CHAPTER VII. DISTRICT OF CAIRO.-GRAND RECONNOISSANCE. AFTER General Haileck had assumed the command of the Department of the Missouri, he began to organize the same into proper military districts, so as to allow each district commander to have full control of the section of country embraced within his lines. On the 20th of December, 1861, General Halleck, appreciating the military ability of General Grant, issued an order defining what should constitute the District of Cairo, and extending the command until it became one of the largest divisions in the country. He then appointed General Grant to be chief commander of the same. In accordance with that appointment, General Grant assumed the command of the new district on December 21, 1861, and announced the same in the following order: [General Order No. 22.] HEAD-QUARTERS, DISTRICT OF CAIRO, In pursuance of Special Order No. 78, from Head-Quarters, Department of the Missouri, the name of this Military District will be know as the "District of Cairo," and will include all the southern part of Illi nois, that part of Kentucky west of the Cumberland River, and the southern counties of Missouri, south of Cape Girardeau. The force at Shawneetown will be under the immediate command of Colonel T. H. Cavanaugh, Sixth Illinois Cavalry, who will consolidate the reports of his command weekly, and forward to these headquarters. All troops that are, or may be, stationed along the banks of the Ohio, on both sides of the river, east of Caledonia, and to the mouth of the Cumberland, will be included in the command, having head-quarters at Paducah, Ky. Brigadier-General E. A. Paine is assigned to the command of the forces at Bird's Point, Missouri. All supplies of ordnance, Quarter-Master and Commissary stores, will be obtained through the chiefs of each of these departments, at district head-quarters, where not otherwise provided for. For the information of that portion of this command, newly attached, the following list of Staff Officers is published: Captain John A. Rawlins, Assistant Adjutant-General. Captain Clark B. Lagow, Aide-de-Camp. Captain Wm. S. Hillyer, Aide-de-Camp. Major John Riggin, Jr., Volunteer Aide-de-Camp. Captain R. B. Hatch, Assistant Quarter-Master U. S. Volunteers, Chief Quarter-Master. Captain W. W. Leland, A. C. S. U. S. Volunteers, Chief Commissary. Captain W. F. Brinck, Ordnance Officer. Surgeon James Simons, U. S. A., Medical Director. Assistant Surgeon, J. P. Taggart, U. S. A., Medical Purveyor. Major I. N. Cook, Pay-Master. Colonel J. D. Webster, Chief of Staff, and Chief of Engineers. By order, U. S. GRANT, Brig.-Gen. Commanding. General Grant at once began organizing, under his personal supervision, the new troops added to his command, and as soon as deemed fit for such service, they were sent to the various posts belonging to the district, including Fort Jefferson and Paducah, in Kentucky. By this plan of operation General Grant had all his troops well in hand, and yet so distributed that it was a matter of great difficulty, if not an actual impossibility, for the enemy to learn his strength. On the 10th of January, the forces under the immediate command of General McClernand, left Cairo in transports, and disembarked at Fort Jefferson. The transports were protected by two gunboats, which were next ordered to lie off the fort. The rebels, with three armed vessels, attacked these gunboats the next morning; but, after a brisk engagement, had to beat a retreat-the Union vessels chasing them until they took refuge under the guns of Columbus. As picket shooting had existed to a fearful extent in the vicinity of Cairo, General Grant, on the 11th of January, issued an order, as follows: HEAD-QUARTERS, CAIRO, January 11, 1862. Brigadier-General PAINE, Bird's Point: I understand that four of our pickets were shot this morning. If this is so, and appearances indicate that the assassins were citizens, not regularly organized in the rebel army, the whole country should be cleared out for six miles around, and word given that all citizens, making their appearance within those limits, are liable to be shot. To execute this, patrols should be sent out in all directions, and bring into camp, at Bird's Point, all citizens, together with their subsistence, and require them to remain, under penalty of death and destruction of their property, until properly relieved. Let no harm befall these people, if they quietly submit; but bring them in and place them in camp below the breastwork, and have them properly guarded. The intention is not to make political prisoners of these people, but to cut off a dangerous class of spies. This applies to all classes and conditions, age and sex. If, however, women and children prefer other protection than we can afford them, they may be allowed to retire beyond the limits indicated-not to return until authorized. By order of U. S. GRANT, Brig.-Gen. Commanding. As General Grant states in the above order, it was necessary to keep spies away from his vicinity, as he was then about to start on a perilous expedition. He had already divided his forces into three columns-under Generals Paine, McClernand, and C. F. Snith-General Grant commanding the whole expedition in person. Before starting on this adventure, General Grant issued the following order to his troops : [General Order No. 3.] HEAD-QUARTERS, DISTRICT OF CAIRO, During the absence of the expedition, now starting upon soil occupied almost solely by the rebel army, and when it is a fair inference that every stranger met is an enemy, the following orders will be observed: Troops, on marching, will be kept in the ranks; company officers being held strictly accountable for all stragglers from their companies. No firing will be allowed in camp or on the march, not strictly required in the performance of duty. While in camp, no privilege will be granted to officers or soldiers to leave their regimental grounds, and all violations of this order must be promptly and summarily punished. Disgrace having been brought upon our brave fellows by the bad conduct of some of their members, showing on all occasions, when marching through territory occupied by sympathizers of the enemy, a total disregard of the rights of citizens, and being guilty of wanton destruction of private property, the general commanding desires and intends to enforce a change in this respect. The interpreting of confiscation acts by troops themselves has a demoralizing effect—weakens them in exact proportions to the demoralization, and makes open and armed enemies of many who, from opposite treatment, would become friends, or, at most, non-combatants. It is ordered, therefore, that the severest punishment be inflicted upon every soldier who is guilty of taking, or destroying, private property; and any commissioned officer, guilty of like conduct, or of countenancing it, shall be deprived of his sword and expelled from the camp, not to be permitted to return. On the march, cavalry advance guards will be thrown out, also flank guards of cavalry or infantry, when practicable. A rear-guard of infantry will be required to see that no teams, baggage, or disabled soldiers are left behind. It will be the duty of company commanders to see that rolls of their company are called immediately upon going into camp each day, and every member accounted for. By order, U. S. GRANT, Brig.-Gen. Commanding. On the morning of Tuesday, January 14, 1862, General McClernand's column moved forward from Fort Jefferson, and the columns under Generals Paine and Smith, at Paducah, commenced similar movements. The three columns combined made a force of nineteen regiments of infantry, four regiments of volunteer cavalry, two companies of regular cavalry, and seven batteries of artillery. At the time this expedition commenced its march, the Mississippi River was nearly filled with floating ice, thus making the transportation of troops a serious difficulty. Demonstrations were made by General McClernand's column, as if with the intention of attacking Columbus in the rear, by way of Blandville, Ky., while the real object was to concentrate with the troops marching from Paducah, Ky. The feint proved successful, and a great alarm was manifested by the rebel forces in Columbus. As General McClernand's column advanced, it was at intervals joined by a regiment from the other columns, and, on the night of January 15th, his force encamped in line of battle ten miles to the rear of Columbus, threatening that post by two roads. Here General Grant, who had been with the column from Paducah, came up with this part of the expedition, and personally superintended the disposition of the troops. The first division was next morning marched to Milburn, apparently en route for Mayfield; but instead of following that path, the troops, after passing through Milburn, turned northward, so as to communicate with the force from Paducah; and, on the 17th, were within eight miles of Lovelaceville. They then turned westward, and, on the nights of the 18th and 19th, encamped about a mile from Blaudville. On January 20th, the column returned to Fort Jefferson. During the interval between the 14th and 20th of January, the infantry of this column marched over seventy-five miles, and the cavalry about one hundred and forty miles, over icy and miry roads, and during a most |