Naval Affairs (continued).--Farragut demands the Surrender of New
Orleans.--Reply of the Mayor.--United States Flag hoisted.--Advent
of General Butler.--Barbarities.--Antecedents of the People.--
Galveston.--Its Surrender demanded.--The Reply.--Another visit of
the Enemy's Fleet.--The Port occupied.--Appointment of General
Magruder.--Recapture of the Port.--Capture of the Harriet Lane.--
Report of General Magruder.--Position and Importance of Sabine
Pass.--Fleet of the Enemy.--Repulse by Forty-four Irishmen.--
Vessels captured.--Naval Destitution of the Confederacy at first.--
Terror of Gunboats on the Western Rivers.--Their Capture.--The most
Illustrious Example.--The Indianola.--Her Capture.--The Ram
Arkansas.--Descent of the Yazoo River.--Report of her Commander.--
Runs through the Enemy's Fleet.--Description of the Vessel.--Attack
on Baton Rouge.--Address of General Breckinridge.--Burning of the
Arkansas.
Sad though the memory of the fall of New Orleans must be, the
heroism, the fortitude, and the patriotic self-sacrifice exhibited in
the eventful struggle at the forts must ever remain the source of
pride and of such consolation as misfortune gathers from the
remembrance of duties well performed.
After the troops had been withdrawn and the city restored to the
administration of the civil authorities, Commodore Farragut, on April
26, 1862, addressed the Mayor, repeating his demand for the surrender
of the city. In his letter he said: "It is not within the province of
a naval officer to assume the duties of a military commandant," and
added, "The rights of persons and property shall be secured." He
proceeded then to demand "that the emblem of sovereignty of the
United States be hoisted over the City Hall, Mint, and Custom-House
by meridian this day. All flags and other emblems of sovereignty
other than those of the United States must be removed from all the
public buildings by that hour." To this the Mayor replied, and the
following extracts convey the general purport of his letter:
"The city is without the means of defense, and is utterly destitute
of the force and material that might enable it to resist an
overpowering armament displayed in sight of it. . . . To surrender
such a place were an idle and unmeaning ceremony. . . . As to
hoisting any flag other than the flag of our own adoption and
allegiance, let me say to you that the man lives not in our midst
whose hand and heart would not be paralyzed at the mere thought of
such an act; nor could I find in my entire constituency so wretched
and desperate a renegade as would dare to profane with his hand the
sacred emblem of our aspirations. . . . Peace and order may be
preserved without resort to measures which I could not at this moment
prevent. Your occupying the city does not transfer allegiance from
the government of their choice to one which they have deliberately
repudiated, and they yield the obedience which the conqueror is
entitled to extort from the conquered.
"Respectfully,
"JOHN T. MONROE, _Mayor._"
On the 29th of April Admiral Farragut adopted the alternative
presented by the answer of the Mayor, and sent a detachment of
marines to hoist the United States flag over the Custom-House, and to
pull down the Confederate flag from the staff on the City Hall. An
officer and some marines remained at the Custom-House to guard the
United States flag hoisted over it until the land-forces under
General Butler arrived. On the 1st of May General Butler took
possession of the defenseless City; then followed the reign of
terror, pillage, and a long train of infamies, too disgraceful to be
remembered without a sense of shame by any one who is proud of the
name American.
Had the population of New Orleans been vagrant and riotous, the harsh
measures adopted might have been excused, though nothing could have
justified the barbarities which were practiced; but, notable as the
city had always been for freedom from tumult, and occupied as it then
was mainly by women and children, nothing can extenuate the wanton
insults and outrages heaped upon them. That those not informed of the
character of the citizens may the better comprehend it, a brief
reference is made to its history.
When Canada, then a French colony, was conquered by Great Britain,
many of the inhabitants of greatest influence and highest
cultivation, in a spirit of loyalty to their flag, migrated to the
wilds of Louisiana. Some of them established themselves in and about
New Orleans, and their numerous descendants formed, down to a late
period, the controlling element in the body-politic. Even after they
had ceased, because of large immigration, to control in the
commercial and political affairs of the city, their social standard
was still the rule. No people were more characterized by refinement,
courtesy, and chivalry. Of their keen susceptibility the Mayor
informed Commodore Farragut in his correspondence with that officer.
When the needy barbarians of the upper plains of Asia descended upon
the classic fields of Italy, their atrocities were such as shocked
the common-sense of humanity; but, if any one shall inquire minutely
into the conduct of Butler and his followers at New Orleans, he will
find there a history yet more revolting.
Soon thereafter, on May 17, 1862, Captain Eagle, United States Navy,
commanding the naval forces before Galveston, summoned it to
surrender, "to prevent the effusion of blood and the destruction of
property which would result from the bombardment of the town," adding
that the land and naval forces would appear in a few days. The reply
was that, "when the land and naval forces made their appearance, the
demand would be answered." The harbor and town of Galveston were not
prepared to resist a bombardment, and, under the advice of General
Herbert, the citizens remained quiet, resolved, when the enemy should
attempt to penetrate the interior, to resist his march at every
point. This condition remained without any material change until the
8th of the following October, when Commander Renshaw with a fleet of
gunboats, consisting of the Westfield, Harriet Lane, Owasco, Clifton,
and some transports, approached so near the city as to command it
with his guns. Upon a signal, the Mayor _pro tem_, came off to the
flag-ship and informed Commander Renshaw that the military and civil
authorities had withdrawn from the town, and that he had been
appointed by a meeting of citizens to act as mayor, and had come for
the purpose of learning the intentions of the naval commander. In
reply he was informed that there was no purpose to interfere with the
municipal affairs of the city; that he did not intend to occupy it
before the arrival of a military commander, but that he intended to
hoist the United States flag upon the public buildings, and claim
that it should be respected. The acting Mayor informed him that
persons over whom he had no control might take down the flag, and he
could not guarantee that it should be respected. Commander Renshaw
replied that, to avoid any difficulty like that which occurred in New
Orleans, he would send with the flag a sufficient force to protect
it, and would not keep the flag flying for more than a quarter or
half an hour.
The vessels of the fleet were assigned to positions commanding the
town and the bridge which connected the island with the mainland, and
a battalion of Massachusetts volunteers was posted on one of the
wharves.
Late in 1862 General John B. Magruder, a skillful and knightly
soldier, who had at an earlier period of the year rendered
distinguished service by his defense of the peninsula between the
James and York Rivers, Virginia, was assigned to the command of the
Department of Texas. On his arrival, he found the enemy in possession
of the principal port, Galveston, and other points upon the coast. He
promptly collected the scattered arms and field artillery, had a
couple of ordinary high-pressure steamboats used in the
transportation of cotton on Buffalo Bayou protected with cotton-bales
piled from the main deck to and above the hurricane-roof, and these,
under the command of Captain Leon Smith, of the Texas Navy, in
coöperation with the volunteers, were relied upon to recapture the
harbor and island of Galveston. Between night and morning on the 1st
of January, 1863, the land-forces entered the town, and the
steamboats came into the bay, manned by Texas cavalry and volunteer
artillery. The field artillery was ran down to the shore, and opened
fire upon the boats. The battalion of the enemy having torn up the
plank of the wharf, our infantry could only approach them by wading
through the water, and climbing upon the wharf. The two steamboats
attacked the Harriet Lane, the gunboat lying farthest up the bay.
They were both so frail in their construction that their only chance
was to close and board. One of them was soon disabled by collision
with the strong vessel, and in a sinking condition ran into shoal
water. The other closed with the Harriet Lane, boarded and captured
the vessel. The flag-ship Westfield got aground and could not be got
off, though assisted by one of the fleet for that purpose. General
Magruder then sent a demand that the enemy's vessels should
surrender, except one, on which the crews of all should leave the
harbor, giving until ten o'clock for compliance with his demand, to
enforce which he put a crew on the Harriet Lane, then the most
efficient vessel afloat of the enemy's fleet, and, while waiting for
an answer, ceased firing. This demand was communicated by a boat from
the Harriet Lane to the commander on the Clifton, who said that he
was not the commander of the fleet, and would communicate the
proposal to the flag-officer on the Westfield. Flags of truce were
then flying on the enemy's vessels, as well as on shore. Commander
Renshaw refused to accede to the proposition, directing the commander
of the Clifton to get all the vessels, including the Corypheus and
Sachem, which had recently joined, out of port as soon as possible,
and that he would blow up the Westfield, and leave on the transports
lying near him with his officers and crew. In attempting to execute
this purpose, Commander Renshaw and ten or fifteen others perished
soon after leaving the ship, in consequence of the explosion being
premature. The General commanding made the following preliminary
report:
"HEADQUARTERS, GALVESTON, TEXAS.
"This morning, the 1st January, at three o'clock, I attacked the
enemy's fleet and garrison at this place, captured the latter and the
steamer Harriet Lane, two barges, and a schooner. The rest, some four
or five, escaped ignominiously under cover of a flag of truce. I have
about six hundred prisoners and a large quantity of valuable stores,
arms, etc. The Harriet Lane is very little injured. She was carried
by boarders from two high-pressure cotton-steamers, manned by Texas
cavalry and artillery. The line troops were gallantly commanded by
Colonel Green, of Sibley's brigade, and the ships and artillery by
Major Leon Smith, to whose indomitable energy and heroic daring the
country is indebted for the successful execution of a plan which I
had considered for the destruction of the enemy's fleet. Colonel
Bagby, of Sibley's brigade, also commanded the volunteers from his
regiment for the naval expedition, in which every officer and every
man won for himself imperishable renown.
"J. BANKHEAD MAGRUDER,
"_Major General._"
The conduct of Commander Renshaw toward the inhabitants of Galveston
had been marked by moderation and propriety, and the closing act of
his life was one of manly courage and fidelity to the flag he bore.
Commander Wainright and Lieutenant-commanding Lea, who fell valiantly
defending their ship, were buried in the cemetery with the honors of
war: thus was evinced that instinctive respect which true warriors
always feel for their peers. The surviving officers were paroled.
It would be a pleasing task, if space allowed, to notice the many
instances of gallantry in this affair, as daring as they were novel,
but want of space compels me to refer the reader to the full accounts
which have been published of the "cavalry charge upon a naval fleet."
The capture of the enemy's fleet in Galveston Harbor, by means so
novel as to excite surprise as well as grateful admiration, was
followed by another victory on the coast of Texas, under
circumstances so remarkable as properly to be considered marvelous.
To those familiar with the events of that time and section, it is
hardly necessary to say that I refer to the battle of Sabine Pass.
The strategic importance to the enemy of the possession of Sabine
River caused the organization of a large expedition of land and naval
forces to enter and ascend the river. If successful, it gave the
enemy short lines for operation against the interior of Texas, and
relieved them of the discomfiture resulting from their expulsion from
Galveston Harbor.
The fleet of the enemy numbered twenty-three vessels. The forces were
estimated to be ten thousand men. No adequate provision had been made
to resist such a force, and, under the circumstances, none might have
been promptly made on which reliance could have been reasonably
placed. A few miles above the entrance into the Sabine River, a small
earthwork had been constructed, garrisoned at the time of the action
by forty-two men and two lieutenants, with an armament of six guns.
The officers and men were all Irishmen, and the company was called
the "Davis Guards." The captain, F. H. Odlum, was temporarily absent,
so that the command devolved upon Lieutenant E. W. Dowling. Wishing
to perpetuate the history of an affair, in which I believe the brave
garrison did more than an equal force had ever elsewhere performed, I
asked General Magruder, when I met him after the war, to write out a
full account of the event; he agreed to do so, but died not long
after I saw him, and before complying with my request. From the
publications of the day I have obtained the main facts, as they were
then printed in the Texas newspapers, and, being unwilling to
summarize the reports, give them at length.
_Captain F. H. Odlum's Official Report._
"HEADQUARTERS, SABINE PASS,
"_September 9, 1863._
"Captain A. N. MILLS, _Assistant Adjutant-General._
"SIR: I have the honor to report that we had an engagement with the
enemy yesterday and gained a handsome victory. We captured two of
their gunboats, crippled a third, and drove the rest out of the Pass.
We took eighteen fine guns, a quantity of smaller arms, ammunition
and stores, killed about fifty, wounded several, and took one hundred
and fifty prisoners, without the loss or injury of any one on our
side or serious damage to the fort.
"Your most obedient servant,
"F. H. ODLUM, _Captain, commanding Sabine Pass._"
_Commodore Leon Smith's Official Report._
"Captain E. P. TURNER, _Assistant Adjutant-General._
"SIR: After telegraphing the Major-General before leaving Beaumont, I
took a horse and proceeded with all haste to Sabine Pass, from which
direction I could distinctly hear a heavy firing. Arriving at the
Pass at 3 P.M., I found the enemy off and inside the bar, with
nineteen gunboats and steamships and other ships of war, carrying, as
well as I could judge, fifteen thousand men. I proceeded with Captain
Odlum to the fort, and found Lieutenant Dowling and Lieutenant N. H.
Smith, of the engineer corps, with forty-two men, defending the fort.
Until 3 P.M. our men did not open on the enemy, as the range was too
distant. The officers of the fort coolly held their fire until the
enemy had approached near enough to reach them. But, when the enemy
arrived within good range, our batteries were opened, and gallantly
replied to a galling and most terrific fire from the enemy. As I
entered the fort, the gunboats Clifton, Arizona, Sachem, and Granite
State, with several others, came boldly up to within one thousand
yards, and opened their batteries, which were gallantly and
effectively replied to by the Davis Guards. For one hour and thirty
minutes a most terrific bombardment of grape, canister, and shell was
directed against our heroic and devoted little band within the fort.
The shot struck in every direction, but, thanks be to God! not one of
the noble Davis Guards was hurt. Too much credit can not be awarded
Lieutenant Dowling, who displayed the utmost heroism in the discharge
of the duty assigned him and the defenders of the fort. God bless the
Davis Guards, one and all! The honor of the country was in their
hands, and nobly they sustained it. Every man stood at his post,
regardless of the murderous fire that was poured upon them from every
direction. The result of the battle, which lasted from 3.30 to 5
P.M., was the capturing of the Clifton and Sachem, eighteen heavy
guns, one hundred and fifty prisoners, and the killing and wounding
of fifty men, and driving outside the bar the enemy's fleet,
comprising twenty-three vessels in all. I have the honor to be your
obedient servant,
"LEON SMITH,
"_Commanding Marine Department of Texas._"
"HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA, HOUSTON,
TEXAS, _September 9, 1863._
"(SPECIAL ORDER.)
"Another glorious victory has been won by the heroism of Texans. The
enemy, confident of overpowering the little garrison at Sabine Pass,
boldly advanced to the work of capture. After a sharp contest he was
entirely defeated, one gunboat hurrying off in a crippled condition,
while two others, the Clifton and Sachem, with their armaments and
crews, including the commander of the fleet, surrendered to the
gallant defenders of the fort. The loss of the enemy has been heavy,
while not a man on our side has been killed or wounded. Though the
enemy has been repulsed in his naval attacks, his land-forces,
reported as ten thousand strong, are still off the coast waiting an
opportunity to land.
"The Major-General calls on every man able to bear arms to bring his
guns or arms, no matter of what kind, and be prepared to make a
sturdy resistance to the foe.
"Major-General J. B. MAGRUDER.
"EDMUND P. TURNER, _Assistant Adjutant-General._"
The "Daily Post," Houston, Texas, of August 22, 1880, has the
following:
"A few days after the battle each man that participated in the fight
was presented with a silver medal inscribed as follows: On one side
'D. G.,' for the Davis Guards, and on the reverse Side, 'Sabine Pass,
September 8, 1863.'
"Captain Odlum and Lieutenant R. W. Dowling have gone to that bourn
whence no traveler returns, and but few members of the heroic band
are in the land of the living, and those few reside in the city of
Houston, and often meet together, and talk about the battle in which
they participated on the memorable 8th of September, 1863.
"The following are the names of the company who manned the guns in
Fort Grigsby, and to whom the credit is due for the glorious victory:
"Lieutenants R. W. Dowling and N. H. Smith; Privates Timothy
McDonough, Thomas Dougherty, David Fitzgerald, Michael Monahan, John
Hassett, John McKeefer, Jack W. White, Patrick McDonnell, William
Gleason, Michael Carr, Thomas Hagerty, Timothy Huggins, Alexander
McCabe, James Flemming, Patrick Fitzgerald, Thomas McKernon, Edward
Pritchard, Charles Rheins, Timothy Hurley, John McGrath, Matthew
Walshe, Patrick Sullivan, Michael Sullivan, Thomas Sullivan, Patrick
Clare, John Hennessey, Hugh Deagan, Maurice Powers, Abner Carter,
Daniel McMurray, Patrick Malone, James Corcoran, Patrick Abbott, John
McNealis, Michael Egan, Daniel Donovan, John Wesley, John Anderson,
John Flood, Peter O'Hare, Michael Delaney, Terence Mulhern."
The inquiry may naturally arise how this small, number of men could
take charge of so large a body of prisoners. This required that to
their valor they should add stratagem. A few men were placed on the
parapet as sentinels, the rest were marched out as a guard to receive
the prisoners and their arms. Thus was concealed the fact that the
fort was empty. The report of the guns bombarding the fort had been
heard, and soon after the close of the battle reinforcements arrived,
which relieved the little garrison from its embarrassment.
Official reports of officers in the assaulting column, as published
in the "Rebellion Record," vol. vii, page 425, _et seq_., refer to
another fort, and steamers in the river, coöperating in the defense
of Fort Grigsby. The success of the single company which garrisoned
the earthwork is without parallel in ancient or modern war. It was
marvelous; but it is incredible--more than marvelous--that another
garrison in another fort, with cruising steamers, aided in checking
the advance of the enemy, yet silently permitted the forty-two men
and two officers of Fort Grigsby to receive all the credit for the
victory which was won. If this be supposable, how is it possible that
Captain Odlum, Commander Smith, General Magruder, and Lieutenant
Dowling, who had been advised to abandon the work, and had consulted
their men as to their willingness to defend it, should nowhere have
mentioned the putative fort and coöperating steamers?
The names of the forty-four must go down to posterity, unshorn of the
honor which their contemporaries admiringly accorded.
At the commencement of the war the Confederacy was not only without a
navy, all the naval vessels possessed by the States having been, as
explained elsewhere, left in the hands of our enemies; but worse than
this was the fact that ship-building had been almost exclusively done
in the Northern States, so that we had no means of acquiring equality
in naval power. The numerous deep and wide rivers traversing the
Southern States gave a favorable field for the operation of gunboats
suited to such circumstances. The enemy rapidly increased their
supply of these by building on the Western waters, as well as
elsewhere, and converting existing vessels into iron-dad gunboats.
The intrepidity and devotion of our people met the necessity by new
expedients and extraordinary daring. This was especially seen in the
operations of western Louisiana, where numerous bayous and rivers,
with difficult land-routes, gave an advantage to the enemy which
might well have paralyzed anything less than the most resolute will.
In the earlier period of the war, the gunboats had inspired a terror
which their performances never justified. There was a prevailing
opinion that they could not be stopped by land-batteries, or resisted
on water by anything else than vessels of their own class. Against
the first opinion General Richard Taylor, commanding in Louisiana,
south of Red River, stoutly contended, and maintained his opinion by
the repulse and capture of some of the enemy's vessels by
land-batteries having guns of rather light caliber.
One by one successful conflicts between river-boats and gunboats
impaired the estimate which had been put upon the latter. The most
illustrious example of this was the attack and capture of the
Indianola, a heavy ironclad, with two eleven-inch guns forward, and
two nine-inch aft, all in iron casemates. She had passed the
batteries at Vicksburg, and was in the section of the river between
Vicksburg and Port Hudson, which, in February, 1863, was the only
gate of communication which the Confederacy had between the east and
west sides of the Mississippi. The importance of keeping open this
communication, always great, became vital from the necessity of
drawing commissary's stores from the trans-Mississippi.
Major Brent, of General Taylor's staff, proposed, with the tow-boat
Webb, which had been furnished as a ram, and the Queen of the West,
which had been four or five days before captured by the land-battery
at Fort De Russy, to go to the Mississippi and attack the Indianola.
On the 19th of February the expedition started, though mechanics were
still working upon the needed repairs of the Queen of the West. The
service was so hazardous that volunteers only formed the crews, but
of these more offered than were wanted. On the 24th, while ascending
the Mississippi, Major Brent learned, when about sixty miles below
Vicksburg, that the Indianola was a short distance ahead, with a
coal-barge lashed on either side. He determined to attack in the
night, being assured that, if struck by a shell from one of the
eleven- or nine-inch guns, either of his boats would be destroyed. At
10 P.M. the Queen, followed by the Webb, was driven at full speed
directly upon the Indianola. The momentum of the Queen was so great
as to cut through the coal-barge, and indent the iron plates of the
Indianola. As the Queen backed out, the Webb dashed in at full speed,
and tore away the remaining coal-barge. Both the forward guns fired
at the Webb, but missed her. Again the Queen struck the Indianola,
abaft the paddle-box, crushing her frame and loosening some plates of
armor, but received the fire of the guns from the rear casemates. One
shot carried away a dozen bales of cotton on the right side; the
other, a shell, entered the forward port-hole and exploded, killing
six men and disabling two field-pieces. Again the Webb followed the
Queen, struck near the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and
crushing timbers. Voices from the Indianola announced the surrender,
and that she was sinking. The river here sweeps the western shore,
and there was deep water up to the bank. General Grant's army was on
the west side of the river, and, for either or both of these reasons.
Major Brent towed the Indianola to the opposite side, where she sank
on a bar, her gun-deck above water. Both boats were much shattered in
the conflict, and Major Brent returned to the Red River to repair
them. A tender accompanied the Queen and the Webb, and a frail
river-boat without protection for her boilers, which was met on the
river, turned back and followed them, but, like the tender, could be
of no service in the battle. For these particulars I am indebted to
General Richard Taylor's book, "Destruction and Reconstruction,"
pages 123-125.
The ram Arkansas, which has been previously noticed as being under
construction at Memphis, was removed before she was finished to the
Yazoo River, events on the river above having rendered this necessary
for her security. After she was supposed to be ready for service,
Commander Brown, then as previously in charge of her, went down the
Yazoo to enter the Mississippi and proceed to Vicksburg. The enemy's
fleet of some twelve or thirteen rams, gunboats, and sloops of war,
were in the river above Vicksburg, and below the point where the
Yazoo enters the Mississippi. Anticipating the descent of the
Arkansas, a detachment had been made from this fleet to prevent her
exit. The annexed letter of Commander Brown describes what occurred
in the Yazoo River:
"STEAMER ARKANSAS, _July 15, 1862._
"GENERAL: The Benton, or whatever ironclad we disabled, was left with
colors down, evidently aground to prevent sinking, about one mile and
a half above the mouth of the Yazoo (in Old River), on the right-hand
bank, or bank across from Vicksburg.
"I wish it to be remembered that we whipped this vessel, made it run
out of the fight and haul down colors, with two less guns than they
had; and at the same time fought two rams, which were firing at us
with great guns and small-arms; this, too, with our miscellaneous
crew, who had never, for the most part, been on board a ship, or at
big guns.
"I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J. N. BROWN,
"_Lieutenant commanding._
"To Brigadier-General M. L. SMITH, _commanding defenses at
Vicksburg_."
When entering the Mississippi the fleet of the enemy was found
disposed as a phalanx, but the heroic commander of the Arkansas moved
directly against it; and, though in passing through this formidable
array he was exposed to the broadsides of the whole fleet, the vessel
received no other injury than from one eleven-inch shot which entered
the gun-room, and the perforation in many places of her smoke-stack.
The casualties to the crew were five killed, four wounded--among the
latter was the gallant commander. General Van Dorn, commanding the
department, in a dispatch from Vicksburg, July 15th, states the
number of the enemy's vessels above Vicksburg, pays a high compliment
to the officers and men, and adds:
"All the enemy's transports and all the vessels of war of the lower
fleet (i. e., the fleet just below Vicksburg), except a sloop of war,
have got up steam, and are off to escape from the Arkansas."
A vessel inspiring such dread is entitled to a special description.
She was an iron-clad steamer, one hundred feet in her length, her
armament ten Parrott guns, and her crew one hundred men, who had
volunteered from the land-forces for the desperate service proposed.
Her commander had been from his youth in the navy of the United
States, and his capacity was such as could well supplement whatever
was wanted of naval knowledge in his crew. The care and skill with
which the vessel had been constructed were tested and proved under
fire. Had her engines been equal to the hull and armor of the vessel,
it is difficult to estimate the value of the service she might have
performed. At this period the enemy occupied Baton Rouge, with
gunboats lying in front of it to coöperate with the troops in the
town. The importance of holding a section of the Mississippi, so as
to keep free communication between the eastern and western portions
of the Confederacy, has been heretofore noticed. To this end it was
deemed needful to recover the possession of Baton Rouge, and it was
decided to make a land-attack in coöperation with the Arkansas, to be
sent down against the enemy's fleet.
Major-General J. C. Breckinridge was assigned to the command of the
land-forces. This distinguished citizen and alike distinguished
soldier, surmounting difficulties which would have discouraged a less
resolute spirit, approached Baton Rouge, and moved to the attack at
the time indicated for the arrival of the Arkansas. In his address to
the officers and soldiers of his command, after the battle, viz., on
August 6, 1862, he compliments the troops on the fortitude with which
they had borne a severe march, on the manner in which they attacked
the enemy, superior in numbers and admirably posted, drove him from
his positions, taking his camps, and forcing him to seek protection
under cover of the guns of his fleet. Major-General Breckinridge
attributes his failure to achieve entire success to the inability of
the Arkansas to coöperate with his forces, and adds:
"You have given the enemy a severe and salutary lesson, and now those
who so lately were ravaging and plundering this region do not care to
extend their pickets beyond the sight of their fleet."
The Arkansas in descending the river moved leisurely, having ample
time to meet her appointment; but, when about fifteen miles above
Baton Rouge, her starboard engine broke down. Repairs were
immediately commenced, and, by 8 A.M. on the 5th of August, were
partially completed. General Breckinridge had commenced the attack at
four o'clock, and the Arkansas, though not in condition to engage the
enemy, moved on, and, when in sight of Baton Rouge, her starboard
engine again broke down, and the vessel was run ashore. The work of
repair was resumed, and next morning the Federal fleet was seen
coming up. The Arkansas was moored head down-stream and cleared for
action. The Essex approached and opened fire; at that moment the
engineers reported the engines able to work half a day. The lines
were cut, and the Arkansas started for the Essex, when the other--
the larboard--engine suddenly stopped, and the vessel was again
secured to the shore stern-down. The Essex now valiantly approached,
pouring a hot fire into her disabled antagonist. Lieutenant Stevens,
then commanding the Arkansas, ordered the crew ashore, fired the
vessel, and, with her flag flying, turned her adrift--a sacrificial
offering to the cause she had served so valiantly in her brief but
brilliant career. Lieutenant Reed, of the ram Arkansas, in his
published account of the affair, states, "After all hands were
ashore, the Essex fired upon the disabled vessel most furiously."