CORINTH.
HALLECK TAKES THE FIELD--ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY--PROGRESS
AT A SNAIL'S PACE--SHERMAN'S ADVANCE--THE FLIGHT OF THE
REBELS--SHERMAN'S OFFICIAL REPORT--CONGRATULATING THE TROOPS--
BEAUREGARD'S ADDRESS TO HIS SOLDIERS--SOME ACCOUNT OF CORINTH--
ABRUPT FINALE OF A REBEL HARANGUE.
The battle of Pittsburgh Landing unquestionably presented remarkable
features. The magnitude of the struggle, the panic that affected
some of the troops on the first day, the stern recovery and complete
triumph of the second day, all make the event notable in our military
annals. But far more remarkable, in an entirely different sense, was
the campaign that followed; a campaign that even now can scarcely be
contemplated with patience. It seemed as though the commanding General
(Halleck), conceding the truth of the charges of excessive rashness and
lack of preparation at Shiloh, had now resolved to atone therefore by
going to the opposite extreme of caution and deliberation. The results
of this policy were not disastrous; but they were exasperating. Had the
Union army promptly followed up its advantage, gained at Shiloh, it
could and doubtless would have annihilated the opposing forces and made
rebellion in that region a thing of the past. This probably would have
been done had Sherman been in command; for, as we have seen, his voice
was for an aggressive campaign. But Sherman was not in command.
Immediately after the battle, Halleck came down from St. Louis and
took his place as commander of the army in the field. Perhaps he
believed the miserable slanders against Grant, charging him with
drunkenness at Shiloh; perhaps he merely retained his former feeling
of dissatisfaction with him. At any rate, he kept him under a cloud,
appointing him nominally second in command, but giving him nothing to
do. But it served his purpose to treat Sherman well, and he accordingly
took him into his confidence and gave him important commissions to
execute. He drew troops from other parts of the country, until he had
an army of more than a hundred thousand men. To Major-General Pope he
gave command of the left wing, to Major-General Buell the centre, to
Major-General Thomas the right, and to Major-General McClernand the
reserves. Lew. Wallace was under McClernand. Sherman was under Thomas,
in the right wing, and was glad to be there. They were classmates and
trusted friends, and, as Sherman afterward said, it made no difference
which of them commanded the other, they were bound to work together in
harmony for the good cause.
The army was thus organized for an advance on Corinth, where the Rebel
army lay. This place was the junction of two great railroads, and
was of much strategic importance. The same Rebel army that had been
defeated at Pittsburgh Landing was gathered there, re-organized and
reinforced. Since Albert Sidney Johnston's death, General Beauregard
was in command, and on May 8th he issued this address to his troops:
"Soldiers of Shiloh and Elkhorn! We are about to meet once more in
the shock of battle the invaders of our soil, the despoilers of our
homes, the disturbers of our family ties, face to face, hand to hand.
We are to decide whether we are freemen, or vile slaves of those
who are only free in name, and who but yesterday were vanquished,
although in largely superior numbers, in their own encampments, on
the ever-memorable field of Shiloh. Let the impending battle decide
our fate, and add a more illustrious page to the history of our
revolution--one to which our children will point with pride, saying,
'Our fathers were at the battle of Corinth.' I congratulate you on your
timely junction. With our mingled banners for the first time during the
war, we shall meet our foe in strength that should give us victory.
Soldiers, can the result be doubtful? Shall we not drive back to
Tennessee the presumptuous mercenaries collected for our subjugation?
One more manly effort, and, trusting in God and the justness of our
cause, we shall recover more than we lately lost. Let the sound of
our victorious guns be re-echoed by those of Virginia on the historic
battle-field at Yorktown."
[Illustration: GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN.]
It should be explained, concerning the first words of this address,
that among the reinforcements of Beauregard's army were Van Dorn's
troops, who had fought at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, a battle which the
Rebels called Elkhorn; and concerning the closing words, that on the
very day when this address was issued, the Rebels fled from Yorktown
before the advance of McClellan! General Bragg also made an address
to his soldiers, saying: "You will encounter the enemy in your chosen
position, strong by nature and improved by art, away from his main
support and reliance--gunboats and heavy batteries--and for the first
time in this war, with nearly equal numbers." This remark about equal
numbers was certainly untrue, since at Shiloh the Rebel army on the
first day actually outnumbered the Union troops. And now at Corinth
it is hardly possible to believe that the Rebels had anything like a
hundred thousand men. Forty-seven thousand is the estimate given by
one careful writer, and sixty-five thousand by another. There really
seems to be no good reason for believing that Beauregard had at most
more than two-thirds as many soldiers as Halleck, and there was no
prospect of his getting any more, for McClellan's huge army was
menacing Richmond, and all available Southern troops were needed there
to cope with it. Of course, Halleck's men were still comparatively
new to war, and it would have been injudicious to hurry them forward
against Beauregard's entrenched position. But under another leader they
doubtless might have been conducted with certain success against the
foe in half the time that Halleck took, and with far more satisfactory
results than those achieved by him.
Shiloh was fought on April 6th and 7th. For twenty days thereafter
Halleck was preparing to pursue the enemy. His army really did need
much re-organization. Sherman's Division, for example, had suffered so
much that its four brigades were now consolidated into three, commanded
respectively by Morgan L. Smith, John A. McDowell, and J. W. Denver.
Supplies were plentiful, being brought up the river. But there was a
scarcity of wagon trains for the march inland to Corinth, and much
confusion occurred on this account. However, by April 14th Halleck
decided that some move must be made, so he sent Sherman to break the
Memphis and Charleston railroad at Bear Creek; which was done. Then
Halleck began his advance upon Corinth. And such an advance! If at
Shiloh the army had lain for weeks without intrenchments, here it
was not halted for a day without elaborate fortifications. The troops
literally burrowed their way across the country. It took, said the
Rebels, six weeks to move fifteen miles; and the statement is not far
from truth. On May 3d, General Pope's Division won a victory of some
importance at Farrington, five miles northwest of Corinth, and the
cavalry pushed on to Glendale and cut the Rebel line of communication
there.
The Union army on May 17th was within five miles of Corinth. Sherman
was on that date sent forward to take the Russell house, about midway
between the two armies. This he did after a sharp action, in which he
handled his troops with credit. Recognizing the strength and importance
of the position, Sherman at once fortified it strongly. And at the
same time Halleck's whole army settled down to besiege Corinth after
the orthodox fashion now growing into use, _i.e._, with elaborate
intrenchments, parallels and battery epaulements. Halleck believed that
Corinth was strongly fortified, and that it could only be taken by
siege. On May 27th he was within a mile of the Rebel lines, with his
heavy siege guns in position. He now ordered Sherman to advance, drive
in the Rebel pickets, and make a strong demonstration against Corinth
itself.
This task Sherman accomplished with masterly skill. He had under him,
on this occasion, McClernand, Hurlbut and John A. Logan. Generals Grant
and Thomas witnessed the engagement and expressed much admiration
of Sherman's ability in it. The position gained overlooked at close
quarters the Rebel fortifications around Corinth, and not only the drum
and bugle calls in the Rebel camp, but the noises of the town itself
were plainly audible. Sherman entrenched himself strongly and brought
up his artillery. Halleck was jubilant and was confident of capturing
the whole of Beauregard's army. But on the night of May 29th there were
strange sounds in Corinth. The rumble and roar of railroad trains was
incessant. At daylight of May 30th the town and the country about were
shaken by an explosion, and a vast cloud of smoke overshadowed Corinth.
Halleck had expected a battle before this, but there was no sign that
the Rebels would come out of their fortifications.
When the explosion occurred, on May 30th, Sherman asked Halleck if he
had any idea what it meant. Halleck replied that he had not, and then
ordered Sherman to move forward with his division and find out. Sherman
did so, and lo! The Rebel works were abandoned, and Corinth itself was
evacuated. On February 26th, Beauregard had commenced hurrying his sick
troops and stores southward, on the night of the 28th he had sent the
bulk of his effective force, and on the night of the 29th, the rear
guard had fled, setting fire to the town and blowing up the magazine.
The Rebel pickets had not been called in, nor even notified of the
army's flight, so they fell into Sherman's hands, with the ruins of the
town. And thus ingloriously ended the Siege of Corinth.
Following, is Sherman's official report of the capture of Corinth,
dated May 30th, 1862.
"On the nineteenth instant, I reported the operations of this division
in taking from the enemy the positions at Russel's. After driving the
enemy away, we found it one of great natural strength, and proceeded
to fortify it. Lines were laid off by the engineer, Captain Kossak,
and a very excellent parapet was constructed by the men in a style
that elicited the approval of General Halleck. Men worked day and
night, and as soon as it was done and the dense trees and undergrowth
cleared away in front, to give range to our batteries, I directed our
pickets to drive the enemy further back behind a large open field to
our front and right. This was handsomely executed by the regular detail
of picket-guard under the direction of the field-officer of the day,
Lieutenant-Colonel Loudon of the Seventieth Ohio.
"We remained in that intrenched camp at Russell's until the night
of the 27th, when I received from Major-General Halleck an order by
telegraph 'to send a force the next day to drive the Rebels from the
house in our front on the Corinth road, to drive in their pickets as
far as possible, and to make a strong demonstration on Corinth itself,'
authorizing me to call on any adjacent divisions for assistance; I
asked General McClernand for one brigade and General Hurlbut for
another to co-operate with two brigades of my own division. Colonel
John A. Logan's Brigade of General Judah's Division of McClernand's
Reserve Corps, and General Veatch's Brigade of Hurlbut's Division, were
placed subject to my orders, and took part with my own division in the
operations of the two following days, and I now thank the officers and
men of these brigades for the zeal and enthusiasm they manifested, and
the alacrity they displayed in the execution of every order given.
"The house referred to by General Halleck was a double log building,
standing on a high ridge on the upper or southern end of the large
field before referred to as the one to which we had advanced our
pickets. The enemy had taken out the chinks and removed the roof,
making it an excellent block-house from which, with perfect security,
he could annoy our pickets. The large field was perfectly overlooked
by this house, as well as by the ridge along its southern line
of defence, which was covered by a dense grove of heavy oaks and
underbrush. The main Corinth road runs along the eastern fence, whilst
the field itself, about three hundred yards wide by about five hundred
yards long, extended far to the right into the low land of Phillips's
Creek, so densely wooded as to be impassable to troops or artillery. On
the eastern side of the field the woods were more open. The enemy could
be seen at all times in and about the house and the ridge beyond, and
our pickets could not show themselves on our side of the field without
attracting a shot.
"The problem was to clear the house and ridge of the enemy with as
little loss as possible. To accomplish this, I ordered General J. W.
Denver, with his Brigade (Third), and the Morton Battery of four guns,
to march in perfect silence from our lines at 8 A. M., keeping well
under cover as he approached the field; General Morgan L. Smith's
Brigade (First), with Barrett's and Waterhouse's Batteries, to move
along the main road, keeping his force well masked in the woods to the
left; Brigadier-General Veatch's Brigade to move from General Hurlbut's
lines through the woods on the left of and connecting with General M.
L. Smith's, and General John A. Logan's Brigades to move down to Bowie
Hill Cut of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and thence forward to the
left, so as to connect with General Denver's Brigade on the extreme
right; all to march at 8 A. M., with skirmishers well to the front,
to keep well concealed, and, at a signal, to rush quickly on to the
ridge, thus avoiding as much as possible the danger of crossing the
open field exposed to the fire of a concealed enemy. It was impossible
for me beforehand to ascertain the force of the enemy, and nothing is
more embarrassing than to make dispositions against a concealed foe,
occupying, as this was, a strong natural position. I then supposed and
still think, this position was held by a small brigade of the enemy.
"My preliminary arrangements having thus been made, two twenty-pound
Parrott rifle-guns of Silfversparre's Battery, under the immediate
supervision of Major Taylor, Chief of Artillery, were moved silently
through the forest to a point behind a hill, from the top of which
could be seen the house and ground to be contested. The guns were
unlimbered, loaded with shell and moved by hand to the crest. At
the proper time I gave the order to Major Taylor to commence firing
and demolish the house, or render it decidedly uncomfortable to its
occupants. About a dozen shells well directed soon accomplished this;
then designating a single shot of the twenty-pound Parrott gun of
Silfversparre as a signal for the brigades to advance, I waited till
all were in position, and ordered the signal, when the troops dashed
forward in fine style, crossed the field, drove the enemy across the
ridge and field beyond into another dense and seemingly impenetrable
forest. The enemy was evidently surprised, and only killed two of our
men, and wounded nine. After he had reached the ridge, he opened on
us with a two-gun battery on the right and another from the front and
left, doing my brigades but little harm, but killing three of General
Veatch's men. With our artillery we soon silenced his, and by 10 A. M.
we were masters of the position. Generals Grant and Thomas were present
during the affair, and witnessed the movement, which was admirably
executed, all the officers and men keeping their places like real
soldiers.
"Immediately throwing forward a line of skirmishers in front of each
brigade, we found the enemy reinforcing his front skirmishers; but
the woods were so dense as to completely mask his operations. An
irregular piece of cleared land lay immediately in front of Gen.
Denver's position, and extended obliquely to the left, in front of and
across Morgan Smith's and Veatch's brigades, which were posted on the
right and left of the main Corinth road, leading directly south. For
some time I was in doubt whether the artillery fire we had sustained
had come from the enemy's fixed or field-batteries, and intended to
move forward at great hazard to ascertain the fact, when, about 3 P.
M., we were startled by the quick rattle of musketry along our whole
picket-line, followed by the cheers and yells of an attacking column of
the enemy.
"Our artillery and Mann's Battery of Veatch's Brigade, had been
judiciously posted by Major Taylor, and before the yell of the enemy
had died away arose our reply in the cannon's mouth. The firing was
very good, rapid, well-directed, and the shells burst in the right
place. Our pickets were at first driven in a little, but soon recovered
their ground and held it, and the enemy retreated in utter confusion.
On further examination of the ground, with its connection on the left
with Gen. Hurlbut, and right resting on the railroad near Bowie Hill
Cut, it was determined to intrench. The lines were laid out after dark,
and the work substantially finished by morning.
"All this time we were within one thousand three hundred yards of the
enemy's main intrentchments, which were absolutely concealed from us by
the dense foliage of the oak forest, and without a real battle, which
at that time was to be avoided, we could not push out our skirmishers
more than two hundred yards to the front. For our own security I had to
destroy two farmhouses, both of which had been loop-holed and occupied
by the enemy. By 9 A. M. of yesterday, (twenty-ninth,) our works were
substantially done, and our artillery in position, and at 4 P. M.
the siege-train was brought forward, and Colonel McDowell's Brigade,
(Second) of my division, had come from our former lines at Russell's,
and had relieved General John A. Logan's Brigade.
"I feel under special obligations to this officer, (General Logan) who,
during the two days he served under me, held the critical ground on my
right, extending down to the railroad. All the time he had in his front
a large force of the enemy, but so dense was the foliage that he could
not reckon their strength, save from what he could see in the railroad
track. He will, doubtless, make his own report, and give the names of
the wounded among his pickets.
"I had then my whole division in a slightly curved line facing south,
my right resting on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, near a deep cut
known as Bowie Hill Cut, and left resting on the main Corinth road,
at the crest of the bridge, there connecting with General Hurlbut,
who, in turn, on his left, connected with General Davis, and so on
down the whole line to its extremity. So near was the enemy that we
could hear the sound of his drums and sometimes voices in command,
and the railroad cars arriving and departing at Corinth were easily
distinguished. For some days and nights cars have been arriving and
departing very frequently, especially in the night; but last night
(twenty-ninth) more so than usual, and my suspicions were aroused.
"Before daybreak I instructed the brigade commanders and the
field-officer of the day to feel forward as far as possible, but all
reported the enemy's pickets still in force in the dense woods to our
front. But about 6 A. M. a curious explosion, sounding like a volley
of large siege-pieces, followed by others singly, and in twos and
threes, arrested our attention, and soon after a large smoke arose
from the direction of Corinth, when I telegraphed to General Halleck
to ascertain the cause. He answered that he could not explain it, but
ordered me 'to advance my division and feel the enemy, if still in
my front.' I immediately put in motion two regiments of each brigade
by different roads, and soon after followed with the whole division,
infantry, artillery and cavalry.
"Somewhat to our surprise, the enemy's chief redoubt was found within
thirteen hundred yards of our line of intrenchments, but completely
masked by the dense forest and undergrowth. Instead of having, as we
supposed, a continuous line of intrenchments encircling Corinth, his
defences consisted of separate redoubts, connected in part by a parapet
and ditch, and in part by shallow rifle-pits, the trees being felled so
as to give a good field of fire to and beyond the main road.
"General M. L. Smith's Brigade moved rapidly down the main road,
entering the first redoubt of the enemy at 7 A. M. It was completely
evacuated, and he pushed on into Corinth and beyond, to College Hill,
there awaiting my orders and arrival. General Denver entered the
enemy's lines at the same time, 7 A. M., at a point midway between the
wagon and railroads, and proceeded on to Corinth, about three miles
from our camp, and Colonel McDowell kept further to the right, near the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad. By 8 A. M. all my division was at Corinth,
and beyond.
"On the whole ridge, extending from my camp into Corinth and to the
right and left, could be seen the remains of the abandoned camps of the
enemy, flour and provisions scattered about, and everything indicating
a speedy and confused retreat. In the town itself many houses were
still burning, and the ruins of warehouses and buildings containing
commissary and other Confederate stores were still smouldering; but
there still remained piles of cannon balls, shells and shot, sugar,
molasses, beans, rice, and other property, which the enemy had failed
to carry off or destroy. Major Fisher, of the Fifty-fourth Ohio, was
left in Corinth with a provost-guard, to prevent pillage and protect
the public stores still left.
"From the best information picked up from the citizens who remained in
Corinth, it appeared that the enemy had for some days been removing
their sick and valuable stores, and had sent away on railroad-cars
a part of their effective force, on the night of the 28th. But, of
course, even the vast amount of their rolling stock could not carry
away an army of a hundred thousand men.
"The enemy was, therefore, compelled to march away, and began the march
by 10 o'clock on the night of the 29th--the columns filling all the
roads reaching south and west all night--the rear guard firing the
train which led to the explosions and conflagration, which gave us the
first real notice that Corinth was to be evacuated. The enemy did not
relieve his pickets that morning, and many of them have been captured,
who did not have the slightest intimation of their purpose.
"Finding Corinth abandoned by the enemy, I ordered General M. L. Smith
to pursue on the Ripley road, by which it appeared they had taken the
bulk of their artillery.
"Captain Hammond, my chief of staff, had been and continued with
General Smith's Brigade, and pushed the pursuit up to the bridges and
narrow causeway by which the bottom of Tuscumbia Creek is passed. The
enemy opened with canister on the small party of cavalry, and burned
every bridge, leaving the woods full of straggling soldiers. Many of
these were gathered up and sent to the rear, but the main army had
escaped across Tuscumbia Creek, and further pursuit by a small party
would have been absurd, and I kept my division at College Hill until
I received General Thomas's orders to return and resume our camps of
the night before, which we did, slowly and quietly, in the cool of the
evening.
"The evacuation of Corinth at the time and in the manner in which
it was done, was a clear back-down from the high and arrogant tone
heretofore assumed by the Rebels. The ground was of their own choice.
The fortifications, though poor and indifferent, were all they supposed
necessary to our defeat, as they had had two months to make them, with
an immense force to work at their disposal.
"If, with two such railroads as they possessed, they could not supply
their army with reinforcements and provisions, how can they attempt it
in this poor, arid and exhausted part of the country?
"I have experienced much difficulty in giving an intelligent account of
the events of the past three days, because of the many little events,
unimportant in themselves, but which in the aggregate form material
data to account for results.
"My division has constructed seven distinct intrenched camps since
leaving Shiloh, the men working cheerfully and well all the time
night and day. Hardly had we finished one camp before we were called
on to move forward and build another. But I have been delighted at
this feature in the character of my division, and take this method of
making it known. Our intrenchments here and at Russell's, each built
substantially in one night, are stronger works of art than the much
boasted forts of the enemy at Corinth.
"I must, also, in justice to my men, remark their great improvement on
the march--the absence of that straggling which is too common in the
volunteer service; and still more, their improved character on picket
and as skirmishers. Our line of march has been along a strongly marked
ridge, followed by the Purdy and Corinth road, and ever since leaving
the 'Locusts' our pickets have been fighting. Hardly an hour, night or
day, for two weeks, without the exchange of hostile shots. But we have
steadily and surely gained ground--slowly, to be sure, but with that
steady certainty which presaged the inevitable result. In these picket
skirmishes we have inflicted and sustained losses, but it is impossible
for me to recapitulate them.
"These must be accounted for on the company muster-rolls. We have taken
many prisoners, which have been sent to the Provost-Marshal General;
and with this report I will send some forty or fifty picked up in the
course of the past two days. Indeed, I think if disarmed, very many of
these prisoners would never give trouble again; whilst, on the other
hand, the real Secessionists seem more bitter than ever."
Sherman also issued a congratulatory address to his soldiers, in
which he indulged in some expressions that must now appear rather
extravagant, such as his characterization of the capture of Corinth as
"a victory as brilliant and important as any recorded in history."
"But a few days ago," he said, "a large and powerful Rebel army lay
at Corinth, with outposts extending to our very camp at Shiloh. They
held two railroads extending north and south, east and west, across the
whole extent of their country, with a vast number of locomotives and
cars to bring to them speedily and certainly their reinforcements and
supplies. They called to their aid all their armies from every quarter,
abandoning the seacoast and the great river Mississippi, that they
might overwhelm us with numbers in the place of their own choosing.
They had their chosen leaders, men of high reputation and courage,
and they dared us to leave the cover of our iron-clad gunboats to
come to fight them in their trenches, and still more dangerous swamps
and ambuscades of their Southern forests. Their whole country, from
Richmond to Memphis and Nashville to Mobile, rung with their taunts and
boastings, as to how they would immolate the Yankees if they dared to
leave the Tennessee River. They boldly and defiantly challenged us to
meet them at Corinth. We accepted the challenge, and came slowly and
without attempt at concealment to the very ground of their selection;
and they have fled away. We yesterday marched unopposed through the
burning embers of their destroyed camps and property, and pursued them
to their swamps, until burning bridges plainly confessed they had fled,
and not marched away for better ground. It is a victory as brilliant
and important as any recorded in history, and every officer and soldier
who lent his aid has just reason to be proud of his part.
"No amount of sophistry or words from the leaders of the rebellion can
succeed in giving the evacuation of Corinth, under the circumstances,
any other title than that of a signal defeat, more humiliating to them
and their cause than if we had entered the place over the dead and
mangled bodies of their soldiers. We are not here to kill and slay, but
to vindicate the honor and just authority of that government which has
been bequeathed to us by our honored fathers, and to whom we would be
recreant if we permitted their work to pass to our children marred and
spoiled by ambitious and wicked Rebels.
"The General commanding, while thus claiming for his division their
just share in this glorious result, must, at the same time, remind them
that much yet remains to be done, and that all must still continue
the same vigilance and patience, and industry and obedience, till the
enemy lays down his arms, and publicly acknowledges for their supposed
grievances, they must obey the laws of their country, not attempt its
overthrow by threats, by cruelty, and by war. They must be made to feel
and acknowledge the power of a just and a mighty nation. This result
can only be accomplished by a cheerful and ready obedience to the
orders and authority of our leaders, in whom we now have just reason to
feel the most implicit confidence. That the Fifth Division of the right
wing will do this, and that in due time we will go to our families
and friends at home, is the earnest prayer and wish of your immediate
commander."
A well-informed observer says of Corinth, after the capture:
"Corinth is the only pleasant country village I have seen in this
section of the country. I was informed that it usually contained two
thousand two hundred inhabitants, of all colors, but I am inclined
seriously to doubt the assertion. From one thousand to one thousand two
hundred would be far nearer a true estimate.
"The houses are built after the Southern fashion, with a front door
for every room looking toward the street. This is an odd feature to
one used to Yankee architecture, but it is the universal style of the
Southern States. The apartments of most of the houses are large and
airy, and surrounded with immense porticoes, where the high-toned
chivalry enjoy their siesta in the most approved Spanish manner, except
that they imbibe, before sleeping, a somewhat different beverage from
the Castilians. Instead of the wines of Andalusia, they consume almost
unheard-of quantities of Bourbon and rifle whiskey.
"The yards of the rich are decorated with shrubbery, and what is far
more in accordance with good taste, forest trees are left standing and
neatly trimmed--a custom which has been too sadly neglected in the
North. There are several substantial brick and frame business-houses,
all of which have been stripped and deserted.
"Not enough of the Corinthians remained to welcome us, to give me any
idea of what the mass of the citizens are like. A few poor persons,
the druggist referred to, and the Mayor's clerk, and two or three
wealthy females, were all that were to be found. The poor were nearly
starved, and were disposed to welcome any change, as it might bring
relief, but could not add to their suffering. They walked curiously
around, observing the movements of the soldiers, astonished at the
comparatively handsome uniform they wore, and gratified that the fears
they had felt had not been realized. The wealthy females looked from
the windows of their mansions upon the Union troops, affecting the
greatest scorn and disdain for the Yankees, who viewed them in return
rather in a spirit of pity than revenge.
"One of the Rebel commanders, unaware of our presence, called around
him a brigade and commenced addressing them in something like the
following strain:
"'SONS OF THE SOUTH: We are here to defend our homes, our wives and
daughters, against the horde of vandals who have come here to possess
the first and violate the last. Here upon this sacred soil we have
assembled to drive back the Northern invaders--drive them into the
Tennessee. Will you follow me? If we cannot hold this place, we
can defend no spot of our Confederacy. Shall we drive the invaders
back, and strike to death the men who would desecrate our homes? Is
there a man so base among those who hear me, as to retreat from the
contemptible foe before us? I will never blanch before their fire,
nor ----.'
"At this interesting period the signal was given, and six shell fell in
the vicinity of the gallant officer and his men, who suddenly forgot
their fiery resolves, and fled in confusion to their breastworks."
[Illustration: GRANT'S MARCH UPON VICKSBURG.
Grant and Sherman seated on a log on East Bank.
From Painting by J. E. Taylor.]