was to promote good feeling
+and an early restoration of the Union, and give aid to the President in
+his struggle with extremists. Averse to appearing before the public, I
+was reluctant to go to this Convention; but the President, who felt a
+deep interest in its success, insisted, and I went. It was largely
+attended, and by men who had founded and long led the Freesoil party.
+Ex-members of Lincoln's first Cabinet, Senators and members of the
+Congress, editors of Republican newspapers (among whom was Henry J.
+Raymond, the ablest political editor of the day and an eminent member of
+Congress as well), Southern men who had fought for the Confederacy, were
+there. Northern Republicans and Democrats, long estranged, buried the
+political hatchet and met for a common purpose, to restore the Union.
+Negro-worshipers from Massachusetts and slave-drivers from South
+Carolina entered the vast hall arm in arm. The great meeting rose to its
+feet, and walls and roof shook with applause. General John A. Dix of New
+York called the Convention to order, and, in an eloquent and felicitous
+speech, stated the objects of the assembly--to renew fraternal feeling
+between the sections, heal the wounds of war, obliterate bitter
+memories, and restore the Union of the fathers. Senator Doolittle of
+Wisconsin was chosen permanent president, and patriotic resolutions were
+adopted by acclamation. All this was of as little avail as the waving of
+a lady's fan against a typhoon. Radical wrath uprose and swept these
+Northern men out of political existence, and they were again taught the
+lesson that is ever forgotten, namely, that it is an easy task to
+inflame the passions of the multitude, an impossible one to arrest them.
+From selfish ambition, from thoughtless zeal, from reckless
+partisanship, from the low motives governing demagogues in a country of
+universal suffrage, men are ever sowing the wind, thinking they can
+control the whirlwind; and the story of the Gironde and the Mountain has
+been related in vain.
+
+The President was charmed with the Convention. Believing the people--his
+god--to be with him, his crest rose, and he felt every inch a President.
+Again I urged him to dismiss his War Secretary and replace Mr. Seward,
+Secretary of State, now in disfavor with his own creation, the Radical
+party, by General Dix, who was rewarded for his services at Philadelphia
+by the appointment of Naval Officer at New York. He was an exception to
+the rule above mentioned. A more cautious pilot than Palinurus, this
+respectable person is the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics; and like
+that eminent divine, his creeds sit so lightly as to permit him to take
+office under all circumstances. Secretary of the Treasury in the closing
+weeks of President Buchanan, he aroused the North by sending his
+immortal dispatch to the commander of a revenue cutter: "If any man
+attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." This
+bespoke the heart of the patriot, loving his country's banner, and the
+arm of the hero, ready to defend it; and, clad in this armor of proof,
+he has since been invulnerable. The President took kindly to the
+proposition concerning General Dix, and I flattered myself that it would
+come off, when suddenly the General was appointed Minister
+Plenipotentiary to France. I imagine that Mr. Seward had got wind of the
+project and hurried Dix out of the way. Thus, in a few days General Dix
+had the offer of the Netherlands, Naval Office, and France. "Glamis, and
+thane of Cawdor"; and his old age is yet so green, mayhap "the greatest
+is behind."
+
+To air his eloquence and enlighten the minds of his dear people, the
+President made a tour through the North and West, in which his conduct
+and declarations were so extraordinary as to defeat any hopes of success
+for "my policy."
+
+A circumstance connected with the Philadelphia Convention made an
+impression on me at the time. Mr. Raymond was editor of the "New York
+Times," the most powerful Republican journal in the North. Among many
+who had gained large wealth by speculations during the war was Mr.
+Leonard Jerome, a Republican in politics. This gentleman spent his
+fortune so lavishly that his acquaintances and the public shared its
+enjoyment. With other property, Mr. Jerome owned the controlling
+interest in the "Times," then very valuable. Dining in New York with him
+and Mr. Raymond, the latter told me it was useless to support the
+President, who was daily becoming more unpopular, and that the
+circulation and influence of his paper were rapidly diminishing in
+consequence of his adherence to "my policy." Whereupon Mr. Jerome
+replied: "I know but little about politics; but if you think it right to
+stand by the President, I will pay all losses that the 'Times' may
+suffer to the other proprietors." This was unselfish and patriotic; and
+I record it with the more pleasure, because Mr. Jerome has lost much of
+his wealth, and I fear, like many another Timon, some friends with it.
+
+After this period I saw little of President Johnson, who fought his
+fight in his own way, had his hands completely tied, and barely escaped
+impeachment; the Congress, meanwhile, making a whipping-post of the
+South, and inflicting upon it every humiliation that malignity could
+devise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT.
+
+
+Before the conventions to nominate candidates for the Presidency met in
+1868, I had much intercourse with General Grant, and found him ever
+modest and determined to steer clear of politics, or at least not permit
+himself to be used by partisans; and I have no doubt that he was
+sincere. But the Radical Satan took him up to the high places and
+promised him dominion over all in view. Perhaps none but a divine being
+can resist such temptation. He accepted the nomination from the
+Radicals, and was elected; and though I received friendly messages from
+him, I did not see him until near the close of his first administration.
+As ignorant of civil government as of the characters on the Moabitish
+stone, President Grant begun badly, and went from bad to worse. The
+appointments to office that he made, the associates whom he gathered
+around him, were astounding. All his own relatives, all his wife's
+relatives, all the relatives of these relatives, to the remotest
+cousinhood, were quartered on the public treasury. Never, since King
+Jamie crossed the Tweed with the hungry Scotch nation at his heels, has
+the like been seen; and the soul of old Newcastle, greatest of English
+nepotists, must have turned green with envy. The influence of this on
+the public was most disastrous. Already shortened by the war, the
+standard of morality, honesty, and right was buried out of sight.
+
+For two or three years I was much in the North, and especially in New
+York, where I had dear friends. The war had afforded opportunity and
+stimulated appetite for reckless speculation. Vast fortunes had been
+acquired by new men, destitute of manners, taste, or principles. The
+vulgar insolence of wealth held complete possession of public places and
+carried by storm the citadels of society. Indeed, society disappeared.
+As in the middle ages, to escape pollution, honorable men and refined
+women (and there are many such in the North) fled to sanctuary and
+desert, or, like early Christians in the catacombs, met secretly and in
+fear. The masses sank into a condition that would disgrace Australian
+natives, and lost all power of discrimination.
+
+The Vice-President of the United States accepted bribes, and perjured
+himself in vain to escape exposure. President Grant wrote him a letter
+to assure him of his continued esteem and confidence, and this
+Vice-President has since lectured before "Young Men's Christian
+Associations." Plunderings by members of the Congress excited no
+attention so long as they were confined to individuals or corporations.
+It was only when they voted themselves money out of taxes paid by the
+people, that these last growled and frightened some of the statesmen
+into returning it. A banker, the pet of the Government, holding the same
+especial relation to it that the Bank of England held to William of
+Orange, discovered that "a great national debt was a blessing," and was
+commended and rewarded therefor. With a palace on the shores of the
+Delaware, this banker owned a summer retreat on a lovely isle amid the
+waters of Lake Erie. A pious man, he filled this with many divines, who
+blessed all his enterprises. He contributed largely, too, to the support
+of an influential Christian journal to aid in disseminating truth to
+Jew, Gentile, and heathen. The divines and the Christian journal were
+employed to persuade widows and weak men to purchase his rotten
+securities, as things too righteous to occasion loss.
+
+The most eloquent preacher in the land, of a race devoted to adoration
+of negroes, as Hannibal to hatred of Rome, compromised the wife of a
+member of his congregation. Discovered by the husband, he groveled
+before him in humiliation as before "his God" (his own expression).
+Brought before the public, he swore that he was innocent, and denied the
+meaning of his own written words. The scandal endured for months and
+gave an opportunity to the metropolitan journals to display their
+enterprise by furnishing daily and minute reports of all details to
+their readers. The influence of the preacher was increased by this. His
+congregation flocked to him as the Anabaptists to John of Leyden, and
+shopkeepers profitably advertised their wares by doubling their
+subscriptions to augment his salary. Far from concealing this wound
+inflicted on his domestic honor, the injured husband proclaimed it from
+the housetops, clothed himself in it as in a robe of price, and has
+successfully used it to become a popular lecturer.
+
+To represent the country at the capital of an ancient monarchy, a man
+was selected whom, it is no abuse of language to declare, Titus Oates
+after his release from the pillory would have blushed to recognize. On
+the eve of his departure, as one may learn from the newspapers of the
+day, all that was richest and best in New York gathered around a banquet
+in his honor, congratulated the country to which he was accredited, and
+lamented the misfortune of their own that it would be deprived, even
+temporarily, of such virtue. Another was sent to an empire which is
+assured by our oft-succeeding envoys that it is the object of our
+particular affection. To the aristocracy of the realm this genial person
+taught the favorite game of the mighty West. A man of broad views,
+feeling that diplomatic attentions were due to commons as well as to
+crown and nobles, he occasionally withdrew himself from the social
+pleasures of the "West End" to inform the stags of Capel Court of the
+value of American mines. Benefactors are ever misjudged. Aristocracy and
+the many-antlered have since united to defame him; but Galileo in the
+dungeon, Pascal by his solitary lamp, More, Sidney, and Russell on the
+scaffold, will console him; and in the broad bosom of his native Ohio he
+has found the exception to the rule that prophets are not without honor
+but in their own country.
+
+The years of Methuselah and the pen of Juvenal would not suffice to
+exhaust the list, or depict the benighted state into which we had
+fallen; but it can be asserted of the popular idols of the day that
+unveiled, they resemble Mokanna, and can each exclaim:
+
+   "Here, judge if hell, with all its power to damn,
+   Can add one curse to the foul thing I am!"
+
+The examples of thousands of pure and upright people in the North were
+as powerless to mitigate the general corruption as song of seraphim to
+purify the orgies of harlots and burglars; for they were not in harmony
+with the brutal passions of the masses.
+
+In Boston, July, 1872, as co-trustees of the fund left by the late Mr.
+Peabody for the education of the poor in the Southern States, President
+Grant and I met for the first time since he had accepted the nomination
+from the Radical party. He was a candidate for reelection, and much
+worshiped; and, though cordial with me, his general manner had something
+of "I am the State." Stopping at the same inn, he passed an evening in
+my room, to which he came alone; and there, avoiding public affairs, we
+smoked and chatted about the Nueces, Rio Grande, Palo Alto, etc.--things
+twenty-five years agone, when we were youngsters beginning life. He was
+reelected in November by a large majority of electoral votes; but the
+people of Louisiana elected a Democratic Governor and Assembly. When, in
+January following, the time of meeting of the Assembly arrived, the
+country, habituated as it was to violent methods, was startled by the
+succeeding occurrences.
+
+The night before the Assembly was to meet, the Federal Judge in the city
+of New Orleans, a drunken reprobate, obtained from the commander of the
+United States troops a portion of his force, and stationed it in the
+State House. In the morning the members elect were refused admittance,
+and others not elected, many not even candidates during the election,
+were allowed to enter. One Packard, Marshal of the Federal Court, a
+bitter partisan and worthy adjunct of such a judge, had provided for an
+Assembly to suit himself by giving tickets to his friends, whom the
+soldiers passed in, excluding the elected members. The ring-streaked,
+spotted, and speckled among the cattle and goats, and the brown among
+the sheep, were turned into the supplanters' folds, which were filled
+with lowing herds and bleating flocks, while Laban had neither horn nor
+hoof. There was not a solitary return produced in favor of this Packard
+body, nor of the Governor subsequently installed; but the Radicals
+asserted that their friends would have been elected had the people voted
+as they wished, for every negro and some whites in the State upheld
+their party. By this time the charming credulity of the negroes had
+abated, and they answered the statement that slave-drivers were
+murdering their race in adjacent regions by saying that slave-drivers,
+at least, did not tell them lies nor steal their money.
+
+All the whites and many of the blacks in Louisiana felt themselves
+cruelly wronged by the action of the Federal authorities. Two Assemblies
+were in session and two Governors claiming power in New Orleans.
+Excitement was intense, business arrested, and collision between the
+parties imminent. As the Packard faction was supported by Federal
+troops, the situation looked grave, and a number of worthy people urged
+me to go to Washington, where my personal relations with the President
+might secure me access to him. It was by no means a desirable mission,
+but duty seemed to require me to undertake it.
+
+Accompanied by Thomas F. Bayard, Senator from Delaware, my first step in
+Washington was to call on the leader of the Radicals in the Senate,
+Morton of Indiana, when a long conversation ensued, from which I derived
+no encouragement. Senator Morton was the Couthon of his party, and this
+single interview prepared me for one of his dying utterances to warn the
+country against the insidious efforts of slave-driving rebels to regain
+influence in the Government. The author of the natural history of
+Ireland would doubtless have welcomed one specimen, by describing which
+he could have filled out a chapter on snakes; and there is temptation to
+dwell on the character of Senator Morton as one of the few Radical
+leaders who kept his hands clean of plunder. But it may be observed that
+one absorbing passion excludes all others from the human heart; and the
+small portion of his being in which disease had left vitality was set on
+vengeance. Death has recently clutched him, and would not be denied;
+and he is bewailed throughout the land as though he had possessed the
+knightly tenderness of Sir Philip Sidney and the lofty patriotism of
+Chatham.
+
+The President received me pleasantly, gave much time to the Louisiana
+difficulty, and, in order to afford himself opportunity for full
+information, asked me frequently to dine with his immediate family,
+composed of kindly, worthy people. I also received attention and
+hospitality from some members of his Cabinet, who with him seemed
+desirous to find a remedy for the wrong. More especially was this true
+of the Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, with whom and whose refined
+family I had an acquaintance. Of a distinguished Revolutionary race,
+possessor of a good estate, and with charming, cultivated surroundings,
+this gentleman seemed the Noah of the political world. Perhaps his
+retention in the Cabinet was due to a belief that, under the new and
+milder dispensation, the presence of one righteous man might avert the
+doom of Gomorrah. An exception existed in the person of the
+Attorney-General, a man, as eminent barristers declare, ignorant of law
+and self-willed and vulgar. For some reason he had much influence with
+the President, who later appointed him Chief Justice of the United
+States; but the Senatorial gorge, indelicate as it had proved, rose at
+this, as the easy-shaving barber's did at the coal-heaver, and rejected
+him.
+
+Weeks elapsed, during which I felt hopeful from the earnestness
+manifested in my mission by the President and several of his Cabinet.
+Parties were in hostile array in New Orleans, but my friends were
+restrained by daily reports of the situation at Washington. Only my
+opinion that there was some ground for hope could be forwarded.
+Conversations at dinner tables or in private interviews with the
+Executive and his advisers could not, then or since, be repeated; and
+this of necessity gave room for misconstruction, as will appear. At
+length, on the day before the Congress was by law to adjourn, the
+President sent a message to the Senate, informing that body that, in the
+event the Congress failed to take action on the Louisiana matter, he
+should esteem it his duty to uphold the Government created by the
+Federal Judge. I left Washington at once, and did not revisit it for
+nearly four years.
+
+I believe that President Grant was sincere with me, and went as far as
+he felt it safe. No doubt the Senatorial hyenas brought him to
+understand these unspoken words: "We have supported your acts, confirmed
+your appointments, protected and whitewashed your friends; but there are
+bones which we can not give up without showing our teeth, and Louisiana
+is one of them."
+
+The failure to obtain relief for the State of my birth, and whose soil
+covered the remains of all most dear, was sad enough, and the attempt
+had involved much unpleasant work; but I had my reward. Downfall of
+hope, long sustained, was bitter to the people, especially to the
+leaders expectant of office; and I became an object of distrust.
+"Nothing succeeds like success," and nothing fails like failure, and the
+world is quite right to denounce it. The British Ministry shot an
+admiral for failing to relieve Minorca--to encourage others, as Voltaire
+remarked. Byng died silent, without plaint, which was best. The drunken
+Federal Judge, author of the outrages, was universally condemned, with
+one exception, of which more anon. Both branches of the Congress,
+controlled by Radicals, pronounced his conduct to have been illegal and
+unjust, and he was driven from the bench with articles of impeachment
+hanging over him. Nevertheless, the Government evolved from his
+unjudicial consciousness was upheld by President Grant with Federal
+bayonets.
+
+Two years later the people of Louisiana elected an Assembly, a majority
+of whose members were opposed to the fraudulent Governor, Kellogg. The
+President sent United States soldiers into the halls of the Assembly to
+expel members at the point of the bayonet. Lieutenant-General Sheridan,
+the military maid of all (such) work, came especially to superintend
+this business, and it was now that he expressed the desire to
+exterminate "banditti." The destruction of buildings and food in the
+Valley of Virginia, to the confusion of the crows, was his Salamanca;
+but this was his Waterloo, and great was the fame of the
+Lieutenant-General of the Radicals.
+
+This _Governor_ Kellogg is the Senator recently seated, of whom mention
+has been made, and, if a lesser quantity than zero be conceivable, with
+a worse title to the office than he had to that of Governor of
+Louisiana. So far as known, he is a commonplace rogue; but his party has
+always rallied to his support, as the "Tenth Legion" to its eagles.
+Indeed, it is difficult to understand the qualities or objects that
+enlist the devotion and compel the worship of humanity. Travelers in the
+Orient tell of majestic fanes, whose mighty walls and countless columns
+are rich with elaborate carvings. Hall succeeds hall, each more
+beautifully wrought than the other, until the innermost, the holy of
+holies, is reached, and there is found enshrined--a shriveled ape.
+
+The sole exception referred to in the case of the drunken Federal Judge
+was a lawyer of small repute, who had been Democratic in his political
+tendencies. Languishing in obscurity, he saw and seized his opportunity,
+and rushed into print in defense of the Judge and in commendation of the
+President for upholding such judicial action. It is of record that this
+lawyer, in the society of some men of letters, declared Dante to be the
+author of the Decameron; but one may be ignorant of the Italian poets
+and thoroughly read in French memoirs. During the war of the Spanish
+succession, the Duke of Vendome, filthiest of generals, not excepting
+Suvaroff, commanded the French army in Italy. To negotiate protection
+for their States, the Italian princes sent agents to Vendome; but the
+agents sent by the Duke of Parma were so insulted by the bestialities of
+the French commander as to go back to their master without negotiating,
+and no decent man would consent to return. A starving little abbe
+volunteered for the service, and, possessing a special aptitude for
+baseness, succeeded in his mission. Thus Alberoni, afterward Cardinal
+and Prime Minister of Spain, got his foot on the first rung of the
+ladder of fame. The details of the story are too gross to repeat, and
+the Memoirs of the Duke of St. Simon must be consulted for them; but
+our lawyer assuredly had read them. Many may imitate Homer, however
+feebly; one genius originated his epics.
+
+Having entered on this lofty career, our Alberoni stuck to it with the
+tenacity of a ferret in pursuit of rabbits, and was rewarded, though not
+at the time nor to the extent he had reason to expect. The mission to
+England was promised him by the reigning powers, when, on the very eve
+of securing his prize, a stick was put in the wheels of his progress,
+and by a brother's hand. Another legal personage, practicing at the same
+bar, that of New York, and a friend, did the deed. "Chloe was false,
+Chloe was common, but constant while possessed"; but here Chloe was
+without the last quality. In 1868, General Grant's election pending,
+Chloe was affiliated with the Democratic party, and had been chosen one
+of the captains of its citadel, a sachem of Tammany. Scenting success
+for Grant, with the keenness of the vulture for his prey, he attended a
+Radical meeting and announced his intention to give twenty thousand
+dollars to the Radical election fund. This sum appears to have been the
+market value of a seat in the Cabinet, to which ultimately he was
+called. When the English mission became vacant by the resignation of the
+incumbent, disgusted by British ingratitude, Chloe quitted the Cabinet
+to take it, and Alberoni was left wearing weeds. Yet much allowance is
+due to family affection, the foundation of social organization.
+Descended from a noble stock, though under a somewhat different name,
+Chloe from mystic sources learned that his English relatives pined for
+his society, and devotion to family ties tempted him to betray his
+friend. Subsequently Alberoni was appointed to a more northern country,
+where he may find congenial society; for, in a despotism tempered only
+by assassination, the knees of all become pliant before power.
+
+It is pleasant to mark the early steps of nascent ambition. In the time
+of the great Napoleon every conscript carried the baton of a marshal in
+his knapsack; and in our happy land every rogue may be said to have an
+appointment to office in his pocket. This is also pleasant.
+
+Since the spring of 1873, when he gave himself up to the worst elements
+of his party, I have not seen President Grant; but his career suggests
+some curious reflections to one who has known him for thirty-odd years.
+What the waiting-woman promised in jest, Dame Fortune has seriously
+bestowed on this Malvolio, and his political cross-garterings not only
+find favor with the Radical Olivia, but are admired by the Sir Tobys of
+the European world. Indeed, Fortune has conceits as quaint as those of
+Haroun al-Raschid. The beggar, from profound sleep, awoke in the
+Caliph's bed. Amazed and frightened by his surroundings, he slowly
+gained composure as courtier after courtier entered, bowing low, to
+proclaim him King of kings, Light of the World, Commander of the
+Faithful; and he speedily came to believe that the present had always
+existed, while the real past was an idle dream. Of a nature kindly and
+modest, President Grant was assured by all about him that he was the
+delight of the Radicals, greatest captain of the age, and saviour of the
+nation's life. It was inevitable that he should begin by believing some
+of this, and end by believing it all. Though he had wasted but little
+time on books since leaving West Point, where in his day the curriculum
+was limited, he had found out to the last shilling the various sums
+voted by Parliament to the Duke of Wellington, and spoke of them in a
+manner indicating his opinion that he was another example of the
+ingratitude of republics. The gentle temper and sense of justice of
+Othello resisted the insidious wiles of Iago; but ignorance and
+inexperience yielded in the end to malignity and craft. President Grant
+was brought not only to smother the Desdemona of his early preferences
+and intentions, but to feel no remorse for the deed, and take to his
+bosom the harridan of radicalism. As Phalaris did those of Agrigentum
+opposed to his rule, he finished by hating Southerners and Democrats.
+
+During the struggle for the Presidency in the autumn of 1876, he
+permitted a member of his Cabinet, the Secretary of the Interior, to
+become the manager of the Radicals and use all the power of his office,
+established for the public service, to promote the success of his
+party's candidate.
+
+Monsieur Fourtou, Minister of the Interior, removed prefects and mayors
+to strengthen the power of De Broglie; whereupon all the newspapers in
+our land published long essays to show and lament the ignorance of the
+French and their want of experience in republican methods. One might
+suppose these articles to have been written by the "seven sleepers," so
+forgetful were they of yesterday's occurrences at home; but beams near
+at hand are ever blinked in our search of distant motes. The election
+over, but the result in dispute, President Grant, in Philadelphia,
+alarmed thoughtful people by declaring that "no man could take the great
+office of President upon whose title thereto the faintest shadow of
+doubt rested," and then, with all the power of the Government,
+successfully led the search for this non-existing person. To insure
+fairness in the count, so that none could carp, he requested eminent
+statesmen to visit South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, the electoral
+votes of which were claimed by both parties; but the statesmen were,
+without exception, the bitterest and most unscrupulous partisans,
+personally interested in securing victory for their candidate, and have
+since received their hire. Soldiers were quartered in the capitals of
+the three States to aid the equitable statesmen in reaching a correct
+result by applying the bayonet if the figures proved refractory. With
+equity and force at work, the country might confidently expect justice;
+and justice was done--that justice ever accorded by unscrupulous power
+to weakness.
+
+But one House of the Congress was controlled by the Democrats, and
+these, Herod-like, were seeking to slay the child, the Nation. To guard
+against this, President Grant ordered other troops to Washington and a
+ship of war to be anchored in the Potomac, and the child was preserved.
+Again, the 4th of March, appointed by law for the installation of
+Presidents, fell on Sunday. President Grant is of Scotch descent, and
+doubtless learned in the traditions of the land o' cakes. The example of
+Kirkpatrick at Dumfries taught him that it was wise to "mak sicker"; so
+the incoming man and the Chief Justice were smuggled into the White
+House on the sabbath day, and the oath of office was administered. If
+the chair of George Washington was to be filched, it were best done
+under cover. The value of the loot inspired caution.
+
+In Paris, at a banquet, Maitre Gambetta recently toasted our
+ex-President "as the great commander who had sacredly obeyed and
+preserved his country's laws." Whether this was said in irony or
+ignorance, had General Grant taken with him to Paris his late Secretary
+of the Interior, the accomplished Z. Chandler, the pair might have
+furnished suggestions to Marshal MacMahon and Fourtou that would have
+changed the dulcet strains of Maitre Gambetta into dismal howls.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+Dismissing hope of making my small voice heard in mitigation of the woes
+of my State, in May, 1873, I went to Europe and remained many months.
+Returned to New York, I found that the characters on the wall, so long
+invisible, had blazed forth, and the vast factitious wealth, like the
+gold of the dervish, withered and faded in a night. The scenes depicted
+of Paris and London, after the collapse of Mississippi schemes and South
+Sea bubbles, were here repeated on a greater scale and in more
+aggravated form. To most, the loss of wealth was loss of ancestry,
+repute, respectability, decency, recognition of their fellows--all.
+Small wonder that their withers were fearfully wrung, and their wails
+piteous. Enterprise and prosperity were frozen as in a sea of
+everlasting ice, and guardians of trusts, like Ugolino, plunged their
+robber fangs into the scalps and entrails of the property confided to
+them.
+
+A public journal has recently published a detailed list, showing that
+there has been plundered by fiduciaries since 1873 the amazing amount of
+thirty millions of money; and the work goes on. Scarce a newspaper is
+printed in whose columns may not be found some fresh instance of breach
+of trust. As poisoning in the time of Brinvilliers, stealing is
+epidemic, and the watch-dogs of the flocks are transformed into wolves.
+
+Since the tocsin sounded we have gone from bad to worse. During the past
+summer (1877) laborers, striking for increased wages or to resist
+diminution thereof, seized and held for many days the railway lines
+between East and West, stopping all traffic. Aided by mobs, they took
+possession of great towns and destroyed vast property. At Pittsburgh,
+in Pennsylvania, State troops attempting to restore order were attacked
+and driven off. Police and State authorities in most cases proved
+impotent, and the arm of Federal power was invoked to stay the evil.
+
+Thousands of the people are without employment, which they seek in vain;
+and from our cities issue heartrending appeals in behalf of the
+suffering poor. From the Atlantic as far to the west as the young State
+of Nebraska, there has fallen upon the land a calamity like that
+afflicting Germany after the Thirty Years' War. Hordes of idle, vicious
+tramps penetrate rural districts in all directions, rendering property
+and even life unsafe; and no remedy for this new disease has been
+discovered. Let us remember that these things are occurring in a country
+of millions upon millions of acres of vacant lands, to be had almost for
+the asking, and where, even in the parts first colonized, density of
+population bears but a small relation to that of western Europe. Yet we
+daily assure ourselves and the world that we have the best government
+under the canopy of heaven, and the happiest land, hope and refuge of
+humanity.
+
+Purified by fire and sword, the South has escaped many of these evils;
+but her enemies have sown the seeds of a pestilence more deadly than
+that rising from Pontine marshes. Now that Federal bayonets have been
+turned from her bosom, this poison, the influence of three fourths of a
+million of negro voters, will speedily ascend and sap her vigor and
+intelligence. Greed of office, curse of democracies, will impel
+demagogues to grovel deeper and deeper in the mire in pursuit of
+ignorant votes. Her old breed of statesmen has largely passed away
+during and since the civil war, and the few survivors are naturally
+distrusted, as responsible for past errors. Numbers of her gentry fell
+in battle, and the men now on the stage were youths at the outbreak of
+strife, which arrested their education. This last is also measurably
+true of the North. Throughout the land the experience of the active
+portion of the present generation only comprises conditions of discord
+and violence. The story of the six centuries of sturdy effort by which
+our English forefathers wrought out their liberties is unknown,
+certainly unappreciated. Even the struggles of our grandfathers are
+forgotten, and the names of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jay, Marshall,
+Madison, and Story awaken no fresher memories in our minds, no deeper
+emotions in our hearts, than do those of Solon, Leonidas, and Pericles.
+But respect for the memories and deeds of our ancestors is security for
+the present, seed-corn for the future; and, in the language of Burke,
+"Those will not look forward to their posterity who never look backward
+to their ancestors."
+
+Traditions are mighty influences in restraining peoples. The light that
+reaches us from above takes countless ages to traverse the awful chasm
+separating us from its parent star; yet it comes straight and true to
+our eyes, because each tender wavelet is linked to the other, receiving
+and transmitting the luminous ray. Once break the continuity of the
+stream, and men will deny its heavenly origin, and seek its source in
+the feeble glimmer of earthly corruption.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+Acadian exiles in Attakapas, 105;
+  their descendants, 106.
+
+Alabama delegates retire from Charleston Convention, 12.
+
+Alberoni, Abbe, 263.
+
+Andersonville Prison, 216.
+
+Antietam a drawn battle, 95.
+
+Antipathy to the South, 238.
+
+Anti-slavery agitation, 10.
+
+Army, Confederate, of Virginia moved to Gordonsville, 42.
+
+Ashby, General Turner, during march to Harrisonburg, 69;
+  his death, 71;
+  no disciplinarian, 72.
+
+Attakapas, home of the Acadians, 105.
+
+
+Bank of Tennessee, its treasure restored, 224.
+
+Banks, General N.P., his ignorance and arrogance, 164;
+ retreats to Alexandria, 182;
+ his army demoralized, 187;
+ his misleading dispatches, 135, 137, 146, 151, 174, 181.
+
+Baton Rouge, Confederates repulsed, 107.
+
+Bayou des Allemands surprised, 111.
+
+Beauregard, General P.G.T., his coolness and courage at Manassas, 19.
+
+Berwick's Bay captured by Confederates, 141;
+  the prisoners and spoil, 143.
+
+Bisland attacked by Federals, 130.
+
+Blunders of Confederates in first Richmond campaign, 86.
+
+Bourbeau Bayou, Confederate success there, 150.
+
+Boyd, Belle, Confederate spy, 51.
+
+Bragg, General B., occupies Pensacola, 15;
+  services in United States army, 99;
+  a strong disciplinarian, 100;
+  invades Kentucky, _ib._;
+  his petulance, _ib._
+
+Brent, Major J.L., Taylor's chief of artillery, 117;
+  his fertility of resource, 118.
+
+Brown, Joseph, Governor of Georgia, 212.
+
+Bugeaud's "Maxims," 39.
+
+Burton, General, commandant of Fortress Monroe, 246.
+
+Butler, General B.F., in the Charleston Convention, 11:
+  puts a stop to marauding, 112.
+
+
+Canby, General E.R.S., invests the Mobile forts, 221;
+  the city occupied, 222.
+
+Carpet-baggers, 236.
+
+Cavalry, Confederate, its indiscipline, 60.
+
+Charleston Convention, 10.
+
+Civil War, causes of the, 9.
+
+Cobb, Howell, and the defenses of Macon, 211;
+  his death, 213.
+
+Cold Harbor, battle of, 84.
+
+Collapse of the Confederacy, 230.
+
+Confederate government at Montgomery, its vacillation, 15.
+
+Conventions called to repeal secession ordinances, 227;
+  this action punished as rebellion, 228.
+
+Corruption, political and social, 257.
+
+Cotton, Confederate gunboat, 121.
+
+Courtesy to a wounded prisoner, 151.
+
+Creoles of Louisiana not an effete race, 109.
+
+Cushing, Caleb, in the Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+
+Davis, Henry Winter, 244.
+
+Davis, Jefferson, his amiability, 24;
+  a prisoner in Fortress Monroe, 246.
+
+Disease in the Confederate Army of Virginia, 23.
+
+Diana, gunboat, captured by Confederates, 128.
+
+"District of Louisiana," its military resources, 108.
+
+Dix, General John A., in the Philadelphia Convention, 253;
+  the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics, 253.
+
+
+Embezzlement and breach of trust, 268.
+
+Engineer service unfits for command, 98.
+
+Ewell, Lieutenant-General R.S., his services in the United States army, 37;
+  his manner and personal appearance, _ib._;
+  his absence of mind, 78.
+
+
+Farragut, Admiral D.G., opens the Mississippi to Vicksburg, 125.
+
+Fessenden, General, his account of the Pleasant Hill battle, 171.
+
+Fish, Hamilton, 261.
+
+Forrest, General, by nature a great soldier, 199;
+  secret of his success, 200;
+  his kindly disposition, _ib._
+
+Fort Butler unsuccessfully attacked, 144.
+
+Fort de Russy captured, 155.
+
+Frazier's Farm, 91.
+
+Freedmen's Bureau and Bank, 251.
+
+Fremont routed at Strasburg, 65;
+  beaten at Cross Keys, 73.
+
+Front Royal captured by Taylor, 53.
+
+Fuller, Captain, improvises a gunboat, 119;
+  delays Federal advance up the Teche, 121.
+
+Fusilier, Leclerc, his gallantry and munificence, 109.
+
+
+Gettysburg battle, 230.
+
+Gibson, General R.L., his defense of Spanish Fort, 221.
+
+Governments set up by the military in Southern States, 248.
+
+Grant, General, opposed to advance on Richmond by land, 33;
+  testimony concerning this point, 34, _note_;
+  begins operations against Vicksburg, 121;
+  classed with Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland, 149;
+  his error at Vicksburg, 149;
+  his modesty and generosity, 242;
+  opposed to reconstruction at first, 256;
+  his part in the election of 1876, 266.
+
+Green, Major-General Thomas, killed, 177.
+
+Gunboats, the terror they at first inspired, 118.
+
+
+Hancock, Major-General W.S., restores order at New Orleans, 251.
+
+Hardee, Major-General, his modesty, 215.
+
+Hood, Lieutenant-General, his losses at Franklin, 216;
+  superseded by Taylor, 217;
+  his army after defeat, _ib._
+
+Horsemen strapped to their steeds, 55.
+
+
+Ignorance claims its victims, 93.
+
+Immigration, how it determined the events of 1860, 10.
+
+Indianola, iron-clad, passes Vicksburg, 123;
+  sunk by the Confederates, 125.
+
+"Initiative" and "defensive," 20.
+
+Irishmen as soldiers, 76.
+
+
+Jackson, General T.J. (Stonewall), his appearance and manner, 49;
+  his care for the ammunition trains, 56;
+  routs Banks at Winchester, 59;
+  his inner nature, 79;
+  ranked with Nelson and Havelock, 80.
+
+Jerome, Leonard, and the New York "Times," 254.
+
+Johnson, Andrew, 240, 242.
+
+Johnston, General Albert Sidney, his services in the United States
+  Army, 231;
+  character, 232;
+  his death an irreparable loss, 233.
+
+Johnston, General Joseph E., his estrangement from Jefferson Davis, 26;
+  moves his army to Orange Court House, 35;
+  services in United States army, _ib._;
+  a master of logistics, 43;
+  his neglect of opportunity, _ib._
+
+
+Kellogg, William Pitt, 263.
+
+Kentucky, invasion of, 101.
+
+"King Cotton" a tyrant, 235.
+
+Ku-Klux assassinations, 250.
+
+
+Labor troubles in the North, 268.
+
+Lee, General R.E., his force at opening of first Richmond campaign, 86;
+  his strategy commended, _ib._;
+  place in Southern history, 96;
+  his mistakes, 97;
+  his tactics inferior to his strategy, _ib._;
+  his surrender proclaimed to Taylor's army, 222.
+
+Lee, General A.L., his account of the battle of Pleasant Hill, 173.
+
+Louisiana secedes from the Union, 13;
+  temper of the people, _ib._
+
+Louisiana Brigade, 78;
+  its losses at Cold Harbor, 85.
+
+Louisiana, the State government overturned, 259-262.
+
+Louisiana, Western, its topography and river systems, 103.
+
+
+Malvern Hill battle, 91.
+
+Manassas, first battle of, encourages the Confederates, 18;
+  effect at the North, 31.
+
+Mansfield, battle of, 162.
+
+Mechanical resources wanting to the South, 202.
+
+Missouri compromise, 9.
+
+Mobile, its defenses, 201;
+  occupied by General Canby, 222.
+
+Moore, Thomas O., Governor of Louisiana, 102.
+
+Morton, Senator, 260.
+
+Mouton, Alexander, president of Louisiana Convention, 12;
+  his zeal for the Southern cause, 108.
+
+McClellan, General George B., assumes command of Potomac army, 31;
+  his work as an organizer, 32;
+  his strategy, 33;
+  his force at beginning of Richmond campaign, 86;
+  in battle of Cold Harbor, 87;
+  his topographical knowledge, _ib._;
+  as a commander, 93;
+  lacked audacity, 95.
+
+McDowell, Major-General Irvin, his plan of battle at Manassas, 19.
+
+Magruder, General, as a commander, 93.
+
+Malvern Hill, battle of, 92.
+
+
+Negro slaves, their fidelity, 210.
+
+
+Office-seeking, the curse of democracies, 269.
+
+
+Pemberton, General, his services in the United States army, 116;
+  his unfitness for independent command, 117;
+  his blunder at Vicksburg, 148.
+
+Philadelphia Convention, 252.
+
+Pleasant Hill, battle of, 168.
+
+Polignac, Prince Charles, 154.
+
+Pope, General, his incapacity, 95.
+
+Port Hudson taken by Federals, 145.
+
+Port Republic, Federal repulse, 16.
+
+Porter, Admiral D.D., ascends Red River, 155;
+  assists in taking Fort de Russy, _ib._;
+  his report on battle of Pleasant Hill, 174;
+  his losses in descending Red River, 185;
+  report on Banks's retreat to Alexandria, 187.
+
+Presidential election of 1876, 266.
+
+Provost-marshals, their exactions, 208.
+
+
+Queen of the West, gunboat, runs the Vicksburg batteries, 122;
+  captured by Confederates, 124.
+
+
+Railroads, inefficiency of the Southern, 203.
+
+Red River opened by the Federals, 136.
+
+Richmond, Dean, in the Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+River systems of Western Louisiana, 103.
+
+
+Salt mines at Petit Anse, 114.
+
+Selma taken by Federals, 219.
+
+Seward, W.H., 240.
+
+Seymour, Colonel, killed at Cold Harbor, 85.
+
+Sheridan, General P.H., in New Orleans, 262;
+  his course approved by a renegade Democrat, 263.
+
+Sherman, General W.T., his way of making war, 195.
+
+Shiloh, battle of, 231.
+
+Slavery not the cause of the civil war, 10.
+
+Smith, Lieutenant-General E. Kirby, in command of the "Trans-Mississippi
+  Department," 126;
+  his military record, 127;
+  orders reenforcement of Pemberton, 138;
+  his administration, 153;
+  his anxiety about safety of Shreveport, 176;
+  allows Banks and Porter to escape, 190;
+  compared to Quintilius Varus, 192.
+
+South Carolina delegates in Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+Southern leaders after Lee's surrender, 223.
+
+"Southern Outrages," 249.
+
+Southrons have no aptitude for marching, 36.
+
+Stanton, E.M., 241.
+
+Statesmanship lacking to the Confederacy, 233.
+
+Stephens, Alexander H., his character, 29;
+  his views concerning military matters, _ib._;
+  his tergiversation, _ib._;
+  neglect of Jefferson Davis, 30.
+
+Stevens, Thaddeus, 243.
+
+Straggling in the Southern army, 36.
+
+Strasburg, affair at, 65.
+
+Sufferings of the people after the war, 236.
+
+Sumner, Charles, 245.
+
+
+Tactical mistakes of Confederate generals, 93.
+
+Taylor, R. (the author), a delegate to Charleston, 10;
+  his efforts to promote harmony, 12;
+  sees war to be inevitable, 13;
+  commissioned colonel, 16;
+  brigadier, 23;
+  habit of noting topography and resources of districts, 40;
+  disposition for meeting or making an attack, _ib._;
+  his Louisiana brigade, 47;
+  major-general, 93;
+  in command of District of Louisiana, 102;
+  lieutenant-general, 196;
+  supersedes Hood, 217;
+  his army sent into North Carolina, 218;
+  his surrender, 226;
+  return home, 228;
+  visits Jeff. Davis in Fortress Monroe, 246.
+
+Teche country, 105;
+  military operations in, 131, 135.
+
+Tents, useless _impedimenta_, 40.
+
+Toombs, General Robert, takes Georgia "home-guards" out of their
+  State, 215.
+
+Topography, ignorance of, among Confederates, 86.
+
+"Trans-Mississippi Department," its last hours, 229.
+
+Troopers strapped to their horses, 55;
+  protected by breastplates, _ib._
+
+Truce concluded between Generals Canby and Taylor, 224.
+
+Turenne, anecdote of, 64.
+
+
+Universal suffrage, its effects on a people, 209.
+
+
+Valley of Virginia, its opulence, 45;
+  laid waste by General Sheridan, 46.
+
+Vicksburg, attempts to relieve it, 138.
+
+Vicksburg and Fort Hudson, importance of, to the Confederates, 116.
+
+
+Walker, General W.H.T., his services in the United States army, 22;
+  joins forces with Taylor, 150.
+
+War, its demoralizing effects on the North, 257.
+
+Washington City after the war, 241.
+
+Weitzel, General, ascends the Teche, 120;
+  his successes, 121.
+
+Western Louisiana, its topography, 103.
+
+Wheat, Major, his turbulent battalion, 25;
+  his checkered career, 26.
+
+Wilson, General, captures Selma, 220.
+
+Winchester, battle of, 56.
+
+Winder, General Charles, 79.
+
+Winston, ex-Governor, his conservatism, 12;
+  his change of views, _ib._
+
+Wirtz, his efforts to better the condition of prisoners, 216.
+
+Wyndham, Colonel Percy, 26.
+
+
+Yancey, William L., his influence in the Charleston Convention, 11.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+RECENT
+American History and Biography.
+
+I.
+
+_Four Years with General Lee:_
+
+Being a Summary of the more Important Events touching the Career of
+General Robert E. Lee, in the War between the States; together with an
+Authoritative Statement of the Strength of the Army which he commanded
+in the Field. By WILLIAM H. TAYLOR, of his Staff, and late
+Adjutant-General of the Army of Northern Virginia. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00.
+
+II.
+
+_The Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston._
+
+By his Son, Colonel WILLIAM PRESTON JOHNSTON. One large octavo volume,
+774 pages. With Maps, a fine Portrait on Steel, and 8 full-page
+Illustrations. Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half turkey, $7.00.
+
+III.
+
+_The Autobiography of William H. Seward. (1801-1834)._
+
+With a later Memoir by his Son, FREDERICK W. SEWARD, late Assistant
+Secretary of State. Per volume, over 800 pages, cloth, $4.25; sheep,
+$5.25; half turkey, $6.25; full turkey, $8.25.
+
+IV.
+
+_Military History of General U.S. Grant._
+
+from April, 1861, to April, 1865. By ADAM BADEAU, Colonel and
+Aide-de-Camp to the General-in-Chief, Brevet Brigadier-General U.S.A.
+With Portrait, and numerous Maps. Vol. I. 8vo. Cloth, $4.00; half calf,
+extra, $6.50.
+
+V.
+
+_Memoirs of W.T. Sherman._
+
+By Himself. (With a Military Map showing the Marches of the United
+States Forces under General Sherman's command.) Two handsome vols., 8vo.
+Blue cloth, $5.50; sheep, $7.00; half morocco, $8.50; full morocco,
+$12.00.
+
+Cheap edition. 1 vol. Cloth, $3.50.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+AMERICAN PAINTERS:
+_Biographical Sketches of Fifty American Artists._
+WITH EIGHTY-THREE EXAMPLES OF THEIR WORKS,
+ENGRAVED ON WOOD IN A PERFECT MANNER.
+
+Quarto; cloth, extra gilt Price, $7.00; full morocco, $13.00.
+
+_The painters represented in this work are as follows:_
+
+CHURCH,
+INNES,
+HUNTINGTON,
+PAGE,
+SANFORD GIFFORD,
+SWAIN GIFFORD,
+DURAND,
+R.W. WEIR,
+W.T. RICHARDS,
+T. MORAN,
+P. MORAN,
+PERRY,
+BELLOWS,
+SHATTUCK,
+MILLER,
+J.F. WEIR,
+HUNT,
+WHITTREDGE,
+W. HART,
+J.M. HART,
+McENTEE,
+COLMAN,
+HICKS,
+WINSLOW HOMER,
+DE HAAS,
+J.G. BROWN,
+WYANT,
+WOOD,
+BRISTOL,
+REINHART,
+BRIDGMAN,
+BIERSTADT,
+J.H. BEARD,
+W.H. BEARD,
+PORTER,
+G.L. BROWN,
+APPLETON BROWN,
+CROPSEY,
+CASILEAR,
+E. JOHNSON,
+SHIRLAW,
+CHASE,
+BRICHER,
+ROBBINS,
+WILMARTH,
+EATON,
+GUY,
+QUARTLEY,
+HOPKINSON SMITH,
+MEEKER.
+
+The publishers feel justified in saying that the contemporaneous art of
+no country has ever been so adequately represented in a single volume as
+our American Painters are in this work, while the engravings are equal
+in execution to the finest examples of wood-engraving produced here or
+abroad.
+
+OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
+
+"The richest and in many ways the most notable of fine art books is
+'American Painters,' just published, with unstinted liberality in the
+making. Eighty-three examples of the work of American artists,
+reproduced in the very best style of wood-engraving, and printed with
+rare skill, constitute the chief purpose of the book; while the text
+which accompanies them, the work of Mr. George W. Sheldon, is a series
+of bright and entertaining biographical sketches of the artists, with a
+running commentary--critical, but not too critical--upon the peculiarities
+of their several methods, purposes, and conceptions."--_New York
+Evening Post._
+
+"The volume gives good evidence of the progress of American art. It
+shows that we have deft hands and imaginative brains among painters of
+the country, and it shows, moreover, that we have publishers who are
+liberal and cultured enough to present their works in a handsome and
+luxurious form that will make them acceptable. 'American Painters' will
+adorn the table of many a drawing-room where art is loved, and where it
+is made still dearer from the fact that it is native."--_New York
+Express._
+
+"It is at once a biographical dictionary of artists, a gallery of pen
+portraits and of beautiful scenes, sketched by the painters and
+multiplied by the engraver. It is in all respects a work of art, and
+will meet the wants of a large class whose tastes are in that
+direction."--_New York Observer._
+
+"One of the most delightful volumes issued from the press of this
+country."--_New York Daily Graphic._
+
+"Outside and inside it is a thing of beauty. The text is in large, clear
+type, the paper is of the finest, the margins broad, and the
+illustrations printed with artistic care. The volume contains brief
+sketches of fifty prominent American artists, with examples from their
+works. Some idea of the time and labor expended in bringing out the work
+may be gathered from the fact that to bring it before the public in its
+present form cost the publishers over $12,000."--_Boston Evening
+Transcript._
+
+"This book is a notable one, and among the many fine art books it will
+rank as one of the choicest, and one of the most elegant, considered as
+an ornament or parlor decoration. The engravings are in the highest
+style known to art. Mr. Sheldon has accompanied the illustrations with a
+series of very entertaining biographical sketches. As far as possible,
+he has made the artists their own interpreters, giving their own
+commentaries upon art and upon their purposes in its practice instead of
+his own."--_Boston Post._
+
+"'American Painters' consists of biographical sketches of fifty leading
+American artists, with eighty-three examples of their works, engraved on
+wood with consummate skill, delicacy of touch, and appreciation of
+distinctive manner. It is a gallery of contemporary American
+art."--_Philadelphia Press._
+
+"This work is one of surpassing interest, and of marvelous typographical
+and illustrative beauty."--_Philadelphia Item._
+
+"The whole undertaking is a noble one, illustrative of the best period
+of American art, and as such deserves the attention and support of the
+public."--_Chicago Tribune._
+
+
+_D. APPLETON & CO., Publishers, 549 & 551 Broadway, New York._
+
+
+
+
+THE
+FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY EPOCH.
+Being a History of France from the Beginning of the First French
+Revolution to the End of the Second Empire.
+
+BY
+HENRI VAN LAUN,
+Author of "History of French Literature," etc.
+
+In 2 vols., 12mo. Cloth, $3.50.
+
+"As a history for readers who are not disposed to make an exhaustive
+study of the subject treated, the book impresses us as eminently
+good."--_N.Y. Evening Post._
+
+"This work throws a flood of light on the problems which are now
+perplexing the politicians and statesmen of Europe."--_N.Y. Daily
+Graphic._
+
+"This is a work for which there is no substitute at present in the
+English language. For American readers it may be said to have secured a
+temporary monopoly of a most interesting topic. Educated persons can
+scarcely afford to neglect it."--_N.Y. Sun._
+
+"The opinion is here advanced and tolerably well fortified that Napoleon
+would have been beaten at Waterloo if Bluecher had not come up. The book
+is a compendium of the events between 1789 and 1871: it is a popular
+treatment of the subject for students and family reading."--_Chicago
+Tribune._
+
+"Nothing can surpass the clearness of the narrative, and it may be truly
+said that this history is as interesting as a romance."--_Philadelphia
+Press._
+
+"The general reader will get, as he goes along with it, a more distinct
+idea of the salient features which marked the course of events than he
+might from some of the thousand and one more picturesque and more
+dramatic, but less truthful, histories of the same epoch."--_N.Y.
+Express._
+
+"We heartily commend it to our readers as one of the most compact,
+attractive, trustworthy, and instructive historical works in
+existence."--_Utica Daily Observer._
+
+"The author shows judgment and skill in culling from the large materials
+at command that which is of value, and also a masterly ability in
+presenting them tersely, and at the same time throwing in enough of
+incident and the lighter thought to make the volumes wholly
+enjoyable."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._
+
+"If you desire to read facts and not theories, events and not
+imaginings, in chaste though vigorous language, peruse these
+volumes."--_Providence Press._
+
+"The author has accomplished a difficult and much-needed undertaking in
+a very satisfactory way."--_Boston Journal._
+
+"No student of American history can afford to be without this
+book."--_St. Louis Times-Journal._
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT'S
+POETICAL WORKS.
+
+Illustrated 8vo Edition of Bryant's Poetical Works. 100 Engravings by
+Birket Foster, Harry Fenn, Alfred Fredericks, and other Artists. 1 vol.,
+8vo. Cloth, gilt side and edge, $4.00; half calf, marble edge, $6.00;
+full morocco, antique, $8.00; tree calf, $10.00.
+
+Household Edition. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.00; half calf, $4.00;
+morocco, $5.00; tree calf, $5.00.
+
+Red-Line Edition. With 24 Illustrations, and Portrait of Bryant on
+Steel. Printed on tinted paper, with red line. Square 12mo. Cloth,
+extra, $3.00; half calf, $5.00; morocco, $7.00; tree calf, $8.00.
+
+Blue-and-Gold Edition. 18mo. Cloth, gilt edge, $1.50; half calf, marble
+edge, $3.00; morocco, gilt edge, $4.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Song of the Sower. Illustrated with 42 Engravings on Wood, from
+Original Designs by Hennessy, Fenn, Winslow Homer, Hows, Griswold,
+Nehlig, and Perkins; engraved in the most perfect manner by our best
+Artists. Elegantly printed and bound. Cloth, extra gilt $5.00; morocco,
+antique, $9.00.
+
+
+The Story of the Fountain. With 42 Illustrations by Harry Fenn, Alfred
+Fredericks, John A. Hows, Winslow Homer, and others. In one handsome
+quarto volume. Printed in the most perfect manner, on heavy calendered
+paper. Uniform with "The Song of the Sower." 8vo. Square cloth, extra
+gilt, $5.00; morocco, antique, $9.00.
+
+
+The Little People of the Snow. Illustrated with exquisite Engravings,
+printed in Tints, from Designs by Alfred Fredericks. Cloth, $5.00;
+morocco, $9.00.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+The Poet and Painter;
+OR, GEMS OF ART AND SONG.
+
+An imperial 8vo volume, containing Choice Selections from the English
+Poets. Superbly illustrated with Ninety-nine Steel Engravings. Printed
+in the best manner on the page with the text. New edition: cloth, extra,
+$12.00; morocco, antique, or extra, $20.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Household Book of Poetry.
+BY CHARLES A. DANA.
+
+New edition, enlarged, with Additions from recent Authors. Illustrated
+with Steel Engravings by celebrated Artists. 1 vol., royal 8vo. Cloth,
+extra, gilt edges, $5.00; morocco, antique, $10.00; crushed levant,
+$15.00.
+
+The Household Book of Poetry. New cheap edition. Cloth, extra, red
+edges, $3.50; morocco, gilt edges, $7.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Fitz-Greene Halleck's Poetical Works.
+EDITED BY JAMES GRANT WILSON.
+
+Complete Poetical Works. 1 vol., 12mo. Cloth, $2.50; half calf, extra,
+$4.50; morocco, antique, $6.00.
+
+Large-paper copy of the same. 8vo. Cloth, $10.00; morocco, antique,
+$15.00.
+
+Complete Poetical Works. 1 vol., 18mo. In blue-and-gold, $1.00; morocco,
+antique, $8.00.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Appletons' Library of the British Poets
+FROM CHAUCER TO TENNYSON AND THE LATER POETS.
+EDITED BY ROSSITER JOHNSON.
+
+Complete in three large 8vo volumes. Illustrated with Portraits and
+Views on Steel. Price, per volume, cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half
+turkey, $7.00; half russia, $8.00; full russia or full turkey, $10.00.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & CO., PUBLISHERS, 549 & 551 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 23747.txt or 23747.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/7/4/23747
+
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://www.gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit:
+http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
diff --git a/23747.zip b/23747.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43baf01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23747.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d098bd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #23747 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23747)