FARRAGUT BEFORE VICKSBURG.

101

cupied it as a military post, it was left unmolested.

fices." The city having been com- | but, as the Confederates had not ocpletely occupied, and the National authority rëestablished, Gen. Butler caused Mumford to be arrested, tried, and, he being convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, that sentence was duly executed," in the face of all New Orleans anxiously looking on, and in defiance of the confident . prediction of the Rebels that Butler would not dare to do it. They did not dare; he did. And his hold on the city was firmer and safer from that moment.

About the same time," he pardoned and set at liberty six humbler Rebels, who, having been captured and paroled at the surrender of the forts, had been induced secretly to rëenlist in the Rebel service, conspiring to force or evade our pickets and hasten to join Beauregard's army in Mississippi. Their guilt was undoubted; their crime one that military law sternly punishes with death.

The advance of our squadron, under Commander S. P. Lee, encountered no opposition until it reached Vicksburg," whence a summons to surrender was answered with defiance. Our force was inadequate to attack until the arrival, a few days later, of Capt. Farragut, accompanied by 4,000 soldiers under Gen. Thomas Williams. Vicksburg is naturally so strong, and was so firmly held, that it was not until after still further rëenforcements had come up, including Commander Porter's mortar fleet, that a bombardment was opened." Not much impression was made on the elevated and formidable Rebel batteries by our fire; but, at 3 A. M. of the 28th, Capt. Farragut, in the Hartford, with six more of his vessels, passed Vicksburg triumphantly, with a total loss of 15 killed and 30 wounded, and exchanged cheers above with Capt. Davis's fleet of mortar and gun-boats, which had fought their way down from Cairo. Still, our forces were not strong enough for assault, and the bombardment remained ineffective; while Gen. Williams, who, on his way up from Baton Rouge, had been fired on from Grand Gulf, and had burned that village in retaliation, was losing men daily by sickness, which ultimately reduced his effective force by more than half. He had undertaken to cut a canal, or water-course, across the peninsula opposite Vicksburg, and had gathered some 1,200 negroes from the adjacent plantations to assist in the work; but it

The occupation of New Orleans, its defenses and approaches, having been completed and assured, Commander Porter, with a part of our fleet, returned to Ship Island; a part was stationed near New Orleans to assist in its defense; and the residue, under Capt. Craven, steamed up the river to extend our sway in that direction. Baton Rouge, the State capital, was captured without resistance." The Mayor refusing to surrender, Commander Palmer, of the Iroquois, landed and took possession of the U. S. Arsenal. Capt. Farragut arrived soon afterward, and took measures to render our possession permanent. Natchez was in like manner given up to the Iroquois;" did not succeed. The soil to be ex

30

cavated was an exceedingly tenacious | the afternoon" prior to its occurrence, clay, in good part covered with warned his subordinates to be ready? large trees. The strong current ob- and watchful, so as not to be sur stinately kept to the old channel, prised next morning. The Rebels and could not be attracted to the had been assured by their spies that right bank. An expedition, started our men were mostly sick in hospito go up the Yazoo, having unex- tal, which was measurably true; but pectedly encountered, near the mouth regiments that numbered but 150 on of that river, and been worsted by, parade, counted 500 on the battlethe Rebel ram Arkansas," Capt. Far- field. ragut, having no prospect of further usefulness above, determined to repass the frowning batteries, cutting out and destroying the Arkansas by the way. He succeeded in running by Vicksburg with little loss; but his designs upon the Arkansas were baffled by darkness. A few days later, Commander Porter, with the iron-clad Essex, and Lt.-Col. Ellet, with the ram Queen of the West, made" another attempt to cut out the Arkansas, which was likewise defeated.

The village of Donaldsonville, which had the bad habit of firing upon our weaker steamers, as they passed up or down the river, was bombarded therefor by Capt. Farragut, and partially destroyed. As the river was now falling fast, threatening to greatly impair the efficiency of our fleet, the siege of Vicksburg was abandoned, under instructions from Washington, and Capt. Farragut dropped down the river, reaching New Orleans on the 28th, with the greater part of his fleet.

Gen. Williams, with his soldiers, debarked on the way at Baton Rouge; he resuming command of that post. Rumors of a meditated attack in force by the enemy were soon current; and hence the General had, on

30 July 15. "See page 58.

33

Aug. 4.

32

July 22.

The Rebel force had been organized for this effort at Tangipahoa, 60 miles north-eastward, and 78 N. N.W. of New Orleans. It consisted of 13 regiments, and must have considerably outnumbered ours, which was composed of nine thinned regiments in all. Each side, in its account of the action, made its own force 2,500, and that of its adversary twice or thrice as great. The Rebels were commanded in chief by Maj.-Gen. John C. Breckinridge, with Brig.Gen. Daniel Ruggles" leading their left wing, and Brig.-Gen. Charles Clarke their right. The attack was made at daylight," simultaneously and vigorously, by the entire Rebel force, on the two roads which lead from the south-west into Baton Rouge; and, as but three of our regiments-the 14th Maine, 21st Indiana, and 6th Wisconsin-were immediately engaged, these were soon compelled to fall back, barely saving their batteries, whereof two were for a few moments in the hands of the Rebels. A dense fog precluded a clear comprehension on our side of the position, and caused the 7th Vermont to fire into the 21st Indiana, mistaking it for a Rebel regiment. Our lines were formed nearly two miles back from the river, where our

From Massachusetts; formerly Lt.-Col. of the 5th Regular Infantry. Aug. 5.

BRECKINRIDGE ATTACKS BATON ROUGE.

gunboats could give them little support; but, as the famous Rebel ram Arkansas, hitherto so successful, was counted on as a part of the attacking force, supported by two improvised gunboats, and as our front was wooded, with a cross-road and open fields just beyond it, Gen. Williams may fairly be supposed to have understood his business. The battle raged fiercely for two hours, during which the Rebel right was advanced across the lateral road, driving back the 14th Maine, pillaging and burning its camp; and, while four successive assaults were unsuccessfully made on our front, Gen. Clarke made a resolute effort to flank our left and establish himself in its rear. Gen. Williams, anticipating this movement, had placed a battery, supported by two regiments, to resist it; and the Rebels were repulsed with considerable loss. Meanwhile, the 21st Indiana, posted at the crossing of the roads whose Colonel, suffering from wounds previously received, had twice essayed to join it, and each time fallen from his horse-had lost its Lt.-Col., Keith, Maj. Hayes, and Adj. Latham -the two former severely wounded, the latter killed-when Gen. Williams, seeing Latham fall, exclaimed, "Indianians! your field-officers are all killed: I will lead you!" and was that moment shot through the breast and fell dead; the command devolving on Col. T. W. Cahill, 9th Connecticut.

103

Vicksburg," she had steamed leisurely down the river until within 15 miles of Baton Rouge, where her starboard engine broke down; and it had been but partially repaired when the sound of his guns announced to her the opening of Breckinridge's attack. Coming down to within five miles of the city, she was cleared for action; when her engine again broke down, and she drifted ashore on the right bank of the river. Her tenders, the Music and the Webb, were of no account without her; and now her strong armament of six 8-inch and four 50-pound guns, with 180 men, could not be brought into action; and our gunboats, the Kineo and Katahdin below, and Essex, Cayuga, and Sumter above Baton Rouge, were enabled to devote their attention to the Rebels on land; firing over the heads of our soldiers at the enemy, nearly two miles distant. It is not probable that their shells did any great harm to the Rebels, and they certainly annoyed and imperiled our own men; but they served Breckinridge as an excuse for ordering a retreat, which a part of his men had already begun. By 10 A. M., his forces were all on the back track, having lost some 300 to 400 men, including Gen. Clarke, mortally wounded and left a prisoner; Cols. Allen, Boyd, and Jones, of Louisiana; Cols. A. P. Thompson and T. H. Hunt, of Kentucky; Col. J. W. Robertson, of Alabama, and other valuable officers. On our side, beside Gen. Williams, and the entire staff of the 21st Indiana, we lost Col. Roberts, of the 7th Vermont; Maj. Bickmore and Adj. Metcalfe, of the 14th Maine; Capt. Leaving Eugene Kelty, 30th Massachusetts, 36 At 2 A. M., Aug. 3.

But the battle was already won. The Rebel attack had exhausted its vitality without achieving any decided success; while the Arkansas, from which so much had been expected, had failed to come to time.

and from 200 to 300 others. We took about 100 prisoners, half of them wounded. Neither party had more cannon at the close than at the beginning of the battle; but the Rebels boasted that they had destroyed Federal munitions and camp equipage of very considerable value.

Next morning, Commander Porter, with the Essex, 7 guns and 40 men, accompanied by the Cayuga and Sumter, moved up in quest of the Arkansas, whose two consorts had already fled up the river. The ram at first made for the Essex, intending to run her down; but her remaining engine soon gave out, and she was headed toward the river bank, the Essex pursuing and shelling her; the Arkansas replying feebly from her stern. When the Essex had approached within 400 yards, Lt. Stevens, of the ram, set her on fire and abandoned her, escaping with his crew to the shore. The Essex continued to shell her for an hour; when her magazine was fired and she blew up.

Commander Porter, having remained at Baton Rouge until it was evacuated by our troops-who were concentrated to repel a threatened attack on New Orleans-returned up the river" to reconnoiter Rebel batteries that were said to be in progress at Port Hudson. Ascending thence to coal at Bayou Sara, his boat's crew was there fired upon by guerrillas, whereupon some buildings were burned in retaliation; and, the firing being repeated a few days afterward, the remaining structures were in like manner destroyed. A boat's crew from the Essex was sent ashore, some days later, at Natchez, to proAugust 23.

37

38

cure ice for our sick sailors, and was unexpectedly attacked by some 200 armed civilians, who killed or wounded 7 of her crew. Porter thereupon opened fire on the town, bombarding it for an hour, and setting a number of its houses on fire, when the Mayor surrendered. On her way down the river, the Essex had a smart engagement with the rising batteries at Port Hudson."

Gen. Butler's preparations having rendered the retaking of New Orleans hopeless, the meditated attack on it was abandoned, and the forces collected for that purpose transferred to other service. An incursion into the rich district known as Lafourche, lying south-west of New Orleans, between that city and the Gulf, was thereupon projected, and Generallate Lieut.-Weitzel, was sent with a brigade of infantry and the requisite artillery and cavalry, to rëestablish there the authority of the Union. This was a section of great wealth: its industry being devoted mainly to the production of sugar from cane, its population more than half slaves; and its Whites, being entirely slaveholders and their dependents, had ere this been brought to at least a semblance of unanimity in support of the Rebel cause; but their military strength, always moderate, had in good part been drafted away for service elsewhere; so that Gen. Weitzel, with little difficulty and great expedition, made himself master of the entire region," after two or three collisions, in which he sustained little loss. But the wealthy Whites generally fled from their homes at his approach; while the negroes, joyfully hailing him as their liberator, Sept. 7.

39 Oct. 22-29.

BUTLER SUPERSEDED BY BANKS.

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speedily filled his camps with crowds | city, there were not a hundred persons in Louisiana outside of our army and fleet who would have dared take the oath, however willing to do so.

Toward the end of November, Gen. Butler's spies brought him information from the nearest Rebel camps that he had been superseded in his command, and that Gen. N. P. Banks either was or soon would be on his way to relieve him. Some days before information of the purposed change reached our side, Secessionists in New Orleans were offering to bet a hundred to ten that Gen. Butler would be recalled before New Year's. The fact was known to Jefferson Davis before it was to Gen. Bankslong before it was communicated from Washington to Gen. Butler. It is probable that the French Minister, whose Government had not been pleased with Gen. Butler's management in New Orleans, was the immediate source of Rebel assurance on this point. Gen. Banks's assignment to the Department of the Gulf is dated November 9th, but was not made known to him till some weeks afterward.

of men, women, and children, destitute of food, and fearing to go outside of his lines lest they should be reduced again to Slavery. Gen. Butler, after anxious consideration, felt obliged to subject the whole district to sequestration, in order to secure the cutting and grinding of the cane, so as to save the remaining inhabitants from death by famine. Maj. Bell, Lt.-Col. Kinsman, and Capt. Fuller, were appointed a commission, who were to take charge of all personal property, and either apply it to the use of the army or transport it to New Orleans and there sell it to the highest bidders, dispensing to loyal citizens and neutral foreigners their just share of the proceeds, and applying the residue to the uses of the Federal service in this military department. Thus were the negroes employed, paid, and subsisted, the crops saved, and a large sum turned over to the support of our armies, while the number of White loyalists in Lafourche was rapidly and largely increased. Two Congressional districts having thus been recovered, Messrs. Benjamin F. Flanders and Gen. Banks reached New Orleans Michael Hahn were elected" there- Dec. 14th, was received with every from to the Federal House of Repre- honor, and on the 16th formally assentatives: the former receiving 2,370 sumed the high trust to which he votes, to 173 for others, and the lat- had been appointed. On the 23d, ter 2,581, which was 144 more than Gen. Butler took personal leave of were cast against him. The voting his many friends, and next day issued was confined to electors under the his farewell address to the people of laws of Louisiana who had taken New Orleans; leaving for New York, the Federal oath of allegiance since via Havana, by that day's boat. He the repossession of New Orleans; was not then aware that he had been and the aggregate poll in that city honored, the day previous, by a prooutnumbered, it was stated, its total clamation from Jefferson Davis, devote for Secession by about 1,000. claring him a felon, outlaw, and When Gen. Butler first reached that common enemy of mankind, and

Early in December.