was caught flying to the ferry with dispatches that the Yankees were coming, and with instructions to destroy all the ferries. At Hazelhurst, Colonel Prince of the 7th captured a train of about forty cars, several of which were loaded with shells and ammunition. Another train which had just arrived escaped by backing out before it could be captured. At this point, Captain Forbes, who, it will be remembered, was the hero of the episode at Enterprise, joined the main force.

The command left Hazelhurst at seven P. M., and on the night of the 27th encamped at Gallatin, where they captured fourteen hundred pounds of powder, two wagons, twenty-six yoke of oxen and a 32-pounder Parrott gun, en route for Grand Gulf. The gun was spiked and powder destroyed. They had traveled this day thirtyseven miles. On the 28th they left camp at seven o'clock. Four miles east of Gallatin, at Hardgrove's, companies A, H, F and M, were detailed under command of Captain Grafton, to strike the New Orleans and Jackson station, at Bahala, and destroy the railroad and transportation. This was successfully accomplished and the little force joined the others at sunset, having performed during the day a journey of thirty miles more than the rest. The main force on their march had a skirmish near Union Church, in which two of the enemy were wounded and some prisoners taken. On the 29th, they proceeded towards Brookhaven, on the New Orleans and Jackson road, the 7th in advance. They charged into the place and burned the depot, cars and bridges. Four companies under command of Major Starr took two captains, one lieutenant, one surgeon and nineteen privates prisoners. Two hundred prisoners in all were paroled. They also captured a lot of Mississippi rifles, mules and ox-teams, $5,000 worth of commissary stores and $25,000 worth of army clothing. The people of Brookhaven were wild with terror, supposing that all their property would be consigned to the flames, and their city subjected to murder and rapine. But as soon as they found that the rights of private property were regarded, the delusion created in their minds by their leaders was removed and they crowded around our troops, begging and imploring to be paroled. They were unstinted in their hospitality and often made declarations of their faith in the Union, and their hopes that its in

tegrity would be preserved. On this point Colonel Grierson wrote: "The strength of the rebels has been overestimated. They have neither the armies nor the resources we have given them credit for. Passing through their country, I found thousands of good Union men, who were ready and anxious to return to their allegiance the moment they could do so with safety to themselves and their families. They will rally around the old flag by scores whenever our army advances. I could have brought away a thousand with me, who were anxious to come-men whom I found fugitives from their homes, hidden in the swamps and forests where they were hunted like wild beasts by conscriptive officers with blood-hounds."

On the 30th, at sunrise, the command left camp, the 6th Illinois in the advance. They burned the depot, bridges and cars at Bouge Chito, and following on, burned all the trestle work between that place and Summit, where they arrived at five P. M. At Summit they destroyed a large amount of government sugar and wood, cars and locomotives. The camp of Hughes and Milburn's Partisan Rangers, on Big Sandy Creek, was also destroyed, after which they encamped a short distance southwest of the place, having marched that day twenty-eight miles. On the 18th of May they left camp at daylight, and striking into the woods, moved in a southwesterly direction without regard to roads, until they came to the Clinton and Osyka road, near a bridge four miles northeast of Wall's PostOffice. Here they fell into an ambush. About eighty of the enemy were hidden in a thicket near the bridge. Lieutenant Colonel Blackburn at the head of his scouts, not dreaming of danger, and with more bravery than caution, rode on to the bridge and was immediately struck down by a volley which wounded him severely in the thigh and slightly on the head. Colonel Prince dismounted his men, who charged into the thicket, and after a short fight put the enemy to flight, and the column passed on, reaching the Amite river at ten o'clock at night. Rebel pickets were posted along the bank, but the same watchful Providence that had led them through their thickly besetting dangers, was again present to defend and guard them. The pickets were asleep and the command crossed the river undisturbed within gunshot of the picket lines of the enemy.

On the 2d of May, they were again on the move at sunrise and

INTO BATON ROUGE.

373 had marched but a few miles when the 7th Illinois attacked and captured, within a few miles of Baton Rouge, forty-two of Stuart's Mississippi cavalry with their Colonel at their head. At midday of Saturday, May 2d, the toil-worn, jaded, brave-hearted fellows rode into the streets of Baton Rouge, safe at last, and once more under the Stars and Stripes. During the last thirty hours they rode eighty miles, had three skirmishes, destroyed large quantities of camp equipage and military stores, burned bridges, swam one river, took forty-two prisoners and a number of horses, and all this without halting or eating. So exhausted were many of them, that they slept upon their horses as they marched, only to be roused by some pressing danger. The danger over, they slept again and rode forward unconsciously until they met the next shock.

The entrance of the command into Baton Rouge was like the return of an old Roman conqueror. The story of their march and their incredible adventures had preceded them and created a furore of the wildest description. Their story seemed almost improbable, and many would not believe it until they had seen the men and talked with them. On the next day Colonel Grierson, Col. Prince, Major Starr, Adjutant Woodward and one or two privates went to New Orleans, and that evening were serenaded by the band of the 47th Massachusetts regiment. Although no preliminary arrangements had been made, yet at an early hour the hotel and the street were thronged with a rejoicing crowd. The band played on the balcony and in the rotunda. Fireworks were discharged and the cheering was deafening as Colonel Grierson made his appearance on the balcony, introduced to the multitude by Surgeon Smith. The Colonel made a few remarks paying a handsome tribute to the bravery and endurance of his officers and men. Lieut. Woodward, Major Starr and a private of the 7th Illinois made short speeches and were followed by Colonel Prince, of the 6th Illinois, who gave a brief sketch of the expedition and particularly of the ruses by which they deceived the enemy, such as sending out scouts in butternut uniforms, and sending false messages by the telegraph to various places in their vicinity, for the purpose of putting them on a false track. Several short speeches from citizens of New Orleans followed, and the Union flag was unfurled for the first time in the

hall of the St. Charles since the capture of the city. The band played all the national airs during the evening, and at the close the officers and leading citizens sat down to a handsome repast. Still later in the evening, a select few adjourned to the parlor, where the gallant Colonel entertained his audience by playing upon the piano and singing, for the Colonel not only can fight but, to use his own words, "can play any instrument from a jew's-harp to an organ.'' The next night he was presented with a magnificent horse and equipments, and a fine set of equipments was also given to Colone! Prince.

The narrative of this great raid would not be complete without detailing the adventures of Colonel Hatch's command, the 2d Iowa, which originally formed a part of the expedition, and left it near Houston. About twenty-five miles southeast of Houston, they were attacked by eight hundred shot-gun cavalry, whom they easily repulsed. They then turned directly north, crossed a most dismal swamp and swam a deep creek to avoid a battery which was in waiting for them. At sunset of the 22d they went into Okalona and burned the depot, barracks, and hospital buildings. The inhabitants were thoroughly panic stricken and fled in every direction. On the 25th, Colonel Bartow's rebel regiment of cavalry made a dash upon their rear, but was quickly repulsed with a loss of twentyfive men, not one of the 2d Iowa having been injured. On the 26th a most dastardly deed was committed by the guerrillas. While one of Colonel Hatch's orderlies was passing alone from the column to the advance guard with an order, the assassins raised from their hiding place and, without speaking to the orderly, shot him. The rest of the journey was marked with little of incident and the command arrived at their camp in La Grange with a loss of only seven men. They brought in over twenty prisoners, fifty negroes and five hundred head of horses and mules.

It is almost impossible to give a perfect sketch of the sixteen days' march of Grierson's heroes. In all the records of warfare we can scarcely find its parallel. Their endurance under so fatiguing and perilous a march is almost incredible. A large part of the time they were without food and rarely slept more than an hour or two at a time. They were almost constantly in the saddle. Where the

AMONG THE RAILROADS.

375

roads were good they drove fast and hard to elude the rebels all around them, but more often they were fording or swimming rivers and creeks, dragging their way through almost impassable swamps and plunging into thick, gloomy, roadless forests, trusting only to rude country maps and a little pocket compass to reach their destination. During all these weary eight hundred miles, they lived upon the country both for forage and provisions, and then, although they came into Baton Rouge haggard, hungry, worn out and almost completely exhausted, with only one whole night's rest in the entire ride, they turned over but twelve men to the surgeon. Many of the men suffered from swelling of the legs and erysipelas, from sitting so long in the saddle, but it was only a temporary trouble.

They rode through the entire state of Mississippi from the northeast to the southwest corner. Starting from Lagrange, they first struck Marshall county and then passed through the following counties in succession: Tippah, Pontotoc, Chickasaw, Octebbeha, Winston, Noxubee, Neshoba, Jasper, Smith, Simpson, Copiah, Lawrence, Pike and Amite, and Helena and East Baton Rouge in Louisiana. During this ride they cut three railroads, burned nine bridges, destroyed two locomotives and nearly two hundred cars; broke up three rebel camps, destroyed more than four million dollars worth of rebel governmental property, and brought in with them twelve hundred captured horses and five hundred negroes. Every where the negroes welcomed the adventurers and extended to them the helping hand, and it was only because their presence would have endangered the command by hindering the march that more were not brought in. At several points the enemy tried to catch or surround them but in vain. Thirteen hundred cavalry were sent after them from Mobile, a thousand came south of Port Hudson, some to Pearl River, and two thousand came from the vicinity of Columbia and Grenada, to cut them off, besides the infantry forces of Chalmers and others that were marching and counter marching in every direction. Nearly all of the cavalry forces, after vainly trying to overtake or intercept Grierson, fell back to his rear, expecting to cut him off when he returned. They little dreamed of the Illinois endurance and courage that could hew its way to the Gulf.

The success of this raid was not less important in its physical