_The Louisiana Native Guard.--Capt. Callioux.--The Weather.--Spirit of
the Troops.--The Battle begins.--“Charge.”--Great Bravery.--The
Gallant Color-bearer.--Grape, Canister, and Shell sweep down the Heroic
Men.--Death of Callioux.--Comments._
On the 26th of May, 1863, the wing of the array under Major-Gen. Banks
was brought before the rifle-pits and heavy guns of Port Hudson. Night
fell--the lovely Southern night--with its silvery moonshine on the
gleaming waters of the Mississippi, that passed directly by the
intrenched town. The glistening stars appeared suspended in the upper
air as globes of liquid light, while the fresh soft breeze was bearing
such sweet scents from the odoriferous trees and plants, that a poet
might have fancied angelic spirits were abroad, making the atmosphere
luminous with their pure presence, and every breeze fragrant with
their luscious breath. The deep-red sun that rose on the next morning
indicated that the day would be warm; and, as it advanced, the heat
became intense. The earth had been long parched, and the hitherto green
verdure had begun to turn yellow. Clouds of dust followed every step and
movement of the troops. The air was filled with dust: clouds gathered,
frowned upon the earth, and hastened away.
The weatherwise watched the red masses of the morning, and still hoped
for a shower to cool the air, and lay the dust, before the work of death
commenced; but none came, and the very atmosphere seemed as if it were
from an overheated oven. The laying-aside of all unnecessary articles
or accoutrements, and the preparation that showed itself on every side,
told all present that the conflict was near at hand. Gen. Dwight, whose
antecedents with regard to the rights of the negro, and his ability
to fight, were not of the most favorable character, was the officer
in command over the colored brigade; and busy Rumor, that knows every
thing, had whispered it about that the valor of the black man was to be
put to the severest test that day.
The black forces consisted of the First Louisiana, under Lieut-Col.
Bassett, and the Third Louisiana, under Col. Nelson. The line-officers
of the Third were White; and the regiment was composed mostly of
freedmen, many of whose backs still bore the marks of the lash, and
whose brave, stout hearts beat high at the thought that the hour had
come when they were to meet their proud and unfeeling oppressors. The
First was the noted regiment called “The Native Guard,” which Gen.
Butler found when he entered New Orleans, and which so promptly offered
its services to aid in crushing the Rebellion. The line-officers of
this regiment were all colored, taken from amongst the most wealthy and
influential of the free colored people of New Orleans. It was said that
not one of them was worth less than twenty-five thousand dollars. The
brave, the enthusiastic, and the patriotic, found full scope for the
development of their powers in this regiment, of which all were well
educated; some were fine scholars. One of the most efficient officers
was Capt. André Callioux, a man whose identity with his race could not
be mistaken; for he prided himself on being the blackest man in the
Crescent City. Whether in the drawing-room or on the parade, he was ever
the centre of attraction. Finely educated, polished in his manners, a
splendid horseman, a good boxer, bold, athletic, and daring, he never
lacked admirers. His men were ready at any time to follow him to
the cannon’s mouth; and he was as ready to lead them. This regiment
petitioned their commander to allow them to occupy the post of danger in
the battle, and it was granted.
As the moment of attack drew near, the greatest suppressed excitement
existed; but all were eager for the fight. Capt. Callioux walked proudly
up and down the line, and smilingly greeted the familiar faces of his
company. Officers and privates of the white regiments looked on as they
saw these men at the front, and asked each other what they thought would
be the result. Would these blacks stand fire? Was not the test by which
they were to be tried too severe? Col. Nelson being called to act as
brigadier-general, Lieut-Col. Finnegas took his place. The enemy In his
stronghold felt his power, and bade defiance to the expected attack. At
last the welcome word was given, and our men started. The enemy opened a
blistering fire of shell, canister, grape, and musketry. The first shell
thrown by the enemy killed and wounded a number of the blacks; but on
they went. “Charge” was the word.
Charge!” Trump and drum awoke:
Onward the bondmen broke;
Bayonet and sabre-stroke
Vainly opposed their rush.”
At every pace, the column was thinned by the falling dead and wounded.
The blacks closed up steadily as their comrades fell, and advanced
within fifty paces of where the rebels were working a masked battery,
situated on a bluff where the guns could sweep the whole field over
which the troops must charge. This battery was on the left of the
charging line. Another battery of three or four guns commanded the
front, and six heavy pieces raked the right of the line as it formed,
and enfiladed its flank and rear as it charged on the bluff. It was
ascertained that a bayou ran under the bluff where the guns lay,--a
bayou deeper than a man could ford. This charge was repulsed with
severe loss. Lieut-Col. Finnegas was then ordered to charge, and in a
well-dressed steady line his men went on the doublequick down over the
field of death. No matter how gallantly the men behaved, no matter how
bravely they were led, it was not in the course of things that this
gallant brigade should take these works by charge. Yet charge after
charge was ordered and carried out under all these disasters with
Spartan firmness. Six charges in all were made. Col. Nelson reported to
Gen. Dwight the fearful odds he had to contend with. Says Gen. Dwight,
in reply, “Tell Col. Nelson I shall consider that he has accomplished
nothing unless he take those guns.” Humanity will never forgive Gen.
Dwight for this last order; for he certainly saw that he was only
throwing away the lives of his men. But what were his men? “Only
niggers.” Thus the last charge was made under the spur of desperation.
The ground was already strewn with the dead and wounded, and many of the
brave officers had fallen early in the engagement. Among them was the
gallant and highly cultivated Anselmo. He was a standardbearer, and
hugged the stars and stripes to his heart as he fell forward upon
them pierced by five balls. Two corporals near by struggled between
themselves as to who should have the honor of again raising those
bloodstained emblems to the breeze. Each was eager for the honor; and
during the struggle a missile from the enemy wounded one of them, and
the other corporal shouldered the dear old flag in triumph, and bore it
through the charge in the front of the advancing lines.
“Now,” the flag-sergeant cried,
“Though death and hell betide,
Let the whole nation see
If we are fit to be
Free in this land, or bound
Down, like the whining hound,--
Bound with red stripes aud pain
In our old chains again.”
Oh! what a shout there went
From the black regiment!
Shells from the rebel guns cut down trees three feet in diameter, and
they fell, at one time burying a whole company beneath their branches.
Thus they charged bravely on certain destruction, till the ground was
slippery with the gore of the slaughtered, and cumbered with the bodies
of the maimed. The last charge was made about one o’clock. At this
juncture, Capt. Callioux was seen with his left arm dangling by his
side,--for a ball had broken it above the elbow,--while his right hand
held his unsheathed sword gleaming in the rays of the sun; and his
hoarse, faint voice was heard cheering on his men. A moment more, and
the brave and generous Callioux was struck by a shell, and fell far in
advance of his company. The fall of this officer so exasperated his men,
that they appeared to be filled with new enthusiasm; and they rushed
forward with a recklessness that probably has never been surpassed.
Seeing it to be a hopeless effort, the taking of these batteries, order
was given to change the programme; and the troops were called off. But
had they accomplished any thing more than the loss of many of their
brave men? Yes: they had. The self-forgetfulness, the undaunted heroism,
and the great endurance of the negro, as exhibited that day, created a
new chapter in American history for the colored man.
Many Persians were slain at the battle of Thermopylæ; but history
records only the fall of Leonidas and his four hundred companions. So
in the future, when we shall have passed away from the stage, and
rising generations shall speak of the conflict at Port Hudson, and the
celebrated charge of the negro brigade, they will forget all others in
their admiration for André Callioux and his colored associates. Gen.
Banks, in his report of the battle of Port Hudson, says, “Whatever doubt
may have existed heretofore as to the efficiency of organizations of
this character, the history of this day proves conclusively to those who
were in a condition to observe the conduct of these regiments, that the
Government will find in this class of troops effective supporters
and defenders. The severe test to which they were subjected, and the
determined manner in which they encountered the enemy, leaves upon my
mind no doubt of their ultimate success.”
Hon. B. F. Flanders paid them the following tribute:--
“The unanimous report of all those who were in the recent battle at Port
Hudson, in regard to the negroes, is, that they fought like devils. They
have completely conquered the prejudice of the army against them. Never
before was there such an extraordinary revolution of sentiment as that
of this army in respect to the negroes as soldiers.”
This change was indeed needed; for only a few days previous to the
battle, while the regiments were at Baton Rouge, the line-officers of
the New-England troops, either through jealousy or hatred to the
colored men on account of their complexion, demanded that the latter,
as officers, should be dismissed. And, to the disgrace of these white
officers, the colored men, through the mean treatment of their superiors
in office, the taunts and jeers of their white assailants, were
compelled to throw up their commissions. The colored soldiers were
deeply pained at seeing the officers of their own color and choice taken
from them; for they were much attached to their commanders, some of whom
were special favorites with the whole regiment. Among these were First
Lieut. Joseph Howard of Company I, and Second Lieut. Joseph G. Parker,
of Company C. These gentlemen were both possessed of ample wealth, and
had entered the army, not as a matter of speculation, as too many have
done, but from a love of military life. Lieut. Howard was a man of more
than ordinary ability in military tactics; and a braver or more daring
officer could not be found in the Valley of the Mississippi. He was well
educated, speaking the English, French, and Spanish languages fluently,
and was considered a scholar of rare literary attainments. He, with his
friend Parker, felt sorely the humiliation attending their dismissal
from the army, and seldom showed themselves on the streets of their
native city, to which they had returned. When the news reached New
Orleans of the heroic charge made by the First Louisiana Regiment, at
Port Hudson, on the 27th of May, Howard at once called on Parker;
and they were so fired with the intelligence, that they determined to
proceed to Port Hudson, and to join their old regiment as _privates_.
That night they took passage, and the following day found them with
their former friends in arms. The regiment was still in position close
to the enemy’s works, and the appearance of the two lieutenants was
hailed with demonstrations of joy. Instead of being placed as privates
in the ranks, they were both immediately assigned the command of a
company each, not from any compliment to them, but from sheer necessity,
because the _white officers_ of these companies, feeling that the
colored soldiers were put in the front of the battle owing to their
complexion, were not willing to risk their lives, and had thrown up
their commissions.
On the 5th of June, these two officers were put to the test, and nobly
did they maintain their former reputation for bravery. Capt. Howard
leading the way, they charged upon the rebel’s rifle-pits, drove them
out, and took possession, and held them for three hours, in the face of
a raking fire of artillery. Several times the blacks were so completely
hidden from view by the smoke of their own guns and the enemy’s heavy
cannon, that they could not be seen. It was at this time, that Capt.
Howard exhibited his splendid powers as a commander. The negroes never
hesitated. Amid the roar of artillery, and the rattling of musketry,
the groans of the wounded, and the ghastly appearance of the dead, the
heroic and intrepid Howard was the same. He never said to his men, “Go,”
but always, “Follow me.” At last, when many of their men were killed,
and the severe fire of the enemy’s artillery seemed to mow down every
thing before it, these brave men were compelled to fall back from the
pits which they had so triumphantly taken. At nightfall, Gen. Banks paid
the negro officers a high compliment, shaking the hand of Capt. Howard,
and congratulating him on his return, and telling his aides that this
man was worthy of a more elevated position.
Although the First Louisiana had done well, its great triumph was
reserved for the 14th of June, when Capt. Howard and his associates in
arms won for themselves immortal renown. Never, in the palmy days of
Napoleon, Wellington, or any other general, was more true heroism shown.
The effect of the battle of the 27th of May, is thus described in “The
New-York Herald,” June 6:--
“The First Regiment Louisiana Native Guard, Col. Nelson, were in this
charge. _They went on the advance, and, when they came out, six hundred
out of nine hundred men could not be accounted for. It is said on every
side that they fought with the desperation of tigers_. One negro was
observed with a rebel soldier in his grasp, tearing the flesh from his
face with his teeth, other weapons having failed him. There are other
incidents connected with the conduct of this regiment _that have raised
them very much in my opinion as soldiers. After firing one volley, they
did not deign to load again, but went in with bayonets; and, wherever
they had a chance, it was all up with the rebels.”_
From “The New-York Tribune,” June 8:--
“Nobly done, First Regiment of Louisiana Native Guard! though you failed
to carry the rebel works against overwhelming numbers, you did not
charge and fight and fall in vain. That heap of six hundred corpses,
lying there dark and grim and silent before and within the rebel works,
is a better proclamation of freedom than even President Lincoln’s. A
race ready to die thus was never yet retained in bondage, and never can
be. Even the Wood copperheads, who will not fight themselves, and try to
keep others out of the Union ranks, will not dare to mob negro regiments
if this is their style of fighting.
“Thus passes one regiment of blacks to death and everlasting fame.”
Humanity should not forget, that, at the surrender of Port Hudson, not a
single colored man could be found alive, although thirty-five were known
to have been taken prisoners during the siege. All had been murdered.