T. W. Sherman.--Contrabands.--Defenses of New Orleans.--Exchange
of Prisoners.--Amenities in War.--Port Hudson.--Reconnoissance
in Force.--The Fleet.--Our Left.--Assault of May 27th.--Sherman
wounded.--Port Hudson surrenders.
The autumn of 1862 passed without any special incident. Sherman
rebuilt the levees near Carrollton, repaired and shortened the
Parapet, pushed his forces to the north, and occupied and fortified
Manchac Pass. All these works were constructed by Captain Bailey,
to whom I have already alluded, and of whom I shall have much to
say hereafter; for he played a most important and conspicuous part
in the Louisiana campaigns. At Manchac he constructed a _bijou_
of a work built of mud and clamshells. He had the most remarkable
faculty of making the negroes work. I have seen the old inhabitants
of the coast (French _côte_, bank of the river) stopping to gaze with
surprise at the "niggers" trundling their wheelbarrows filled with
earth on the double-quick. Such a sight was never before seen in
Louisiana, and probably never will be again. Sherman was the first
officer, too, to enroll the blacks, set them to work, and pay them
wages. He was no _professed_ friend of the negro, but he did more
practically for their welfare to make them useful, and save them from
vagabondage, than Phelps or any other violent abolitionist, who said
that the slaves had done enough work in their day, and so left them
in idleness, and fed them at their own tables. Every negro who came
within our lines--and there were hundreds of them--was enrolled on
the quartermaster's books, clothed, fed, and paid wages, the price of
his clothing being deducted. The men worked well. They were proud of
being paid like white men.
Later in the season, Sherman sent out successful expeditions into the
enemy's territory. One to Ponchitoula destroyed a quantity of rebel
government stores; another, across Lake Pontchartrain, captured a
valuable steamer. Sherman employed an admirable spy, the best in the
Department. As a rule, both Butler's and Banks's spies were a poor
lot, constantly getting up cock-and-bull stories to magnify their
own importance, and thus misled their employers. Sherman's spy was a
woman. Her information always turned out to be reliable, and, what
is perhaps a little remarkable, was never exaggerated.
Butler had now left the Department, and Banks was in command. About
this time Holly Springs was occupied by Van Dorn, and our dépôts
burned, Grant falling back. The attack upon Vicksburg, too, from
the Yazoo River had failed. Banks's spies exaggerated these checks
greatly, and reported that the enemy was in full march upon New
Orleans. There was something of a stampede among us. A new command
was created, called the "Defenses of New Orleans," and given to
Sherman. In a fortnight the face of these defenses was vastly
changed. When he took command, the city was undefended to the east
and south. In a few days the rebel works were rebuilt, guns mounted,
light batteries stationed near the works, each supported by a
regiment of infantry. New Orleans, with our gun-boats holding the
river and lake, was impregnable.
No commanding officer in our army was more thorough in his work than
Sherman. I remember an instance of this in an exchange of prisoners
which took place under his orders. The arrangements were admirable.
We were notified that a schooner with United States soldiers on board
lay at Lakeport, on Lake Pontchartrain. Within an hour of receiving
the report I was on my way to effect the exchange. I was accompanied
by our quartermaster, to insure prompt transportation to New Orleans;
by our commissary, to see that the men were fed, for our prisoners
were always brought in with very insufficient supplies, the rebel
officers assuring us that they had not food to give them; and by our
surgeon, to give immediate medical assistance to those requiring it.
Sherman told me to give the rebel officers in charge a breakfast
or dinner, and offered to pay his share. We reached Lakeport about
sunset. I went on board at once, and made arrangements for the
exchange at six o'clock in the morning. I inquired of the men if
they had had any thing to eat. "Nothing since morning." The officer
in charge explained that they had been delayed by head-winds; but
they were always delayed by head-winds. We sent food on board that
night. At six in the morning the schooner was warped along-side of
the pier. A train was run down, a line of sentries posted across the
pier, and no stranger permitted to approach. The roll was called,
and as each man answered to his name, he stepped ashore and entered
the train. Meantime I had ordered down a breakfast from the famous
French restaurant at Lakeport; and while the necessary arrangements
were being completed by the quartermaster, we gave the Confederate
officers a breakfast. It was easy to see, from the manner in which
they attacked it, that they did not fare so sumptuously every day.
Colonel Szymanski, who commanded, an intelligent and gentlemanly
officer, asked permission to buy the remnants from the restaurant for
lunch and dinner on the return voyage. The train was now ready, the
schooner set sail, and we started for New Orleans. On our arrival,
we bought out a baker's shop and one or two orange-women. It was a
long time since the prisoners had tasted white bread. They formed,
and marched to the barracks. Before noon that day they were in
comfortable quarters, and seated at a bountiful dinner, prepared
in advance for them. This was Sherman's organization. I had an
opportunity to contrast it, not long after, with an exchange effected
under direct orders from head-quarters. The contrast was not in
Banks's favor.
On this occasion I had gone down as a spectator, and to see if I
could be of use. I was going on board the cartel, when I was stopped
by a lady who asked me to take a young girl on board to see her
brother. Of course I was compelled to refuse. She then asked if I
would not tell her brother that she was on the end of the pier, that
they might at least see each other. This I promised to do. On board
I found a number of sailors, part of the crew of the _Mississippi_,
which had been recently lost at Port Hudson. As usual, they had had
nothing to eat since the previous evening.
Before leaving the vessel, I inquired for Lieutenant Adams. They told
me that he was in "that boat," pointing to one, having pulled ashore,
hoping to see his sister. As I approached the shore I met his boat
returning; I stopped it, and asked him if he had seen his sister. He
had not. I told him to get in with me, and I would take him to her.
He did so, and I pulled to within a few yards of the spot where she
was standing. Scarcely a word passed between them, for both were
sobbing. We remained there about three minutes, and then pulled back.
We were all touched, officers and men, by this little display of the
home affections in the midst of war. I think it did us all good.
General Banks was not pleased when he heard of this incident. Perhaps
it was reported to him incorrectly. But Sherman thought that I had
done right. I always found that our regular officers were more
anxious to soften the rigors of war, and to avoid all unnecessary
severity, than our volunteers. On our march through Louisiana under
Franklin, a strong provost guard preceded the column, whose duty it
was to protect persons and property from stragglers till the army
had passed. If planters in the neighborhood applied for a guard,
it was always furnished. On one occasion such a guard was captured
by guerrillas. General Franklin wrote at once to General Taylor,
protesting against the capture of these men as contrary to all the
laws of civilized warfare. Taylor promptly released them, and sent
them back to our lines. General Lee did the same in Virginia.
And so the winter wore through, and the spring came. Banks made a
successful expedition to Alexandria, winning the battle of Irish
Bend. I am the more particular to record this, as his reputation as a
commander rests rather upon his success in retreat than in advance.
And the month of May found us before Port Hudson.
Vicksburg is situated eight hundred miles above New Orleans. In all
this distance there are but five commanding positions, and all these
on the left or east bank of the river. It was very important to the
rebels to fortify a point below the mouth of the Red River, in order
that their boats might bring forward the immense supplies furnished
by Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. They selected Port Hudson, a
miserable little village not far below the Red River, and fortified
it strongly. Sherman had seen the importance of attacking this place
when the works were commenced, but Butler told him, very truly, that
he had not troops enough in the Department to justify the attempt.
I think that it was the 24th of May when we closed in upon Port
Hudson. Sherman's command held the left. He had a front of three
miles, entirely too much for one division. The country was a _terra
incognita_ to us, and we had to feel our way. Of course there was
much reconnoitring to be done--exciting and interesting work--but
not particularly safe or comfortable. Sherman did much of this
himself. He had a pleasant way of riding up in full sight of the
enemy's batteries, accompanied by his staff. Here he held us while
he criticised the manner in which the enemy got his guns ready to
open on us. Presently a shell would whiz over our heads, followed by
another somewhat nearer. Sherman would then quietly remark, "They
are getting the range now: you had better scatter." As a rule we did
not wait for a second order.
I remember his sending out a party one day to reconnoitre to our
extreme left, and connect with the fleet, which lay below Port
Hudson. We knew it was somewhere there; but how far off it lay, or
what was the character of the country between us, we did not know. A
company of cavalry reconnoitring in the morning had been driven in.
Sherman determined to make a reconnoissance in force. He sent out the
cavalry again, and supported it with a regiment of infantry. I asked
permission to accompany them. He gave it, and added, "By-the-way,
captain, when you are over there, just ride up and draw their fire,
and see where their guns are. They won't hit you." I rode up and
drew their fire, and they did not hit me; but I don't recommend the
experiment to any of my friends.
This reconnoissance was successful. We passed through a thickly
wooded country, intersected by small streams, for about two miles,
when we emerged upon the open in full view of the works of Port
Hudson. This we had to cross, exposed to their fire. We thus gained
the road, running along the top of the bluff; and, following this,
we came in view of the fleet. Our arrival produced a sensation. They
had been looking out for us for two or three days. The men swarmed
up the rigging and on to the yards. Fifty telescopes were leveled
at us; and as we galloped down the bluff and along the levee to the
ships, cheer after cheer went up from the fleet. We went on board
the nearest gun-boat, and got some bread-and-cheese and Bass--which
tasted remarkably good, by-the-way. I staid but a little while, for I
was anxious about my men. On our homeward march the enemy opened on
us, and we lost two or three men. I felt saddened at the loss of any
men while in some measure under my command, and reported this loss
first to the general. I was much comforted when he replied, "Lose
men! of course you lost men. Reconnoissances in force always lose
men!"
A few weeks previous to my visit to the fleet, Farragut had attempted
to run by Port Hudson, with a view to communicate with Porter at
Vicksburg, but more especially to blockade the mouth of the Red
River. This, though the least known of his great exploits, was
probably the most perilous and the least successful. But two vessels
passed the batteries--his own, the old _Hartford_, as a matter of
course, and the gun-boat that was lashed to her. Several were driven
back disabled, and that fine ship, the _Mississippi_, got aground and
was lost. The _Hartford_ and her consort, however, did good service,
preventing all rebel vessels from showing themselves upon the river
between Port Hudson and Vicksburg.
While on board the gun-boat, I remarked to her captain that I was
surprised that General Banks did not make his assault upon our left,
where we could have the aid of the fleet, instead of on the right, as
he evidently proposed to do. The remark was repeated to Farragut, who
mentioned it to Banks. A day or two after the failure of our assault
of the 27th of May, I was surprised by a summons to head-quarters,
and still more surprised when I was asked what was my plan for
taking Port Hudson. My plan was simply to utilize our powerful fleet
instead of ignoring it. Sherman, who, after his recovery from his
wound received a few days later, visited the place after its fall,
and carefully examined the ground, told me that the assault should
undoubtedly have been made on our left, not only on account of the
fleet, but on account of the character of the ground. We afterward
erected batteries here within a very short distance of the enemy's,
and commanding them; and we dug up to their very citadel. Had another
assault been ordered, as it seemed at one time probable, it would
have been made here, and would probably have been a repetition, on
a small scale, of the affair of the Malakoff. There was another
advantage on this flank. Had we effected a lodgment even with a small
force, we could have maintained our position in the angle between
the parapet and the river until re-enforcements reached us. At the
points selected for the assault of the 27th of May--had we succeeded
in getting in--we should have found ourselves exposed to attacks in
front and on both flanks, and should probably have been driven out
again.
The siege of Port Hudson was tedious and bloody. Banks ordered an
assault. It was made, and resulted in a miserable repulse. He was
asked why assault when the place must inevitably be starved out in a
few weeks. He replied, "The people of the North demand blood, sir."
Sherman led the assault in person, at the head of the Sixth Michigan
regiment; Bailey headed the negroes, with plank and other materials
to fill up the fosse. I had heard before of negroes turning white
from fright, and did not believe it; but it is literally true. The
men advanced within a few yards of the works, but could effect no
lodgment. There never was a more useless waste of life. Sherman lost
his leg, and his horse was killed under him; one staff officer and
his horse were killed; an orderly was killed; another staff officer
was wounded, and his horse killed; and another orderly had his horse
killed. This is a pretty bloody ten minutes' work for a general and
his staff.
The staff officer who was wounded was Badeau, our consul-general at
London, and author of that model military history, the first volume
of the "Life of Grant."
Fortunately, probably, for me, I had been sent with orders to
Sherman's other brigade, to support the attack by an assault on the
left. It was hot enough where I was. The shells shrieked over my
head, and a round shot rolled playfully between my horse's legs. But
it was nothing like the "hell of fire" to which Sherman was exposed.
Sherman having been sent to New Orleans, to hospital, General William
Dwight took command of the division. After a while another assault
was made: it was as fruitless as the first. But the enemy was now
getting short of provisions. They lived mostly on Indian corn. Many
deserters came to us, mostly Louisianians, for the "Wrackensackers"
(Arkansas men) and the Texans rarely deserted. These made up the
garrison. They reported great want in the place; and, what was far
better proof--for it will not do to trust implicitly to deserters'
stories--their gums showed the want of proper food. The end was
approaching. On the 4th of July Vicksburg surrendered. Our outposts
communicated this intelligence to the rebel outposts, and chaffed
them about it. The news was reported to Gardiner. He sent a flag to
Banks to inquire if it were true. Banks replied that it was, and Port
Hudson surrendered.
It was curious to observe the sort of _entente cordiale_ which the
soldiers on both sides established during the siege. When they were
tired of trying to pick each other off through the loop-holes, one
of them would tie a white handkerchief to his bayonet, and wave it
above the parapet. Pretty soon a handkerchief, or its equivalent--for
the rebs did not indulge in useless luxuries--would be seen waving
on the other side. This meant truce. In a moment the men would swarm
out on both sides, sitting with their legs dangling over the parapet,
chaffing each other, and sometimes with pretty rough wit. They were
as safe as if a regular flag were out. No man dared to violate this
tacit truce. If he had done so, his own comrades would have dealt
roughly with him. After a while, on one side or the other, some one
would cry out, "Get under cover now, Johnnie," or "Look out now,
Yank; we are going to fire," and the fire would recommence.
Active military operations were now suspended, and I obtained
leave of absence. But it was revoked; for General William B.
Franklin had arrived in the Department, and I was assigned to
his staff. I naturally felt disappointed at losing my leave, but
I was subsequently glad that it had so happened; for it led to
my promotion, and to the establishment of friendly and pleasant
relations which have survived the war.