CAPTURE OF FORT PILLOW AND BATTLE OF MEMPHIS.
The Siege of Fort Pillow.--General Pope.--His Reputation for Veracity.
--Capture of the "Ten Thousand."--Naval Battle above Fort Pillow.--The
John II. Dickey.--Occupation of the Fort.--General Forrest.--Strength
of the Fortifications.--Their Location.--Randolph, Tennessee.--Memphis
and her Last Ditch.--Opening of the Naval Combat.--Gallant Action
of Colonel Ellet.--Fate of the Rebel Fleet.--The People Viewing the
Battle.--Their Conduct.
While I was tarrying at Cairo, after the exodus of the journalists
from the army before Corinth, the situation on the Mississippi became
interesting. After the capture of Island Number Ten, General Pope was
ordered to Pittsburg Landing with his command. When called away, he
was preparing to lay siege to Fort Pillow, in order to open the river
to Memphis. His success at Island Number Ten had won him much credit,
and he was anxious to gain more of the same article. Had he taken Fort
Pillow, he would have held the honor of being the captor of Memphis,
as that city must have fallen with the strong fortifications which
served as its protection.
The capture of Island Number Ten was marked by the only instance of a
successful canal from one bend of the Mississippi to another. As soon
as the channel was completed, General Pope took his transports below
the island, ready for moving his men. Admiral Foote tried the first
experiment of running his gun-boats past the Rebel batteries, and was
completely successful. The Rebel transports could not escape, neither
could transports or gun-boats come up from Memphis to remove the Rebel
army. There was a lake in the rear of the Rebels which prevented their
retreat. The whole force, some twenty-eight hundred, was surrendered,
with all its arms and munitions of war. General Pope reported his
captures somewhat larger than they really were, and received much
applause for his success.
The reputation of this officer, on the score of veracity, has not been
of the highest character. After he assumed command in Virginia, his
"Order Number Five" drew upon him much ridicule. Probably the story
of the capture of ten thousand prisoners, after the occupation of
Corinth, has injured him more than all other exaggerations combined.
The paternity of that choice bit of romance belongs to General
Halleck, instead of General Pope. Colonel Elliott, who commanded
the cavalry expedition, which General Pope sent out when Corinth
was occupied, forwarded a dispatch to Pope, something like the
following:--
"I am still pursuing the enemy. The woods are full of stragglers. Some
of my officers estimate their number as high as ten thousand. Many
have already come into my lines."
[Illustration: THE CARONDELET RUNNING THE BATTERIES AT ISLAND NO. 10]
Pope sent this dispatch, without alteration, to General Halleck. From
the latter it went to the country that "General Pope reported ten
thousand prisoners captured below Corinth." It served to cover up
the barrenness of the Corinth occupation, and put the public in
good-humor. General Halleck received credit for the success of his
plans. When it came out that no prisoners of consequence had been
taken, the real author of the story escaped unharmed.
At the time of his departure to re-enforce the army before Corinth,
General Pope left but a single brigade of infantry, to act in
conjunction with our naval forces in the siege of Fort Pillow. This
brigade was encamped on the Arkansas shore opposite Fort Pillow, and
did some very effective fighting against the musquitos, which that
country produces in the greatest profusion. An attack on the fort,
with such a small force, was out of the question, and the principal
aggressive work was done by the navy at long range.
On the 10th of May, the Rebel fleet made an attack upon our navy,
in which they sunk two of our gun-boats, the _Mound City_ and the
_Cincinnati_, and returned to the protection of Fort Pillow with one
of their own boats disabled, and two others somewhat damaged. Our
sunken gun-boats were fortunately in shoal water, where they were
speedily raised and repaired. Neither fleet had much to boast of as
the result of that engagement.
The journalists who were watching Fort Pillow, had their head-quarters
on board the steamer _John H. Dickey_, which was anchored in
midstream. At the time of the approach of the Rebel gun-boats, the
_Dickey_ was lying without sufficient steam to move her wheels, and
the prospect was good that she might be captured or destroyed. Her
commander, Captain Mussleman, declared he was _not_ in that place to
stop cannon-shot, and made every exertion to get his boat in condition
to move. His efforts were fully appreciated by the journalists,
particularly as they were successful. The _Dickey_, under the same
captain, afterward ran a battery near Randolph, Tennessee, and though
pierced in every part by cannon-shot and musket-balls, she escaped
without any loss of life.
As soon as the news of the evacuation of Corinth was received at
Cairo, we looked for the speedy capture of Fort Pillow. Accordingly,
on the 4th of June, I proceeded down the river, arriving off Fort
Pillow on the morning of the 5th. The Rebels had left, as we expected,
after spiking their guns and destroying most of their ammunition. The
first boat to reach the abandoned fort was the _Hetty Gilmore_, one of
the smallest transports in the fleet. She landed a little party, which
took possession, hoisted the flag, and declared the fort, and all it
contained, the property of the United States. The Rebels were, by this
time, several miles distant, in full retreat to a safer location.
It was at this same fort, two years later, that the Rebel General
Forrest ordered the massacre of a garrison that had surrendered after
a prolonged defense. His only plea for this cold-blooded slaughter,
was that some of his men had been fired upon after the white flag was
raised. The testimony in proof of this barbarity was fully conclusive,
and gave General Forrest and his men a reputation that no honorable
soldier could desire.
In walking through the fort after its capture, I was struck by its
strength and extent. It occupied the base of a bluff near the water's
edge. On the summit of the bluff there were breast-works running in a
zigzag course for five or six miles, and inclosing a large area.
The works along the river were very strong, and could easily hold a
powerful fleet at bay.
From Fort Pillow to Randolph, ten miles lower down, was less than an
hour's steaming. Randolph was a small, worthless village, partly at
the base of a bluff, and partly on its summit. Here the Rebels had
erected a powerful fort, which they abandoned when they abandoned
Fort Pillow. The inhabitants expressed much agreeable astonishment
on finding that we did not verify all the statements of the Rebels,
concerning the barbarity of the Yankees wherever they set foot on
Southern soil. The town was most bitterly disloyal. It was afterward
burned, in punishment for decoying a steamboat to the landing, and
then attempting her capture and destruction. A series of blackened
chimneys now marks the site of Randolph.
Our capture of these points occurred a short time after the Rebels
issued the famous "cotton-burning order," commanding all planters to
burn their cotton, rather than allow it to fall into our hands. The
people showed no particular desire to comply with the order, except
in a few instances. Detachments of Rebel cavalry were sent to enforce
obedience. They enforced it by setting fire to the cotton in presence
of its owners. On both banks of the river, as we moved from Randolph
to Memphis, we could see the smoke arising from plantations, or from
secluded spots in the forest where cotton had been concealed. In many
cases the bales were broken open and rolled into the river, dotting
the stream with floating cotton. Had it then possessed the value that
attached to it two years later, I fear there would have been many
attempts to save it for transfer to a Northern market.
On the day before the evacuation of Fort Pillow, Memphis determined
she would never surrender. In conjunction with other cities, she
fitted up several gun-boats, that were expected to annihilate the
Yankee fleet. In the event of the failure of this means of defense,
the inhabitants were pledged to do many dreadful things before
submitting to the invaders. Had we placed any confidence in the
resolutions passed by the Memphians, we should have expected all the
denizens of the Bluff City to commit _hari-kari_, after first setting
fire to their dwellings.
On the morning of the 6th of June, the Rebel gun-boats, eight in
number, took their position just above Memphis, and prepared for the
advance of our fleet. The Rebel boats were the _Van Dorn_ (flag-ship),
_General Price_, _General Bragg_, _General Lovell_, _Little Rebel_,
_Jeff. Thompson_, _Sumter_, and _General Beauregard_. The _General
Bragg_ was the New Orleans and Galveston steamer _Mexico_ in former
days, and had been strengthened, plated, and, in other ways made as
effective as possible for warlike purposes. The balance of the fleet
consisted of tow-boats from the Lower Mississippi, fitted up as rams
and gun-boats. They were supplied with very powerful engines, and
were able to choose their positions in the battle. The Rebel fleet was
commanded by Commodore Montgomery, who was well known to many persons
on our own boats.
The National boats were the iron-clads _Benton, Carondelet, St. Louis,
Louisville_, and _Cairo_. There was also the ram fleet, commanded by
Colonel Ellet. It comprised the _Monarch, Queen of the West, Lioness,
Switzerland, Mingo, Lancaster No. 3, Fulton, Horner_, and _Samson_.
The _Monarch_ and _Queen of the West_ were the only boats of the
ram fleet that took part in the action. Our forces were commanded by
Flag-officer Charles H. Davis, who succeeded Admiral Foote at the time
of the illness of the latter.
The land forces, acting in conjunction with our fleet, consisted of a
single brigade of infantry, that was still at Fort Pillow. It did not
arrive in the vicinity of Memphis until after the battle was over.
Early in the morning the battle began. It was opened by the gun-boats
on the Rebel side, and for some minutes consisted of a cannonade at
long range, in which very little was effected. Gradually the boats
drew nearer to each other, and made better use of their guns.
Before they arrived at close quarters the rams _Monarch_ and _Queen
of the West_ steamed forward and engaged in the fight. Their
participation was most effective. The _Queen of the West_ struck and
disabled one of the Rebel gun-boats, and was herself disabled by the
force of the blow. The _Monarch_ steered straight for the _General
Lovell_, and dealt her a tremendous blow, fairly in the side, just aft
the wheel. The sides of the _Lovell_ were crushed as if they had been
made of paper, and the boat sank in less than three minutes, in a spot
where the plummet shows a depth of ninety feet.
Grappling with the _Beauregard_, the _Monarch_ opened upon her with
a stream of hot water and a shower of rifle-balls, which effectually
prevented the latter from using a gun. In a few moments she cast off
and drifted a short distance down the river. Coming up on the other
side, the _Monarch_ dealt her antagonist a blow that left her in a
sinking condition. Herself comparatively uninjured, she paused to
allow the gun-boats to take a part. Those insignificant and unwieldy
rams had placed three of the enemy's gun-boats _hors de combat_ in
less than a quarter of an hour's time.
Our gun-boats ceased firing as the rams entered the fight; but they
now reopened. With shot and shell the guns were rapidly served. The
effect was soon apparent. One Rebel boat was disabled and abandoned,
after grounding opposite Memphis. A second was grounded and blown up,
and two others were disabled, abandoned, and captured.
It was a good morning's work. The first gun was fired at forty minutes
past five o'clock, and the last at forty-three minutes past six. The
Rebels boasted they would whip us before breakfast. We had taken no
breakfast when the fight began. After the battle was over we enjoyed
our morning meal with a relish that does not usually accompany defeat.
The following shows the condition of the two fleets after the
battle:--
_General Beauregard_, sunk.
_General Lovell_, sunk.
_General Price_, injured and captured.
_Little Rebel_, " " "
_Sumter_, " " "
_General Bragg_, " " "
_Jeff. Thompson_, burned.
_General Van Dorn_, escaped.
THE NATIONAL FLEET.
_Benton_, unhurt.
_Carondelet_, "
_St. Louis_, "
_Louisville_, "
_Cairo_, "
_Monarch_ (ram), unhurt.
_Queen of the West_ (ram), disabled.
The captured vessels were refitted, and, without alteration of names,
attached to the National fleet. The _Sumter_ was lost a few months
later, in consequence of running aground near the Rebel batteries in
the vicinity of Bayou Sara. The _Bragg_ was one of the best boats
in the service in point of speed, and proved of much value as a
dispatch-steamer on the lower portion of the river.
The people of Memphis rose at an early hour to witness the naval
combat. It had been generally known during the previous night that the
battle would begin about sunrise. The first gun brought a large crowd
to the bluff overlooking the river, whence a full view of the fight
was obtained. Some of the spectators were loyal, and wished success to
the National fleet, but the great majority were animated by a strong
hope and expectation of our defeat.
A gentleman, who was of the lookers-on, subsequently told me of the
conduct of the populace. As a matter of course, the disloyalists had
all the conversation their own way. While they expressed their wishes
in the loudest tones, no one uttered a word in opposition. Many
offered wagers on the success of their fleet, and expressed a
readiness to give large odds. No one dared accept these offers, as
their acceptance would have been an evidence of sympathy for the
Yankees. Americans generally, but particularly in the South, make
their wagers as they hope or wish. In the present instance no man was
allowed to "copper" on the Rebel flotilla.