confidence of ultimate success, and the monotony of the long continued
bombardment, some of them showed a slight disposition to carelessness.
But this was speedily put an end to, and the hottest fighting since the
opening of the bombardment, began in terrible earnest. The firing
increased so rapidly that the loud and continuous roar was absolutely
deafening; every battery was at work. At six o’clock in the evening, the
entire top of the fort was completely gone, and every parapet gun was
dismounted, most of them having fallen into the sea. The flags were of
course shot away; the garrison no longer making any effort to return the
Union fire, which hardly ceased during the whole day. The southwest side
presented a mere mass of ruins, when at length the guns were silenced
for the night; and on the next day, nine enormous breaches were visible
in the strongest portion of the fort. The firing was again resumed; and,
upon rebel authority, “kept up heavier than ever during the 21st.” From
five o’clock in the morning, till seven in the evening, nine hundred and
twenty-three shots were fired, of which no less than seven hundred and
four struck the fort. The Ironsides, on this morning, also opened fire,
and Sumter occasionally replied. Fort Wagner fired briskly on the Union
advanced works, too, but without doing much damage. The National fire
upon Wagner was, however, very destructive, and with every hour
continued to grow more so. At eleven P. M., a demand for the surrender
of Fort Sumter was sent to General Beauregard, with a threat that, if
the demand was not complied with, the city of Charleston should be
shelled within four hours. The demand was refused, although the fort was
a ruin; and the paper containing the demand was returned at seven
o’clock on the morning of the 22d to General Gilmore. The flag of truce
which had been hoisted during the sending of and return of the demand,
was now lowered, and the firing recommenced in all its fury, passing
from end to end of the Union line, and continuing with unabated
fierceness for the remainder of the day. General Gilmore, (after
allowing time for the removal of the women and children,) gave orders to
Lieutenant Sellmer, commanding the “Swamp Angel,” to open with his heavy
rifled gun upon the city of Charleston; and accordingly, fifteen shells
(of Birney’s invention), were thrown across the James Island batteries
into the town. The arrival of these projectiles caused the utmost terror
and dismay to the inhabitants, who rushed blindly to and fro in
indescribable confusion, while the light of burning buildings and the
ringing of alarm bells, gave proof to the Unionists of the consternation
caused by the unexpected arrival of the messengers from the “Swamp
Angel.”
Fort Wagner now gathered up her whole strength to throw against the
Union forces, and her firing, directed exclusively against the right,
became really terrific. The Ironsides and two other monitors came up,
and for four hours poured a torrent of shells into the Confederate fort,
which finally silenced her.
Another flag of truce was hoisted during the day to receive a message
from General Beauregard, which turned out to be an indignant protest
against what he was pleased to call General Gilmore’s “unchristian and
uncivilized mode of warfare” in shelling the city of Charleston. The
dispatches were instantly replied to, and in a manner not calculated to
quiet Beauregard’s indignation. Again there was a suspension of
hostilities while the message was being carried, but the firing
recommenced as soon as the dispatch had been delivered.
During the night only a few shots were exchanged by the combatants; and
on the next morning such a dense fog hung over the bay that operations
were temporarily suspended. The “Swamp Angel” was again trained on
Charleston; and the shelling of the city continued with great violence
for a good part of the night, while the rebel batteries on James island
continued playing away on the “Swamp Angel,” but without doing it any
great damage.
Fort Sumter itself was by this time so utterly ruined that no further
damage could be done to it by continued firing, in rendering it useless
as a defence to Charleston; and as it was not deemed necessary to
absolutely level it with the earth, firing upon it was discontinued
after the 23d August. Fort Wagner was found to be very difficult to
overcome. Day after day the bombardment had been continued against the
place, which was evidently one of the strongest of the enemy’s forts. It
was commanded by Colonel Keith, of South Carolina, and garrisoned by
fourteen hundred effective men; but notwithstanding its brave defence
and its strength, it could not much longer hold out against the Union
forces. On the 26th General Gilmore succeeded in running a parallel very
close to Wagner. A ridge of sand which interposed, could, he perceived,
be made useful, as it was constantly occupied by a body of the enemy’s
pickets, and at night by a large force protected by rifle-pits. To push
the rebels from this sand ridge and take possession of it himself was
the intention of General Gilmore; and just before dark the position was
assaulted, and carried by the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts regiment. The
bombardment of the fort itself then continued more actively than ever,
while from Fort Johnson and all the other works on James island, the
booming of cannon continued to make itself heard loud and furious.
On the 30th of August the bombardment of Fort Sumter was resumed. For
seven days the firing had ceased against it, but as that was quite long
enough for the enemy to make necessary repairs, and in some degree fit
it up again, firing was recommenced in order to prevent the rebels from
making any important advance in their work of reconstruction, supposing
them to have begun it. No reply came from the fort in answer to the
firing directed against it, which only increased its battered and
helpless appearance.
On September 1st a general engagement took place between Forts Wagner,
Moultrie, and Sumter, and the Union iron-clads, in which two of the
forts suffered severely, but the apparently invincible Wagner was but
slightly injured. To mine the work was impossible, because of its low
position. The men who attempted to lay a train, discovered water at the
depth of only two feet. But the sappers succeeded, on the night of the
6th September, in mining the outerscrap, after long and tedious work;
and in this way all its guns were unmasked, and an order was issued to
carry the place by assault at nine o’clock on the following morning,
that being the hour of low tide. It was then discovered that the enemy
had commenced evacuating the fort late on the previous night, and with
the exception of seventy-five men, had escaped. The National troops
invested the fort, and took possession of Cummings’ point. A large
supply of excellent ammunition was captured, and nineteen pieces of
artillery; and thus the city and harbor of Charleston were completely
covered by the Union guns.
An assault upon Fort Sumter was made during the same night, by a
flotilla of twenty-five boats, manned by one hundred sailors, under
Lieutenant-Commander Williams, and about one hundred marines under
Captain McCauley. The entire force was under the command of Commander
Stephens, of the Patapsco.
The boats landed, and the men attempted to run up the parapet, but were
repulsed. At a signal from Fort Sumter, all the batteries bearing on it
opened at once on the boats, and a rebel ram coming up engaged them at
close quarter. Three boats were completely demolished and forty or fifty
sailors and marines were killed and wounded. Lieutenant Bayard was
mortally wounded and captured. The other officers captured were
Commander Williams, Lieutenant Renny, Lieutenant Hueston, Lieutenant
Rowell, Lieutenant Bunce, Doctor Wheeler, and Ensign Porter. The entire
list of casualties numbered about eighty; and the remainder of the
command retired in safety.
After this ineffectual attempt to take possession of Fort Sumter by the
navy, little progress in the siege of Charleston was made during the
remainder of the year. All the captured forts on Morris island were
enlarged and strengthened; and new batteries, which effectually
commanded Fort Sumter, were erected by order of General Gilmore, which
could also be made most valuable in aiding any further naval attack
against Charleston.
The next event of marked importance was an attempt on the part of the
enemy to blow up the frigate Ironsides, on the 5th October. The shelling
of the city was continued at intervals; and occasionally the forts were
severely bombarded. The portion of Charleston which was within reach of
the shells, was greatly injured, and had been quite abandoned by its
inhabitants at an early stage of the proceedings against the city. Fort
Sumter was furiously bombarded late in October, with severe damage to
the sea wall, but its devoted garrison still clung to it, and the return
fire was, at times, very severe. The year drew to its close, and the
rebels had lost their strongest forts—the National troops occupied
Wagner; Sumter was a ruin; and the city of Charleston, already severely
shelled, lay under the guns of the Union.
OPERATIONS IN ARKANSAS—CAPTURE OF LITTLE ROCK.
On the 1st of July 1863, General Steele arrived at Helena, and reported
to General Hurlbut, the commander of the Sixteenth Army corps, in order
to receive instructions as to an expedition planned by General Grant,
against Little Rock, in that State. All of the troops then in Helena,
together with a cavalry division, operating in various parts of the
State at that time, and led by Brigadier-General Davidson, were
immediately placed under General Steele’s command. But the climate of
Helena, which was unfavorable to the troops, had weakened a large number
who were either sick or convalescent from sickness. The number mustered
at this point for the expedition, was about six thousand. The artillery
consisted of three six-gun batteries, one four-gun battery, and six
ten-pound Parrot guns. The cavalry numbered less than five hundred men
fit for duty, and consisted of the First Indiana and the Fifth Kansas
regiments. General Davidson’s cavalry division consisted of six thousand
men. On taking command at Helena, General Steele proceeded to organize
his forces, and to establish camps for the sick. This done, he commenced
an advance movement. General Davidson pushed on to Clarendon, a point on
White river, where corduroying two miles of bottom, he threw a bridge
over Rock Roe Bayou. Another division advanced toward the same point,
under command of General Rice, and still another under command of
Colonel W. E. McClean. The entire force was congregated, on the 17th of
August, at Clarendon. Beyond the river lay the enemy. General Steele’s
design, now, was to establish an Hospital at Duvall’s Bluff, a healthy
point on the river, and thence to advance against Little Rock, the
capital of the State, and the headquarters of the rebels, situated on
the west bank of the Arkansas river. This plan was pursued with equal
energy and success. As early as the 23rd July, the Hospital was
established; and, on the 25th, General Davidson, still advancing,
skirmished with the rebel General Marmaduke’s cavalry, which he finally
drove into their intrenchments at Bayou Meton. On the 27th he again
attacked the enemy, and drove them from their intrenchments; but the
rebels burned their bridges in returning, and thus, for a time,
succeeded in checking the Union advance. General Davidson then
concentrated his forces at Brownsville, where he remained until the end
of the month. On the 30th of August General Steele was reinforced, by
True’s brigade, from Memphis, and on the 14th of September he commenced
a general advance against the rebels beyond Bayou Meton. At first he
resolved to endeavor to turn the left flank of the rebel forces, and for
this purpose he sent out General Davidson to reconnoitre. This
reconnoissance, made by way of Austin, lasted two days. At the end of
that time, however, General Steele was in possession of such information
concerning the roads and the disposition of the foe, as determined him
to advance on the right. On the 6th of September, therefore, the general
advance was resumed, True’s brigade, and Ritter’s cavalry being left to
guard the sick at Brownsville. On the 7th the advance reached the
Arkansas river, at or near Ashley’s Mills, a point above Little Rock.
General Steele’s plans were now laid with equal boldness and skill.
General Davidson was directed to cross the Arkansas with a considerable
force, and to move down the south bank of the river directly against the
capital. General Steele meantime marched down the south bank, and
threatened the city in front. The passage of the river was effected by
means of a pontoon bridge, on the 10th, and General Davidson advanced to
Bayou Fourche before encountering any opposition. At this place,
however, he was met by a Confederate force, in regular line of battle,
consisting of Fagan’s and Tappan’s brigades and Marmaduke’s cavalry. A
brisk engagement ensued, but the rebels, galled by artillery fire from
the other side of the river, and steadily pushed by the gallant troops
of Davidson, were speedily compelled to retreat. The Union advance
meanwhile was continued—simultaneously upon both sides of the stream. In
a short time, volumes of smoke and clouds of dust, in the direction of
Little Rock, made it evident that the rebels were retreating from the
city, burning the bridges as they passed over. Marmaduke’s cavalry was
thus found to be the only obstacle to the Union occupation of the
capital. A bold push soon swept that foe away, and on the night of
September 10th, Little Rock was formally surrendered. The forces,
however, were too weary to continue the pursuit, until the next day,
when Merrill’s and Clayton’s cavalry followed the flying foe for twenty
miles, taking a number of prisoners and causing the destruction of a
part of the rebel baggage train. The Union loss in this battle did not
exceed one hundred; the rebel loss was at least five times as great,
including prisoners. So ended a campaign of forty-five days, which
resulted in substantially freeing the State of Arkansas from the
clutches of rebellion.
[Illustration: CONFEDERATE GENERALS. EWELL. JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON.
LONGSTREET. GARNETT. FITZHUGH LEE. A. P. HILL. MAGRUDER. BRAGG.]
The capture of Little Rock, however, was succeeded by a variety of
incidents, which deserve to be summed up in a brief statement, as
marking the close of the war in Arkansas.
On the 28th of October a portion of the retreating troops of the
discomfited rebel General Price, having eluded pursuit, attacked Pine
Bluff, hoping, if successful, to recapture Little Rock, and enfeeble the
Union troops by cutting off their line of communication with the
Mississippi. But the Unionists repulsed this attack, and on the same day
captured Arkadelphia, forcing the Confederates to retreat towards the
Red river.
Thus, at the close of the year 1863, the entire State of Arkansas,
excepting a small part in the Southwest, and another small part in the
Northwest, infested by guerrillas, was restored to the authority of the
United States Government.
OPERATIONS IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, DURING 1863.
In the early part of 1863, there were no important military events
transpiring in Southern Virginia. There were three important positions
which the rebels were desirous of obtaining, and these were Suffolk,
Norfolk, and Portsmouth. The Union troops in that Department were, at
the time, under the immediate command of General Dix. The garrison
occupying Suffolk numbered thirteen thousand men, and was commanded by
General Peck, who, as events proved, was eminently capable of
maintaining the position he held. The intention of the enemy appeared to
be to reduce Suffolk, and then to march directly into Norfolk and
Portsmouth, which places were both weakly garrisoned by small and raw
regiments. General Longstreet was in command of the rebel force which
had for its object the capture of Suffolk; and the intention of that
able commander was either to descend suddenly upon the city and
overpower its garrison by superior numbers; or to cut off all the roads
by which it received supplies, and thus be enabled to carry it after a
short fight.
The town of Suffolk is situated at the head of Nansemond Creek, about
twelve miles from its confluence with the James river. In the town, two
railroads unite, by which General Peck received all his supplies. These
roads, passing through Suffolk, proceeded the one from Norfolk to
Petersburgh, and the other from Portsmouth to Weldon.
THE SIEGE OF SUFFOLK.
APRIL 11-MAY 3, 1863.
General Longstreet was well aware that Suffolk was strongly garrisoned,
and he did not open the attack upon it rashly. In order to make his
undertaking thoroughly successful, he perceived that several preliminary
movements were necessary, and he set about carefully executing them. The
first of these was a manœuvre by which the Suffolk garrison might be
materially weakened. Accordingly, General Hill was sent to attack Little
Washington, North Carolina; a subject which has been elsewhere treated;
and, as anticipated by the skillful rebel General, this movement against
Little Washington made it necessary for General Peck to send a
reinforcement to the assistance of the imperilled Union position. Three
thousand men were ordered forward to aid General Foster in his defence
of Little Washington.
General Longstreet had already collected several pontoon and siege
trains at various convenient points, which were held in readiness for an
immediate move as soon as it should be deemed necessary. Having been
informed by his spies of the removal of three thousand of General Peck’s
men, the rebel General instantly put his army in motion, and crossed the
Blackwater on several bridges, with the divisions of Hood, French,
Pickett, and Henderson, numbering in all thirty thousand men. This
comparatively large army, moving forward in three distinct columns, was,
by means of a forced march, placed in front of the Union camps in a few
hours. The cavalry pickets, utterly surprised, were quietly captured by
the rebels as they advanced. But here terminated the easy success which
the rebel General had anticipated. General Peck had not been idle while
Longstreet was making his preparations and watching for a good
opportunity to advance. The Union General was aware of the movements of
the rebel, and had fathomed his designs sufficiently well to be prepared
for him. Besides which General Longstreet had frustrated one of his best
laid plans; for at the moment that his troops captured the Union
pickets, the trains containing the reinforcements for General Foster
were about to be set in motion. The trains were delayed of course; and
the three thousand men were retained to aid in the defence of Suffolk.
The enemy, making the best of their mistake, advanced boldly on the
works, but found them strongly garrisoned and bristling with steel. It
required but a few moments to convince them that their surprise was an
utter failure; and that nothing remained for them but to fall back on
their superior numbers, and capture the town, if at all, by hard
fighting. The rebel General then directed his attention toward the
Nansemond—in which were stationed several army gunboats, sent there by
Admiral Lee—having first left a large force in front of the main
defences of the town, to engage the Union troops and divert attention
from the real rebel designs.
Again General Longstreet was disappointed in what he had regarded as a
sure and easy success. The gunboats did not apparently, to him, present
a formidable resistance; nor yet the two army gunboats, Smith Briggs,
and West End, which were commanded by two youthful officers—Captain
Rowe, and Captain Lee—whose skill and bravery put them on a level with
veterans in the service. Strong batteries of the enemy engaged the
gunboats at early dawn of the 12th of April, after having spent the
entire night in constructing battery after battery; and although the
frail boats were completely riddled, and their men were shot down so
fast that the decks were strewn with the killed and wounded, the staunch
little vessels, with their brave crews, obstinately refused to leave the
river. The Nansemond, which was so small a stream that a moderately
sized steamer could not turn round in it, was defended by this small
flotilla against a force thirty thousand strong, eager and determined to
cross, and having opposed to them six navy gunboats, two army gunboats,
a force, in all numbering but five thousand men, to hold a line eight
miles in length. Brigadier-General Getty, who had been entrusted with
the arduous task of defending the Nansemond river, was eminently suited
to defend it successfully. The Nansemond had the further disadvantage of
being surrounded with various swamps and creeks, so that it was
absolutely impossible for troops to pass, as reinforcements, from one
point to another, without great loss of time. To remedy this
inconvenience, General Getty had undertaken the construction of a
military road several miles in length, which should include many bridges
and long spaces of corduroy; and by extraordinary exertions the troops
had completed this road in the space of three days.
While the enemy’s batteries were brought into play upon the gunboats,
General Getty was putting into service all his skill as an artillerist.
Aided by Colonel Dutton, who commanded the Third brigade, he at once
began selecting positions for rifle-pits and batteries, which, on the
next morning, were in working order, and thundered forth a storm of
shell upon the astonished enemy. For several days this warfare
continued, the rebels persistently endeavoring to gain a foothold on the
shore, and being as persistently driven back by the Union fire from
batteries, rifle-pits and gunboats. Not until the 18th day of the month
did the rebels at all advance in their efforts: but on that day they
succeeded in establishing on Hill’s Point, six miles from Suffolk, an
earthwork which mounted five heavy rifled guns. Against this formidable
work the Union fire was powerless; the missiles for the most part
harmlessly burying themselves in its parapet, while from this strong
position the enemy maintained a constant and destructive fire upon the
National gunboats. Beneath this severe fire the Mount Washington
grounded directly under the rebel guns, and her brave companions refused
to leave her in such a strait. The Commodore Barney received fifty-eight
holes in her hull and machinery; and while the gallant captain of the
Mount Washington stood over the guns of his shattered vessel, still
hoping to save her, a severe contest raged for six long hours. At last
came the rising tide, and floated off the boats in safety.
Admiral Lee now ordered the gunboats out of the Upper Nansemond; and
affairs began to wear a discouraging aspect. But already the dawn that
succeeds the darkest hour was slowly breaking through its blackness,
soon to shine forth in the noontide glory of success. It was proposed by
Lieutenant Lansom to capture the Hill’s Point battery, and the proposal
was received with favor by General Peck.
The following, which is an extract from a description by an eye-witness
does not over-color this brilliant feat: