great importance, and should be done most effectually. Every tie and
rail for many miles in each direction should be absolutely destroyed
or injured, and every bridge and culvert should be completely
destroyed. To insure this end, to General Hurlbut is entrusted the
destruction east and north, and to General McPherson the roads west
and south. The troops should be impressed with the importance of this
work, and also that time is material, and therefore it should be begun
at once, and prosecuted with all the energy possible. Working parties
should be composed of about one-half the command, and they should move
by regiments, provided with their arms and haversacks, ready to repel
attacks of cavalry. The other half in reserve will be able to watch
the enemy retreating eastward.
2. Colonel E. F. Winslow, commanding cavalry, will keep his cavalry in
advance of the party working eastward, and will act as though this
army were slowly pursuing the enemy.
3. Special instructions will be given as to the general supply train;
and the troops now in Meridian will, under proper brigade parties,
collect meal, meat and supplies. The destruction of buildings must be
deferred till the last moment, when a special detail will be made for
that purpose.
By order of W. T. SHERMAN,
Major-General commanding.
These directions being faithfully carried out, General Sherman with
justice declared that he had made the most complete destruction of
railroads ever beheld.
Supplies now beginning to fall short, the Union forces fell back toward
Vicksburg, returning by the way of Canton, and reached their original
position on the 26th of February.
In this expedition the National loss in killed and wounded amounted to
one hundred and seventy men.
GENERAL SMITH’S EXPEDITION FROM MEMPHIS, TENN.
FEBRUARY 11, 1864.
General M. L. Smith, who had been ordered to report to General Sherman
at Meridian, had in the mean time, left Memphis on the 11th of February.
On the 13th the National forces reached the Tallahatchie, and on the
same day crossed the river at New Albany, without encountering any
opposition from the enemy. Pushing forward with all possible speed,
General Smith encountered the enemy, in force, near Houston. The
Unionists, not being strong enough to engage the rebels, then moved
eastward, and surprised and entered Okalona. Advancing along the
railroad, and tearing up the track as he went, General Smith next
reached West Point, having destroyed on the way two thousand bales of
cotton, and one million bushels of corn. Two miles north of West Point
Station, the enemy was encountered, and a short skirmish ensued, in
which the rebels were driven back. The enemy were next discovered to be
in strong force in front, holding all the crossings over a swamp to the
right of the town, and also on the line of the Octibbieha in front, and
that of the Tombigbee river on the left. An attack was necessary; and
General Smith, encumbered with pack trains and captured cattle,
determined to make his demonstration for battle in front, in order to
give his main body and trains an opportunity to fall back on Okalona.
This movement was successfully accomplished, notwithstanding that the
enemy, under the command of Generals Lee, Forrest and Chalmers, pressed
very hard upon the retreating Union line. Subsequently, on the 22nd,
General Smith was attacked at Okalona, and defeated with severe loss.
That night he retreated, with all possible secrecy and speed. A
correspondent thus describes his retreat:
“Picture to yourself, if you can, a living, moving mass of men, negroes,
mules, and horses, of four thousand or five thousand, all _en masse_,
literally jammed, huddled, and crowded into the smallest possible space;
night setting in; artillery and small arms booming behind us; cavalry
all around and ahead, moving on, on, on, over fences, through fields and
brush, over hills and across mud-holes, streams, and bridges, and still
on, on into the night, until the moon rises on the scene and shows us
some of the outlines of this living panorama. I forgot to say that in
this crowd were a lot of prisoners, too, once or twice attempting to
escape, followed by the swift report of the revolver, once with bitter
consequences to the escaping prisoners.”
On the night of the 23d General Smith succeeded in crossing the
Tallahatchie at New Albany, and on the 25th, at about noon, his forces
reached Memphis, with all their trains and spoils of war. The loss was
less than two hundred killed and captured. Thus it happened that the
expedition failed to make a junction with General Sherman, at Meridian.
THE RED RIVER EXPEDITION.
MARCH 10-MAY 16, 1864.
An extensive trade had been carried on for two years between the
Confederate States, and the Mexican border. The occupation of
Brownsville had checked in a measure this intercourse, and it was
determined by the Federal authorities to attempt the capture of
Shreveport, an important trading town in the extreme northwestern border
of Louisiana, near the boundaries of Arkansas and Texas. This place is
at the head of steamboat navigation on the Red river, in the midst of
the largest and richest cotton district in the trans-Mississippi
department. It was the rebel capital of Louisiana, the headquarters of
Gen. Kirby Smith, and the general depot for rebel supplies in that
section. The Government desired Shreveport, and the undisturbed
possession of the Mississippi, and General Banks was charged with the
duty of taking it. His army consisted of a part of the Nineteenth army
corps, which he formerly commanded in person; a portion of the
Thirteenth army corps, under General Ransom; and a portion of the
Sixteenth army corps, under the command of General Smith. A large naval
force under Admiral Porter, constituted an important part of the
expedition.
The Red river cannot be navigated with safety for any distance above
Alexandria by large vessels, except during the months of March and
April; and arrangements were accordingly made for the grand naval and
army expedition to start as early in the month of March as practicable.
On the second of the month, Admiral Porter concentrated his fleet off
the mouth of Red river, awaiting army movements, while some of his
gunboats were engaged in destroying bridges on the Atchafalaya and Black
rivers, and rebel property collected at Sicily Island. Admiral Porter’s
fleet comprised the following vessels:
The Essex, Commander Robert Townsend; Benton, Lieutenant-Commander James
A. Greer; La Fayette, Lieutenant-Commander J. P. Foster; Choctaw,
Lieutenant-Commander F. M. Ramsey; Chilicothe, Acting Volunteer
Lieutenant S. P. Couthouy; Ozark, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant George W.
Browne; Louisville, Lieutenant-Commander E. K. Owen; Carondolet,
Lieutenant-Commander J. G. Mitchell; Eastport, Lieutenant-Commander S.
L. Phelps; Pittsburgh, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant W. R. Hoel; Mound
City, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant A. R. Langthorne; Osage,
Lieutenant-Commander T. O. Selfridge; Neosho, Acting Volunteer
Lieutenant Samuel Howard; Ouachita, Lieutenant-Commander Byron Wilson;
Fort Hindman, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant John Pearce. And the lighter
boats: Lexington, Lieutenant George M. Bache; Cricket, Acting Master H.
H. Gorringe; Gazelle, Acting Master Charles Thatcher; Black Hawk,
Lieutenant-Commander K. R. Breese.
General A. J. Smith embarked from Vicksburg with his command, of about
ten thousand troops, on twenty transports, on the 10th of March. His
corps consisted of two divisions from the Sixteenth and two of the
Seventeenth army corps. He arrived at the mouth of the Red river on the
12th. On the same day the transports moved up to the Atchafalaya, and
the troops were landed at Semmesport, where they disembarked and marched
overland, a distance of thirty miles, to Fort De Russy, on the Red
river, skirmishing throughout the route with the enemy’s cavalry. On the
afternoon of the 14th they were in sight of the fort.
It consisted of two distinct and formidable earthworks, connected by a
covered way; the upper work, facing the road, mounted four guns, two
field and two siege; the lower work, commanding the river, was a
casemated battery of three guns. Only two guns were in position in it,
one an eleven-inch columbiad, and an eight-inch smooth bore. On each
side were batteries of two guns each, making in all eight siege and two
field-pieces. As the line moved up to the edge of the timber, the upper
work opened with shell and shrapnel, against which two batteries were
brought to bear. The cannonading continued for two hours. A charge was
then ordered, and as the men reached the ditch, the garrison
surrendered. The Federal loss was four killed and thirty wounded; that
of the enemy, five killed and four wounded. The prisoners taken were
twenty-four officers and two hundred men. Considerable ammunition and
stores were found, besides a thousand muskets.
The fleet met with many obstructions on its passage up the river, which
were removed without serious damage to the vessels; and after constant
skirmishing with the river batteries, arrived in front of the fort just
before the close of the action, and rendered effective service.
General Smith ordered the works to be destroyed. A portion of his troops
then embarked on the transports, and reached Alexandria, one hundred and
forty miles from the Mississippi river, on the evening of the 16th. They
were followed by the remainder of the forces and the fleet. The enemy
retired before the advance, destroying two steamboats and considerable
cotton. During the first week, the gunboats rescued upwards of four
thousand bales of cotton, and large quantities were brought in by the
negroes. The fleet was detained by the low water on the falls above
Alexandria, its depth being only six feet, whereas nine feet were
required to float the largest gunboats.
On the 20th, the cavalry force under General Lee, attached to the
command of General Banks, reached Alexandria, after marching from
Franklin across the Teche country. Meantime detachments from General
Smith’s command had been sent forward, and captured several small bodies
of the enemy.
On the 21st, Natchitoches was taken, with two hundred prisoners and four
pieces of artillery. It is about eighty miles from Alexandria.
About four miles from Natchitoches, is a small settlement of dingy
houses, called Grand Ecore. General Banks arrived at this place on the
4th of April, and it was then made the headquarters of both the army and
navy commanders, and the entire force of the expedition was located in
that vicinity.
The army numbered about twenty thousand men. The cavalry was under
General Lee, formerly of Grant’s army; the artillery was commanded by
Brigadier-General Richard Arnold. General Franklin was second in
command. He had one division of his corps with him, under General Emory.
That of General Green remained at Alexandria, to garrison the post.
General Ransom’s force consisted of two divisions. General Smith’s
command remained at Natchitoches. With the rest of the army General
Bank’s moved from Natchitoches for Shreveport on the 6th of April. The
country is a dense, interminable forest, with a few narrow roads, with
no signs of life or civilization, but a few log houses and half-cleared
plantations. Into this country General Banks was compelled to march. He
found, in the beginning, that two arms of his service would be almost
worthless. So long as he marched, his cavalry might picket the woods and
skirmish along the advance; but in action they would be as helpless as
so many wagon trains. His artillery would be of no use unless he could
manage to get the enemy into an open clearing. The region was little
more than a great masked battery. It was an unproductive, barren
country, and it became necessary for permanent military operations to
carry along everything that an army could use.
On the evening of the seventh, they reached Pleasant Hill, a small
village, thirty-five miles from Natchitoches, the cavalry advance
skirmishing nearly all the way through the woods. They had a severe
fight, on that morning, two miles beyond Pleasant Hill, in which the
Eighty-seventh Illinois (mounted infantry) lost quite heavily.
On the morning of the eighth they resumed their march. A severe skirmish
occurred at an old sawmill, ten miles beyond Pleasant Hill, in which
Lieutenant-Colonel Webb, of the Seventy-seventh Illinois, was killed;
but the enemy kept falling back, and were pursued by the cavalry and
infantry about eight miles further, to Sabine Cross-Roads, three miles
from Mansfield. Here the enemy was met in force, and a check made to
further progress.
BATTLE OF SABINE CROSS-ROADS.
APRIL 8, 1864.
The position of the Union army at 3 o’clock was as follows: In front,
and on the ground where a most terrible battle was soon to be fought,
was General Lee with Colonels Dudley and Lucas’s cavalry brigades with
Nim’s battery of six guns and one section (two guns) of Battery G, Fifth
United States regulars. United to this force there was now the Fourth
division, Thirteenth army corps, with the Chicago Mercantile battery,
(six guns.) Next, in the rear and completely blocking up the road, was
General Lee’s train of some two hundred and fifty wagons, to the
presence of which the subsequent disaster of the day is largely
attributable. Back of these was the Third division, Thirteenth army
corps, under General Cameron, moving up to the front as rapidly as
possible. Next to the Third division was General Emory with the First
division, Nineteenth army corps, seven miles from the extreme front,
while General Smith was back of Pleasant Hill, one day’s march in the
rear. The battle-ground was a large, open, irregular-shaped field,
through about one-half of which on the right of the road a narrow belt
of timber ran, encircling inward as it extended to the right until its
base rested around upon the woods in the rear. The road passed through
the centre of the field in a northwesterly direction toward Mansfield.
Meandering diagonally through the field and across the road was a small
creek or bayou, from the banks of which the ground rose gradually along
the line of the road, terminating in a considerable ridge on each side.
The ridge at the entrance to the field on the side of the advance was
close up to the woods, and commanded the whole battle-field, while the
ridge on the opposite side ran through the open field on the left to the
belt of timber dividing the field on the right, along which it sloped
gradually until it reached the level of the hollow on the bayou. The
outer line of the field beyond the belt of timber on the right was an
irregular semicircle, the extremities drawing inward, so as to
correspond somewhat to the outline of the dividing wood. The outer line
of the field on the left was very nearly at a right angle with the road.
The rebel forces, occupying a front of about one mile, were stationed
under cover of the woods along the further line of these fields. Their
front, therefore, extended from their right flank in a straight line to
the road, and then, following the shape of the field, circled inward
until their left flank reached a point that would be intersected by a
line drawn across the road at a right angle near the middle of the first
field on the right. The main body of the rebels was evidently on the
right of the roads. A battery was seen in position near the road, but it
was not brought into action.
On the right, and in the belt of timber which separated the first from
the second field, was Lucas’s cavalry brigade, mostly dismounted and
deployed as skirmishers, while beyond and supporting this brigade was
the Fourth division, Thirteenth army corps. About four o’clock, the
Fourth division was moved forward through the belt of timber, and took
position in line of battle behind the fence that inclosed the field
beyond.
At half-past four, General Ransom and staff passed on foot along the
outer infantry line, who were firing very briskly across the field into
the woods where the enemy was posted, but as the fire was of little
effect the general directed it to be withheld until the rebels came out
into the field. For half or three-quarters of an hour, everything
remained quiet along the lines, when all at once a heavy and continuous
discharge of musketry was heard on the right, from rebel forces marching
steadily in close ranks across the open field to the attack; while at
the same moment a heavy column was moving across the road upon the left,
where the cavalry brigade under Colonel Dudley was posted, aided by
Nim’s battery, the two howitzers, and one small regiment of infantry
(the Twenty-third Wisconsin.)
Every regiment now coolly but rapidly poured its destructive fire upon
the advancing foe, opening at every discharge great gaps in the rebel
ranks, and strewing the field with a continuous line of killed and
wounded. Under this terrific and well-directed fire, the rebel line was
checked, broken, and driven back, the only considerable body remaining
together being a mass of some three hundred or four hundred directly
opposite the Thirteenth Illinois, which was badly cut up, but held its
position without breaking.
Four guns of Nim’s battery were captured, not having horses to drag them
from the field.
This movement on the left, however, was simply a ruse on the part of the
enemy to induce General Banks to weaken his right wing, and it was
successful. At the commencement of the action General Franklin’s
divisions were in camp nine miles in the rear, but he hastened forward
in advance of his command, and, in conjunction with the
commander-in-chief, passed through the midst of the engagement,
encouraging by his presence, and leading on the men.
The right now became fiercely engaged, and the centre being pressed,
fell back, when the right also gave way. The loss of the Chicago battery
and the First Indiana soon followed. General Cameron then advanced to
the front with a brigade of Indiana troops of the Thirteenth corps, but
was unable to check the superior force of the enemy.
The line continued to fall back slowly until the baggage-trains blocked
up the roads in the rear so that the troops could not easily pass, when
a panic ensued. The enemy now pursued for three and a half miles, when
their advance was checked and driven back by General Emory’s division.
Here the conflict ended for the day. Six guns of the Chicago battery,
two of Battery G, four of the First Indiana, and six of Nim’s battery
were left on the field, with two howitzers of the Sixth Missouri. The
loss of General Banks was estimated at two thousand killed, wounded, and
missing. His force on the field was about eight thousand. The force of
the enemy was much larger. General Mouton was among the badly wounded of
the enemy.
As it was now known that General Smith with his force had marched to
Pleasant Hill and halted, General Banks determined to withdraw to that
place for the sake of concentrating his forces, and of the advantageous
position which he could there occupy. The movement commenced at ten
o’clock at night, and before daylight the rear of the army was well on
the road. The enemy during the night had pressed his pickets down on
General Banks’ front, but was not aware of the retreat of the troops
until the morning, when a pursuit commenced, the cavalry of the enemy in
advance, but General Emory had succeeded in bringing up the rear to
Pleasant Hill at seven o’clock on the morning of the 9th, where the new
line of battle was formed, the entire Federal force having reached that
place.
BATTLE OF PLEASANT HILL, LA.
APRIL 9, 1864.
The battle-ground was an open field on the outside of the town of
Pleasant Hill on the Shreveport road. It was open and rolling, and
ascended both from the side of the town and from the side on which the
enemy were approaching. A belt of timber extended almost entirely around
it. The division of General Emory was drawn up in line of battle on the
sloping side, with the right resting across the Shreveport road. General
McMillen’s brigade formed the extreme right of the line, with his right
resting near the woods, which extended along the whole base of the slope
and through which the enemy would advance. General Dwight’s brigade was
formed next, with his left resting on the road, Colonel Benedict’s
brigade formed next, with his right resting on the road and a little in
the rear of General Dwight’s left. Two pieces of Taylor’s battery were
placed in the rear of General Dwight’s left, on the road, and four
pieces were in position on an eminence on the left of the road and in
rear of Colonel Benedict. Hibbard’s Vermont battery was in the rear of
the division. General Smith’s division, under command of General Mower,
was massed in two lines of battle fifty yards apart with artillery in
rear of General Emory’s division. The right of the first line rested on
the road, and was composed of two brigades, the First brigade on the
right, commanded by Colonel Lynch, the Second brigade on the left,
commanded by Colonel Shaw. The Third Indiana battery (Crawford’s) was
posted in the first line of battle, on the right of the Eighty-ninth
Indiana. The Ninth Indiana battery (Brown’s) was in position on the
right of the First brigade. The Missouri battery occupied ground on the
right of the Eighty-ninth Indiana.
General Smith’s second line of battle was fifty yards in rear of the
first, and was composed of two brigades, one on the right of the line,
and that on the left commanded by Colonel Hill.
General Mower commanded the Second brigade, and was temporarily in
command of the whole force.
The skirmishing, which had continued all day, became lively towards its
close; and at ten minutes past five, General Emory sent word to General
Franklin that the skirmishers were driven in and the enemy marching down
upon him in three lines of battle.
At twenty minutes past five, the enemy appeared on the plain at the edge
of the woods, and the battle commenced, the Union batteries opening with
case shell as the rebels marched at a double-quick across the field to
the attack.
On the left, Colonel Benedict’s brigade came into action first, and soon
after the right and centre were engaged. The battle now raged fiercely,
the air was full of lead and iron, and the roar of artillery incessant.
The carnage on both sides was fearful, the men fighting almost hand to
hand, and with great desperation. Nothing could exceed the determined
bravery of the troops.
The contest now became fierce on both sides, when General Emory’s
division, pressed by overwhelming numbers, fell back up the hill to the
Sixteenth corps, which was just behind the crest. The enemy rushed
forward and were met by General Smith with a discharge from all his
guns, which was followed by an immediate charge of the infantry, by
which the enemy were driven rapidly back to the woods, where they broke
in confusion. Night put an end to the pursuit. The Taylor battery, lost
on the advance of the enemy, was recovered, and also two guns of Nim’s
battery. Five hundred prisoners were also taken. Early on the next
morning, leaving the dead unburied and the muskets thrown on the field,
the army commenced its march back to Grand Ecore, thirty-five miles from
Pleasant Hill, to obtain rest and rations.
The entire losses of the campaign thus far were stated to be twenty
pieces of artillery, three thousand men, one hundred and thirty wagons,
twelve hundred horses and mules, including many that died of disease.
The gains were the capture of Fort De Russy, Alexandria, Grand Ecore,
and Natchitoches, the opening of Red river, the capture of three
thousand bales of cotton, twenty-three hundred prisoners, twenty-five
pieces of artillery, chiefly captured by the fleet, and small arms and
considerable stores. A large number of citizens enlisted in the service
in Alexandria, and the material for two colored regiments was gathered;
and five thousand negroes, male and female, abandoned their homes and
followed the army.
* * * * *