Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE REGULAR ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Officers not thus * designated are graduates of the Military Academy.

Brevets and former
commissions.

Major-General,

14 May, 1861,

do.

14 May, 1861,

do.

19 Aug., 1861,

[blocks in formation]

8 July, 1862, 14 May, 1861, 15 May, 1861, 16 May, 1861, 12 Nov., 1861, 14 July, 1862, 20 Sept., 1862,

do.

M. G. vol. Mar. 21, 1962,
M. G. vol. May 5, 1562,
M. G. vol. Oct. 8, 1867,

Commanding Army,
M. G. vol. Feb. 16, 1862,

M. G. vol. Mar. 14, 1869,

M. G. vol. Mar. 21, 1862,

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

VOLUNTEER SERVICE.-GENERAL OFFICERS APPOINTED UNDER ACT OF CONGRESS, DEC., 1862.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

8 Aug. Del. Del. 9 Aug. N. Y. N. Y. 9 Aug. N. Y. N. Y. 9 Aug. N. Y. N. Y. 10 Aug. Pa. Pa. 13 Aug. Conn.Conn. 13 Aug. Vt. Vt. 17 Aug. N. Y. N. Y. 20 Aug. N. Y. N. Y 31 Aug. Tenn. Tenn. 31 Aug. Va Va.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Jeremiah C. Sullivan,"

23 Apr.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Lewis Wallace,"
George H. Thomas,
George Cadwalader,
William T. Sherman,
Edward O. C. Ord,
Sam. P. Heintzelman,
Erasmus D. Keyes,
Joseph Hooker,
Silas Casey,
William B. Franklin,
Darius N. Couch,
Henry W. Slocum,
John J. Peck,
John Sedgwick,
Alex. McD. McCook,
Thom. L. Crittenden,
John G. Foster,
John G. Parke,
Christopher C. Augur,
Stephen A. Hurlbut,
Gordon Granger,
Charles S. Hamilton,
Lovell H. Russeau,
James B. McPherson,
Benjamin M. Prentiss,
George Stoneman,
George G. Mende,
Oliver O. Howard,
Daniel E. Sickles,*
Robert H. Milroy,
Daniel Butterfield,
Winfield S. Hancock,
George Sykes,
William H. French,
David S. Stanley,
James S. Negley,
John M. Palmer,
Frederick Steele,
Abner Doubleday,
Napoleon J. T. Dana,
Richard J. Oglesby,"
John A. Logan,
James G. Blunt,
George L. Hartsuff,

Cadw. C. Washburne,
Francis J. Herron,
Frank P. Blair,
Joseph J. Reynolds,
Philip H. Sheridan,

[blocks in formation]

1 May. Ohio. 9 May, Md. 5 May. Pa. Pa 5 May. Mass.Me. 5 May Mass. Cal. 31 May R. I. 4 July. Pa. 4 July N. Y. 4 July. N. Y. 4 July. N. Y. 4 July. Conn. Conn. 17 July. Ohio. Ohio. 17 July. Ky. Ky. 18 July. N. H. N. H. 18 July. Pa. Pa. 9 Aug. N. Y. Mich. 17 Sept. 3. C. 1. 17 Sept. N. Y. N. Y. 19 Sept. N. Y. Wis. 8 Oct. Ky. Ky. 8 Oct. Ohio. Ohio. 29 Nov. Va. III. 29 Nov. N. Y. N. Y. 29 Nov. Spain. D. C. 29 Nov. Me. Me. 29 Nov. N. Y. N. Y. 29 Nov. Ind. Ind. 29 Nov. N. Y. N. Y. 29 Nov. Pa. Pa 29 Nov. Md. Md. 29 Nov. Md. D. C. 29 Nov. (Ohio. Ohio. 29 Nov. Pa. Ps. 99 Nov. Ky. In. 29 Nov. N. Y. N. Y. 29 Nov. N. Y. N. Y. 29 Nov. Me. Minn. IIL III.

29 Nov. Me.

29 Nov. Pa.

29 Nov. Ky. 29 Nov. tlf. 29 Nov. Me. Kansas. 29 Nov. N. Y Mich. Wis. Iowa. Mo. Ind.

29 Nov. Ky. 29 Nov Ky.

31 Dec. Mass. Ohio.

14 Mar. Hung. N. Y. 14 Mar. Germ. Wis. 30 Mar. Va. Va

[blocks in formation]

Henry H. Lockwood,
Jas. S. Wadsworth,
George W. Morell,
John H. Martindale,
Samuel D. Sturgis,
Henry W. Benham,
William F. Smith,
Egbert L. Viele,
William F. Barry,
John J. Abercrombie,
Lawrence P. Graham,
Elenzer Paine,
Willis A. Gorman,
Horatio G. Wright,
W. T. Ward,
John G. Barnard,
Innis N. Palmer,
Seth Williams,
George Wright,
Wm. T. H. Brooks,
John M. Brannan,
John P. Hatch,
William K. Strong,
Albin Schoepf,
Thomas J. Wood,
Richard W. Johnson,
A. Von Steinwehr,
George W. Callum,
Jeremiah T. Boyle,
George W. Morgan,
John M. Schofield,

Thomas J. McKean,
Zealous B. Tower,
Jefferson C. Davis,

1862.

Lewis G. Arnold, William S. Ketchum, John W. Davidson, David D. Birney, Thomas F. Meagher, Henry M. Naglee, Andrew Johnson, James G. Spears, Engene A. Carr, Thomas A. Davies, Daniel Tyler, William H. Emory, Andrew J. Smith, Marsena R. Patrick, Orris S. Ferry, Daniel P. Woodbury, Henry M. Judab, John Cook, John McArthur, Jacob G. Lauman,* Horatio P. Van Cleve, Speed S. Fry,

Alexander Asboth, James Craig,* Mahlon D. Manson, Edward R. S. Canby, Grenville M. Dodge, Robert B. Mitchell, Cuvier Grover, Rufus Saxton, Benjamin Alvord, Napoleon B. Buford, William S. Smith, Nathan Kimball, Charles Devens, Jaines il. Van Alen, Samuel W. Crawford, Henry W. Wessels, Milo S. Hascall, Leonard F. Ross, John W. Geary, Alfred H. Terry, And'w A. Humphreys, James H. Carleton, Absalom Baird, John C. Robinson, Truman Seymour, Quincy A. Gillmore,

[blocks in formation]

24 Jan. N. J. N. J. 3 Feb. Conn. Conn. 3 Feb. Va. Va 3 Feb. Ala. Pa.

3 Feb. Irel'd. N. Y. 4 Feb. Pa. Pa. 4 Mar. N. C. Tenn. 5 Mar. Tenn. Tenn. 7 Mar. N. Y. N. Y. 7 Mar. N. Y. N. Y. 13 Mar. Conn. Conn. 17 Mar. Md. Md. 17 Mar. Pa. 17 Mar. N. Y. N. Y. 17 Mar. Conn, Conn. 19 Mar. N. H. N. H. 21 Mar. Md. N. Y. 21 Mar. Ill. 21 Mar. Sect.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Alvin P. Hovey.
James C. Veatch,

William P. Benton,
John C. Caldwell,
Neal Dow,
George S. Greene,
Samuel P. Carter,
John Gibbon,
Erastus B. Tyler,
Charles Griffin,
George H. Gordon,
James M. Tuttle,
Julius White,
Peter J. Osterhans,
Steph. G. Burbridge,
Wash. L. Elliott,
Albion P. Howe,
Benjamin S. Roberts,
Alfred Pleasanton,
Jacob Ammen,
Fitz-Henry Warren,
Morgan L. Smith,
Charles Cruft,
Frederick Salomon,
John B. Turchin,
Henry S. Briggs,*
James D. Morgan,
August Willich,'
Henry D. Terry,
James Steedman,
George F. Shepley,
John R. Kenley,
John P. Slough,
Godfrey Weitzel,
George Crook,
Joseph B. Carr,
Thomas L. Kane,
Gershom Mott,
Calvin E. Prait,
Heary J. Hunt,
Francis C. Barlow,
Mason Brayman,
N. J. Jackson,
George W. Getty,
Alfred Sully,
Gur. K. Warren,
William W. Averell,
Alexander Hays,
Henry H. Sibley,
Francis B. Spinola,
John H. H. Ward,
Solomon Meredith,
James Bowen,
Eliakim P. Scammon,
Robert S. Granger,
Joseph R. West,
Alfred W. Ellet,
George L. Andrews,
Clinton B. Fisk,
Hen. B. Carrington,
William Hays,
John H. King,
Israel Vogdes,
Adam J. Slemmer,
David A. Russell,
Lewis C. Hunt,
Thomas H. Neill,
Thomas G. Pitcher,
Thomas W. Sweeney,
Frank Wheaten,
William P. Carlin,
John S. Mas,
Romeyn B. Ayres,
Richard Arnold,
David McM. Gregg,
William B. Hazen,
Robert O. Tyler,
James St. C. Morton,
Joseph A. Mower,
Alfred T. A. Torbert,

1 May Tenn. Team. 9 May. Pa S. C. 14 May. N. Y. 'Ohio. 9 June. Ota joke. 9 June. Mass. Mas, 9 June. Obuo

9 June. N. Y. [. 9 June. Prusa Mo. 9 June. Ky. Ky. 11 June. Pa. Pa

[ocr errors]

11 June. Me.
16 July. Vt.
16 July. D. C. n. c.
16 July. Va. Obia.
16 July Mass. ll:va
16 July. N. Y. Ma
16 July. Ind. lot.
16 July. Prue. Wa
17 July. R. 12
17 July Man Mark
17 July.

17 July. Pruss.¦ ̈nd. 17 July. Conn. Mich. 17 July. Ohio. Oh 18 July, Me. No. 22 Aug. Mi. Md. 25 Aug. Obie. c. T. 29 Aug. Ohio. This 7 Sept Ohio, Tobin 7 Sept. N. Y. N. Y. 7 Sept. Pa. PA 7 Sept. N. J. N. J. 13 Sept. Mas. N. Y. 15 Sept his un 19 Sept. N. Y. N. Y. 24 Sept. N. Y. OL 24 Sept. Mass. Me. 25 Sept D. C. D. C. 26 Sept. Pa. P 26 Sept. N. Y. N. Y. 25 Sept. N. Y. N. Y. 99 Sejt. Pa Pa 29 Sept. Mh. Minn. 1 Oct N. Y. N. Y 4 Oct. N. Y. V. Y. 6 Oct N. C. Ind. 11 Oct. N. Y. N. Y. 15 Oct. Me. Obia

20 Oct. Ohio, toria.
25 Oct. La

1 Nov. Pa

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

VOLUNTEER SERVICE.-GENERAL OFFICERS, &c.—continued.

Name, rank, and date of

COLESSIOD.

BEN GENERALS-continued.

1862.

Gman Marston,
Yad K. Lawler,
bg D. Wagner,
Wam Dwight
Luder Cutler,
James W. McMillan,
Selvan A. Meredith
Jseph F. Knipe,
I W. Hoks,
Joshua T. Owen8,

John D. Stevenson,
James Barnes,
E. N. Kirk,

N. C. McLean,
Theoph. T. Garrard,
Wim Vanderer,
A. Scheldenie,
Elward Harland,
Charles K. Graham,
Sammel Beatty,
Ima: Wistar,
Jan E. Smith,

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]
[blocks in formation]

Frank S. Nickerson,

BRIG.-GENERALS-continued.

1862.

R. P. Buckland,*
Joseph D. Webster,
William W. Orme,*
William Harrow,*
Joseph T. Copeland,
William H. Morris,
John Beatty,
Thomas H. Ruger,
T. E. G. Ransom,
Elias S. Dennis,
Thomas C. H. Smith,
Charles A. Heckman,
Mortimer D. Leggett,
Davis Tillson,*
Stephen G. Champlin,
Hector Tyndale,"
Charles C. Dodge,
Edward E. Potter,
Thomas A. Rawley,
Albert L. Lee,*
C. L. Matthies,
M. M. Crocker,*
Egbert B. Brown,
John McNiel,*

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

George P. McGinnis, G. W. Deitzler,* Hugh Ewing,

1863.

2 Jan. Ky.

Ky.

13 Jan.

N. Y.

Vt.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors][merged small]

Mich. Pa N. Y.

Mich.

29 Nov. N. Y. 29 Nov. Mass. 29 Nov. Pa. 29 Nov. N. Y. 29 Nov. Me. 29 Nov. N. Y. 29 Nov Pa. 29 Nov. N. J. 99 Nov. N. Y. 29 Nov. Pa. 29 Nev. N. Y. 29 Nov. Prus. 29 Nov....... Iowa. 29 Nov. N. Y. Mo.

Pa. N. Y. N. Y. Pa. Kansas. Iowa,

29 Nov. N. S. Mo.

George J. Stannard, Henry Baxter, James Nagle, Francis L. Vinton John M. Thayer, Charles T. Campbell, Hulbert E. Paine, Thomas Welsh,* Hugh T. Reid,* Abner C. Harding, Robert B. Potter, Thomas Ewing, Jr., J. A. J. Lightburn, Thos. G. Stevenson, J. J. Bartlett, Patrick E. Connor,

12 Mar. N. Y. 13 Mar. Pa. 13 Mar. N. Y. 13 Mar. Mass. Neb. 13 Mar. Pa Ps. 13 Mar. Ohio. Wis. 13 Mar. Pa Pa. 13 Mar. Iowa

13 Mar. Conn. Ill. 18 Mar. Mass. N. Y. 13 Mar. Ohio. Kan. 14 Mar. Pa. Va 14 Mar. Mass. Mass. 30 Mar. N. Y. N. Y. 30 Mar. Irel'd. Cal.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

CASUALTIES IN THE VOLUNTEER FORCE.

Major-General Edwin V. Sumner, at Syracuse, N. Y., March 21, 1863.

Major-General John F. Reynolds, killed on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.

Major-General Hiram G. Berry, died of wounds received at the battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. Major-General John Buford, Dec. 16, 1863.

Brigadier-General Edward N. Kirk, January, 1863, of wounds received at the battle of Murfreesboro'. Brigadier-General James Cooper, at Camp Chase, Ohio, March 28, 1863.

Brigadier-General Joseph B. Plummer, at Corinth, Miss., May 4, 1863.

Brigadier-General Amiel W. Whipple, May 5, 1863, of wounds received at the battle of Chancellorsville. Brigadier-General Edmund Kirby, at Washington, June 1, 1863, of wounds received at the battle of Chancellorsville.

Brigadier-General Stephen H. Weed, killed at the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

Brigadier-General Samuel Kosciusko Zook, killed at the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

Brigadier-General Elon J. Farnsworth, killed at the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.

Brigadier-General George C. Strong, July 30, 1863, of wounds received at the storming of Fort Wagner, Charleston harbor.

Brigadier-General Benjamin Welch, Jr., at Cincinnati, Aug. 14, 1863.

Brigadier-General William Haines Lytle, killed at the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863.

Brigadier-Gen'l Wm. P. Sanders, at Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 25, 1863, of wounds received at Campbell's Station. Brigadier-General Michael Corcoran, Dec. 22, 1863.

ARMY OPERATIONS. Near the close of the year 1862, the battles at Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro were fought. The latter was not ended until the 3d of January, 1863. The armies engaged in these conflicts then ceased active operations. No other important military movement of the Federal or Confederate forces was in progress at that time except that under General Grant against Vicksburg, and the concentration of a force under Gen. Banks at New

Orleans. The campaign against Vicksburg really commenced about the 28th of November. At that time, the forces of Gen. Grant were at Lagrange, three miles east of Grand Junction, on the Cairo and New Orleans railroad, with garrisons at Columbus, Humboldt, Trenton, and Jackson, in Tennessee, and Bolivar and Corinth in Mississippi. These forces were designated as the Army of West Tennessee. The Confederate forces were at Coldwater and Holly Springs, about twenty miles distant.

The plan of Gen. Grant was-that Gen. Sherman should take command of the forces at Memphis in Tennessee, and Helena in Arkansas, and descend the river on transports with the gunboat fleet, and make an attack on Vicksburg by the 29th of December, and that Gen. McClernand should take the forces at Cairo and move down to Vicksburg, thus reenforcing Gen. Sherman soon after his attack on the town. Meanwhile Gen. Grant was to advance rapidly upon the Confederate troops in Mississippi north and east of Vicksburg, which formed the main body of their army, and keep them fully employed, and, if they retreated to Vicksburg, arrive there with them, ready to cooperate with Gen. Sherman.

Large reënforcements and supplies were received, and the advance of Gen. Hamilton's corps, on the 28th of November, began to move in the direction of Holly Springs, which was reached on the 29th. By the 1st of December, Gen. Grant's forces had arrived, and were chiefly encamped at Lumpkin's Mills, south of Holly Springs, and seven miles north of the Tallahatchie river. The Confederate force, now under the command of Gen. Pemberton, retired to that river, and finally fell back beyond Granada. Meanwhile Gen. Grant advanced to Oxford, and on the 20th of December an attack was suddenly made in his rear, by a Confederate force under Gen. Van Dorn, on the garrison under Col. Murphy at Holly Springs, which surrendered. The prisoners were paroled, and the supplies collected there for Gen. Grant's army were destroyed; also a large quantity of cotton which had been purchased of the people in the vicinity.

This surrender of Holly Springs is thus noted in the orders of Gen. Grant:

HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS, DEPART-
MENT OF THE TENNESSEE, HOLLY SPRINGS, MISS.,
December 23d, 1562.

It is with pain and mortification that the General commanding reflects upon the disgraceful surrender of this place, with all the valuable stores it contained, on

the 20th inst., and that without any resistance, except by a few men, who form an honorable exception; and this, too, after warning had been given of the advance of the enemy northward the evening previous. With all the cotton, public stores, and substantial buildings about the depot, it would have been perfectly practicable to have made in a few hours defences sufficient to resist, with a small garrison, all the cavalry force brought against them, until the reënforcements, which the commanding officer was notified were marching to his relief, could have reached him.

The conduct of officers and men in accepting paroles, under the circumstances, is highly reprehensible, and, to say the least, thoughtless. By the terms of the Dix Hill cartel, each party is bound to take care of their prisoners, and to send them to Vicksburg, Miss., or a point on James river, Va., for exchange or parole, unless some other point is mutually agreed upon by the generals commanding the opposing armies. By a refusal to be paroled, the enemy, from his inability to take care of the prisoners, would have been compelled either to have released them unconditionally, or to have abandoned all further aggressive movements for the time being, which would have made their recapture and the discomfiture of the enemy almost certain.

It is gratifying to notice, in contrast with this, the conduct of a portion of the command, conspicuous among whom was the Second Illinois cavalry, prisoners. Their loss was heavy, but the enemy's was who gallantly and successfully resisted being taken much greater. Such conduct as theirs will always insure success.

Had the commandant of the post exercised the usual and ordinary precautions for defence, the garenemy, saved our stores from destruction and them rison was sufficiently strong to have repulsed the selves from capture.

The General commanding is satisfied that a majority of the troops who accepted a parole did so thoughtto, and that in future they will not be caught in the lessly, and from want of knowledge of the cartel referred

same way.

By order of

Major-General U. S. GRANT. JNO. A. RAWLINS, Assist. Adjutant-General. The post was under the command of Col. Murphy, who was surprised and captured with all his force except a small body of cavalry. The enemy estimated the stores destroyed as follows: "1,809,000 fixed cartridges and other ordnance stores, valued at $1,500,000, including 5,000 rifles and 2,000 revolvers; 100,000 suits of clothing and other quartermaster's stores, valued at $500,000; 5,000 barrels of flour and other commissary stores, valued at $500,000; $1,000,000 worth of medical stores, for which invoices to that amount were exhibited, and 1,000 bales of cotton and $600,000 worth of sutlers' stores."

On the same day an attack was made at Davis's Mills, a little further north, which was bravely repulsed. Near Jackson, Tennessee, an attack was made by a body of cavalry under Col. Forrest on the 19th. The telegraph wire was cut and the railroad destroyed. On the next day Humboldt was captured and an attack made on Trenton. Other stations on the railroad, as Dyer's, Rutherford, and Keaton, were taken on the same day. The purpose appeared to be to destroy every railroad bridge from Columbus to Corinth, and thus cut off the communications and supplies of Gen. Grant. The consequence of these movements was to make Gen. Grant fall back upon Holly Springs.

[merged small][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]
[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]
[subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed]
[subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]

Decat & Chart

rendezvous. On the next day he was joined by Admiral Porter, in his flagship, with the gunboats Marmora, Capt. Getty, and Conestoga, Capt. Selfridge, to act as a convoy. The main body of the naval force was at the mouth of Yazoo river. On the same evening the troops at Helena, making another division, embarked in transports, and came to Friar's Point.

The arrangements were completed by the military and naval commanders during the next forenoon, the 22d, and the fleet got under way, and moved down just below the mouth of White river, where it came to, at sunset. On the next day it descended to Gaines's Landing, and at two P. M. came to anchor, to await the arrival of those transports in the rear, and also a division of troops from Memphis. Half of the town of Gaines's Landing was destroyed by fire while the army was there. Similar destruction had also been made at Friar's Point. These acts led to stringent measures on the part of Gen. Sher

[graphic]

man.

On the night of the 24th and the morning of the 25th, the fleet arrived at the mouth of the Yazoo river. The fleet consisted of more than sixty transports, with a number of ironclad and other gunboats, and several mortar boats. The Yazoo is a deep, narrow, and sluggish stream, formed by the Tallahatchie and Yallobusha rivers, which unite in Carroll county, Mississippi. It runs through an alluvial plain of extreme fertility, about 290 miles, and empties into the Mississippi river twelve miles above Vicksburg.

By this time Gen. Grant's communications in his rear had been cut off, and he had been compelled to fall back. The confederate forces in his rear retired toward Vicksburg, where they had already begun to concentrate, both from the east and the west, although these facts were unknown to Gen. Sherman.

It was supposed by the Federal forces that they would now receive the cooperation of Gen. Banks and Admiral Farragut. The former had left New York, near the close of the year, with a considerable military force, for New Orleans, where the latter commanded the naval forces.

On the 26th, the expedition, under convoy of the gunboats, moved up the Yazoo, and the troops were landed at various points from the junction of Old River with the Yazoo to Johnson's Farm, a distance of about three miles, without opposition. The distance from Vicksburg was about eight miles. A strong position, known as Haines's Bluff, some distance above on the river, was held by the Confederate forces, and in the mean while attacked by the gunboats De Kalb, Cincinnati, Louisville, BenXIC ton, and Lexington. It was the plan of Gen. Sherman to attack Vicksburg in the rear. For this purpose he was engaged, on the 28th, in getting his forces into position.

[ocr errors]

Meanwhile Gen. William T. Sherman, who had been stationed at Memphis, embarked with one division on the 20th of December, and dropped down to Friar's Point, the place of

The bluffs on which Vicksburg is built take their rise a little below the city, and extend in a direction north of northeast to the Yazoo

river, terminating in Haines's Bluff, a distance brigades, under Brig.-Gen. George W. Morgan ; of twelve or fifteen miles. They were fortified second division, three brigades, under Brig.throughout their entire length. These bluffs Gen. Morgan L. Smith; third division, three front the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. The brigades, under Brig.-Gen. A. J. Smith; fourth ascent is abrupt and precipitous, and the only division, four brigades, under Brig.-Gen. Fredapproach to the city by land from up the river erick Steele. The brigade commanders of this is by climbing their face. In the rear the ground fourth division were Gens. Frank P. Blair, jr., is high and broken, and somewhat rolling. It John M. Thayer, C. E. Hovey, and Col. Hasfalls off gradually to the Big Black river. sendurbel.

The line of the Yazoo here is nearly northeast. It is six miles distant from the bluffs at Old river, and passes along their face until, at Haines's Bluff, the river and the bluffs come together. This junction is nine miles from Vicksburg by the road along the foot of the bluffs, and twenty-three miles from the Mississippi by the course of the Yazoo river. On the triangular-shaped bottom land between the bluffs and the Yazoo down to the Old river, the troops were disembarked for the purpose of getting in the rear of Vicksburg and capturing it.

About one third of the distance down the Yazoo from Haines's Bluff, a bayou puts off from the river at nearly right angles, until it approaches the bluffs, when it turns and follows their base until it empties into the Mississippi. It is called the Chickasaw bayou. Between this bayou and the bluffs is a plain, upon which the timber had been felled to form an abatis. The banks of the bayou are quite steep, and about two hundred feet apart. At the base of the bluffs, through their whole length, rifle pits had been dug, in the rear of which, upon the face of the bluffs, single-gun batteries had been planted at short intervals from Vicksburg almost to Haines's Bluff. At various commanding points along the range, both on its face and upon the suminit, field works were thrown up for the reception and protection of light artillery whenever it might be needed.

Parallel with, and about half a mile north of the Chickasaw bayou, is a deep slough, having no connection with the river. As it approaches the base of the bluffs, it makes a sharp turn and enters Chickasaw bayou near the point where the latter makes its angle as it strikes the bluffs. In the latter part of its extent it contains but little water; its bottom, however, is a quicksand, which does not afford good footing. The bottom land of the Yazoo is covered with a dense growth of cypress trees: much of it is quite clear and free from under growth, while in other parts it is quite thick.

The first troops landed, on the 26th, were a brigade, under Gen. Blair, of Gen. Steele's division, and a brigade from each of the divisions under Gens. M. L. Smith and Morgan. They were ordered to advance two miles into the country, and make a thorough reconnoissance in the direction of the bluffs. The brigade from Gen. Morgan's division found the rebels in force about two miles inland. The other brigades met with no opposition. No conflict took place.

The force of Gen. Sherman was organized in four divisions as follows: First division, three

Under the plan of attack, Gen. Steele was to hold the extreme left, Gen. Morgan the left centre, Gen. M. L. Smith the right centre, and Gen. A. J. Smith the extreme right. The division under Gen. Smith, however, not having arrived, Gen. Blair was placed on the right centre. All the divisions were to converge toward the point of attack on the bluffs. The remainder of the division of Gen. Steele was landed on the 27th above the Chickasaw bayou, to operate on that part of the line. The entire day was spent in getting the troops ashore. The bank of the river was overgrown with brush, and the ground was so soft that it was necessary to build roads for moving the wagons and artillery. At night the command had advanced only two miles from the shore.

On the same day, the 27th, the divisions on the centre, including Gen. Blair's brigade, advanced slowly toward the bluffs, in order to give time to Gen. Steele to come into position on the left. A battery of the enemy was found near the point designated for junction with Gen. Steele, not far from the angle of the bayou, and silenced. The night ensuing was cold and frosty, and the troops bivouacked without fires.

On the next day, the 28th, the enemy was driven across the Chickasaw, and night closed with the troops of Gen. Sherman in full possession south of the bayou, with one bridge thrown across, and with two bridges partly constructed. While reconnoitring the ground and directing the movement of some infantry, Gen. M. L. Smith was severely wounded in the hip, and the command of his division devolved upon Gen. David Stuart. Meanwhile, Gen. Steele had pushed forward his command. The slough on his right was deep and impassable, and on the left the ground had become swampy and full of small pools, so as to be also impassable. The only line of approach to the bluffs was along a narrow levee or causeway, which was exposed throughout to the enemy's artillery. Three attempts were made to approach the causeway, but the destruction of the troops was so manifest that they were withdrawn. Gen. Sherman, under this state of affairs, ordered Gen. Steele to return to the river, reembark and land on the lower side of the Chickasaw, thus holding still the extreme left, and advance upon its bank until he met Gen. Morgan. It was too late in the evening of the 28th when the troops were fairly on shore below the bayous to move farther. At this time the division of Gen. A. J. Smith came up and took its position on the right of the line. It had remained at Milliken's Bend as a support to a

« AnteriorContinuar »