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BANKS RETREATS TO GRAND ECORE.

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umph here. The defeat is thus vir- supplies and provisions, with competent attually confessed.

But why did Banks retreat, when his soldiers were eager to advance, and efface the stinging recollection of the blundering disaster of the 8th? He says in his official report:

"At the close of the engagement, the victorious party found itself without rations and water. To clear the field for the fight, the train had been sent to the rear upon the single line of communication through the woods, and could not be brought to the front during the night. There was water neither for man nor beast, except such as the now exhausted wells had afforded during the day for miles around. Previous to the movement of the army from Natchitoches, orders had been given to the transport fleet, with a portion of the 16th corps, under the command of Gen. Kilby Smith, to move up the river, if it was found practicable, to some point near Springfield landing, with a view of effecting a junction with the army at that point on the river. The surplus ammunition and supplies were on board these transports. It was impossible to ascertain whether the fleet had been able to reach the point designated. The rapidly falling river, and the increased difficulties of navigation, made it appear almost certain that it would not be able to attain the point proposed. A squadron of cavalry, sent down to the river, accompanied by Mr. Young, of the engineer corps, who was thoroughly ac

quainted with the country, reported, on the day of the battle, that no tidings of the fleet could be obtained on the river; and we were compelled to assume that the increasing difficulties of navigation had prevented

it, even if disaster had not occurred from the obstructions which the enemy had placed in the river.

"These considerations, the absolute deprivation of water for man or beast, the exhaustion of rations, and the failure to effect a connection with the fleet on the river, made it necessary for the army, although victorious in the terrible struggle through which it had just passed, to retreat to a point where it would be certain of communicating with the fleet, and where it would have an opportunity of reorganization. The shattered condition of the 13th army corps and the cavalry made this indispensable. The wounded were gathered from the battle-field, placed in comfortable hospitals, and left under the care of competent surgeons and assistants. The dead remaining on the field were, as far as possible, buried during the night. The next day, medical VOL. II.-35

tendants, were sent in for the sustenance of the wounded; and at daybreak the army reluctantly fell back to its position at Grand Ecore, for the purpose of communicating the great disappointment of the troops, who, with the fleet and obtaining supplies; to flushed with success, were eager for another fight."

It certainly would seem that the impulse of the soldiers was, in this case, more trustworthy than the discretion of the General. For, the want of water was at least as great on the part of the enemy as on ours, and can not have amounted to an absolute drouth in a region generally wooded and not absolutely flat, nor streamless, with Sabine river within a day's march on one flank, and Red river as near on the other. It is surely to be regretted that our army, if unable to advance, had not moved by the right flank to Red river, or simply held its ground for two or three days, while its wounded were sent away to Grand Ecore, instead of being abandoned to the enemy.

Banks admits a loss of 18 guns only on the 8th, with 125 wagons, and claims a gain of three guns on the 9th; at the close of which day, he reports that

ward at the critical moment, and main"The troops held in reserve moved fortained our position, from which the enemy was driven precipitately and with terrible destruction of life. He fled to the woods energy by the whole of our forces, until it upon the right, and was pursued with great was impossible in the darkness to distinguish friend from foe. The losses were great on both sides; but that of the Rebels, as we could judge from the appearance of the battle-field, more than double our own."

Banks admits a total loss of 3,969 men in the collisions of the 7th, 8th, and 9th of April-289 killed, 1,541 wounded, and 2,150 missing, mostly prisoners and says that we fought and won at Pleasant Hill with 15,000

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Still, the prestige of victory was with them, the mortification of highraised, blasted hopes, with us. We had undertaken to crush the Rebel power west of the Mississippi, and had fitted out costly expeditionsnaval as well as military-for that end; and had ingloriously failed. Not only were the Rebels encouraged by this, but the timid and the wavering Louisianians and Texans were attached to the Rebel cause; while the cowering, silent, long-expectant, heart-sick Unionists of the South-west were plunged into a new abyss of bitter anguish and despair.

against 22,000. The simple fact that | ing; the difficulty of navigating it
Taylor, and Pollard after him, with with our lighter gunboats and trans-
Kirby Smith's report of the cam-ports almost insuperable; and now
paign, are silent with regard to the the enemy commenced annoying us
Rebel losses, is eloquent on this at every bend and from every covert;
point. Assuming Banks's entire loss the banks being often so high that
during this campaign at 5,000 men, their sharp-shooters could with per-
it is morally certain that he inflicted fect impunity fire over them at the
at least equal loss on the Rebels. men hard at work on the decks of
Even in guns-counting those cap- our vessels, getting them over the
tured with Fort de Russy-they had numerous shoals and bars. The first
nothing to boast of.
attack was made at a point called
Coushatta; after that, Harrison, with
1,900 cavalry, and 4 guns, persistently
annoyed us: our vessels making at
best but 30 miles per day; and com-
pelled to tie up at night, which ena-
bled him easily to keep up with them.
At length," a more determined attack
was made from the right or south
bank, by 2,000 infantry (Texans)
with 2 guns, led by Gen. Tom Green,
whose head was blown off by a shell.
and one of his guns disabled, before
his men could be quieted. Never
was attack more reckless than that
made by his infuriated, rum-crazed
followers, who fancied that they could
carry gunboats in that narrow, crook-
ed channel, by infantry charges; and
would not be undeceived until the
Lexington, Lt. G. M. Bache, got them
under a raking fire of canister, which
soon strewed the bank for a mile with
their bodies. Porter reports their
loss here at 500. Kilby Smith's land
force of course cöoperated with the
gunboats in the contest. The lesson
was so impressive that 5,000 Rebels,
who were hastening to intercept the
fleet at a point below, concluded, on
hearing of it, to defer the enterprise.

Gen. Banks fell back, unassailed, to Grand Ecore; the enemy now giving more immediate attention to Porter's fleet, which had worked its way slowly and laboriously up the river to Springfield landing; where the Rebels had sunk a large steamboat across the channel to arrest its progress. Just as Porter was commencing operations for its removal, a courier from Gen. Banks brought tidings of the reverse at Sabine Cross-roads, and the recoil of our army; with directions to turn back; which were sadly obeyed. The river was remarkably low, and still fall

18 April 12.

Meantime, our fleet pursued its arduous voyage till, at Compte," several being hopelessly aground, Porter 19 April 13.

PORTER'S FLEET WORKING DOWN RED RIVER.

hastened down to Gen. Banks, at | Grand Ecore, six miles below; when troops were sent up to their relief; and they were brought down without further annoyance.

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tained a cross-fire on them, and in five minutes there was not a Rebel in sight; nor did they again make their appearance till our boats had reached Cane river, 20 miles below; when, on rounding a point, they were saluted from the right bank by 18 Rebel guns.

The Cricket, acting Master H. H. Gorringe, was ahead, and received every shot from the Rebel battery; most of them going through her. Her after gun was struck by a shell and disabled; every gunner being killed or wounded. At that moment, another shell exploded by her forward gun, sweeping off every gunner, and, entering the fire-room, left but one man there unwounded. Her decks had by this time been deserted. But Adm. Porter, who was on board, took command, improvising gunners from the negroes on board, put an assistant in place of the chief engineer, who had been killed, stepped to the pilot-house, where one of the pilots had been wounded, and ordered her run by the battery; and it was done, under a terrible fire.

At Grand Ecore, Porter found most of his larger vessels agroundseveral of them drawing a foot more water than there was on the bar at that point. While he was getting them over, the Eastport, which had gone eight miles farther down, was sunk; and several days' hard work were required to stop her leaks, pump her out, and get her afloat again. By this time, Banks had concluded to continue his retreat to Alexandria and below-the return of Smith's force to the other side of the Mississippi being imperatively required-and six days were consumed " after the Eastport was afloat in arduous efforts to get her to Alexandria, she running fast aground eight times by the way. At last Banks's army being now 60 miles ahead, the Eastport having been divested of her guns to induce her to float, and only three of the lighter gunboats left to convoy her she went hard aground again, when scarcely thirty miles below Grand Ecore, and could not be got afloat; whereon Porter reluctantly gave the order for her destruction-Lt. Com'g Phelps being the last to leave her, after applying a match to the train whereby she was blown up, set on fire, and completely demolished. At this moment, 1,200 Rebels, on the right bank, made a rush to board the Cricket, which stood out from the bank and opened on them with grape and canister, while the Fort Hindman and another gunboat ob- The Hindman, from above, now

Admiral Porter now attempted to head her up stream; but this proved impracticable: so he let her drift around the point, so that he could, with his two still serviceable guns, shell the Rebel battery in the rear. In the disturbance thus occasioned, the light-draft Juliet and pump-boat Champion, lashed together, were enabled to escape from under the bank where they had helplessly drifted-out of the Rebel fire-the Juliet having been disabled and had her steam-pipe cut by the Rebel balls.

30 April 21-6.

middle of June."

joining the Cricket below in enfilad- inches per day-a most unusual oceuring the enemy's battery, the Cham-rence-this river being always full till the pion was enabled to tow the Juliet to a place of comparative safety.

Still, the Hindman dared not at tempt to pass: so Porter, in the Cricket, ran down three or four miles to a point where he had di-. rected two iron-clads from below to meet him; getting aground by the way, and losing three hours in getting afloat again. He reached the appointed rendezvous after dark; finding there the iron-clad Osage fighting a Rebel field-battery on shore, at which the Lexington had been firing also; having been hulled fifteen times, but had only one man killed. Darkness now fell; and it was impossible to return to the Hindman; which, however, ran the battery above, having her wheelropes cut away by their shot, and hence whirling around as she drifted by, being badly cut up in the process. The Juliet likewise got by, badly damaged, with 15 of her crew killed or wounded; while the Cricket had been hulled 38 times and had 25 disabled-half her crew. The Hindman had 3 killed and 4 wounded. The Champion was disabled, set on fire, and destroyed.

No further annoyance was experienced in reaching Alexandria. Admiral Porter estimates that he had killed and wounded at least 500 of the Rebels on his way down; while his own loss was less than 100. The loss of Gen. Green was severely felt by the enemy. Porter attributes his reverses to the low state of the river; saying: "I can not blame myself for coming up at the only season when the river rises. All the [other] rivers are full and rising; but Red river is falling at the rate of two

21 April 22,

It was reported that the Rebels had induced this anomaly, by damming the outlets of several of the quite capacious lakes which discharge into this river.

Gen. Banks remained at Grand Ecore till the fleet was well on its way below; meantime, the Rebel General Bee, with some 8,000 men and 16 guns, had taken a strong position at the crossing of Cane river, 40 miles below, and, with the river on one hand and an impenetrable swamp on the other, expected to stop here our army; which, when it should be deeply involved in front, the rest of the Rebel army was to strike in flank and rear. Banks, apprised of this arrangement, moved suddenly at daybreak" from Grand Ecore, marching his army nearly the whole 40 miles, before halting for the night, so as to strike Bee unexpectedly next morning.

Arrived at the river," Emory, with his 1st division, menaced the enemy directly in front; while Gen. H. W. Birge, with his own brigade and Col. Francis Fessenden's of the 19th (Franklin's) corps, moving three miles up stream, flanked the Rebel position, striking heavily on its right; the charge being led with great gallantry by Col. Fessenden, who was here severely wounded. The movement was a complete success: the worsted Rebels abandoning their position and retreating in disorder, on the Fort Jessup road, leading south-westward into Texas. Of course, the attack on Kilby Smith, covering our rear, failed also; the Rebel charge being repulsed, and not renewed. Mower's (16th) corps was in line on Kilby " April 23.

22

BAILEY GETS OUR FLEET OVER THE FALLS.

Smith's right, but had no chance to fight. Our loss here at the front was 200: Kilby Smith's, at the rear, was only 50. The enemy's must have been greater.

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next day, rode up and ordered the Lexington to be sent down before the water-by this time considerably lower-should have fallen too far; and this was obeyed with entire success. The gunboat took the chute without a balk, and then rushed like an arrow through the narrow aperture in the lower dam; pitched down far-ture the roaring torrent; hung for a moment on the rocks below; and was then swept on into deep water, when she rounded gracefully to the bank, | amid the thunderous cheer of thirty thousand loyal voices. She had received no damage whatever.

Here-as the return of Gen. Smith's force to its proper department had long since been demanded, and was now imperatively insisted on-a farther retreat was deemed inevitable; and the river was now so low that the fleet could not be got over the falls. For a time, its destruction seemed imminent; but Lt.-Col. Joseph Bailey, engineer of the 19th corps, had foreseen this difficulty, and, on the battle-field of Pleasant Hill, while our troops awaited the Rebel onset, had suggested to Gen. Franklin a means of overcoming it. Franklin approved the project; so did Banks, when it was imparted to him; but Admiral Porter evinced no faith or interest in it till some time afterward. But Banks's official sanction was sufficient; so Bailey set to work," and soon had a main dam of timber and stone constructed across the channel of the river-here 758 feet wide, 4 to 6 deep, and running at the rate of 10 miles per hour-a little below the fall, whereby the depth of water in the main channel on the rapid was increased over five feet. Eight or nine days' work of many willing hands had nearly completed this dam, and had rendered the falls passable by our largest boats above them, when the impetuous current swept 26 away a part of it; whereupon, the Admiral-(who had several of his gunboats at the head, preparing to make the passage, and might have had them taken down) on rising

23 Kilby Smith testifies:

25

"We took many prisoners, all of whom re

Porter, apprehensive that he had seen the last of dam-building, ordered the Neosho to follow directly; her hatches being battened down, and every precaution taken to insure her safe descent. But her pilot lost heart as he neared the leap, and stopped her engine; so that for a moment her hull was submerged by the current. She rose directly, however, and was swept along to safety with only one hole knocked through her bottom, which was stopped the next hour; the Hindman and Osage following her without accident or damage. In fact, two sunken coal-boats, forming part of the dam, whose loss had been deplored, had only been forced around nearly parallel to the current, so as to form a buffer or cushion, whereby our vessels were prevented from running on ugly rocks which might have proved their destruction.

The deeper gunboats were still above. But Bailey now renewed his efforts, with our whole army as his free-handed assistants; and, in three ported a heavy loss on their part of killed and wounded." 24 April 30. 25 May 9.

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