The Red River Campaign
Camping on The Laurel Hill--At Port Hudson again--Meeting the
128th--Up the Red River to Alexandria--Two trips to Grand Ecore--The
river falling--The dam at Alexandria--The burning of Alexandria.
_March 10, 1864._
_Thursday._ Was up early, and after breakfast started for the McClellan
to get my trunk. I bargained with an expressman to take it and myself to
the Ponchartrain Railroad, where I met Hallesay, our sutler. He said the
boys had heard of my arrival and were on the way to meet me. Soon after
this we were together again, and such volleys of questions as were fired
at me was a caution. They didn't give me time to answer one before
several more were asked. The train was ready for the return trip and we
soon reached Lakeport, where I found Sol and Matt Smith both having a
tussle with the chills and fever. The regiment had been across the lake
at Madisonville nearly all the time I had been away. Had had some cases
of smallpox among the men, but no deaths. Tony was overjoyed to see me,
and almost the first thing wanted me to write a letter to his wife. I
was kept so busy answering questions I hardly had a chance to ask any,
but I found out that the regiment was under marching orders and expected
to break camp that day. I felt quite flattered to think every white man,
not sick or on duty, had gone out to meet me. After dinner in camp, we
all hands took train for the city again. Sol and I switched off and went
to do some errands on our own hook, after which we joined the regiment
at the foot of Poydras Street and went on board the Laurel Hill. I put
in the rest of the day and evening, when not answering questions,
writing letters to the home folks, for I had a long list I had promised
letters to.
_March 11, 1864._
_Friday._ I kept right on scribbling, but was so bothered with
questions, I finally gave it up and talked till hoarse. After dinner I
was detailed for guard duty, but as there was only one guard to post, I
had next to nothing to do. We had the whole great boat to ourselves, and
were in the finest kind of quarters. As soon as I had a chance I began
to ask questions and found out that the muster rolls were sent for
before I returned, and I had been reported as absent without leave. I
then figured up and found I had over-stayed my time, owing to the long
time it had taken to make the trip. Had the rolls been called for a few
days sooner or a few days later I would have been all right. Colonel B.
says it will all be made right next time. But in the meantime I must
live on borrowed capital, for I had come back skin-poor.
_March 12, 1864._
_Saturday._ I managed to write some letters before I was relieved and
after the new guard went on I fairly made them fly.
_March 13, 1864._
_Sunday._ Started for church with the quartermaster and brought up at a
fire on St. Charles Street. Nearly a whole block was burned. I saw fire
engines at work for the first time. There were several of them. They
threw water enough to float a ship, and still the fire kept bursting out
in a new place until all that could burn had been burned. The side
streets were full of families and their belongings. At night we went
again and saw a sailor from one of the boats baptized. After the sermon,
a trap door was raised and under that was a space filled with water,
into which the minister and the sailor walked by way of steps at one
end, and where the convert was dipped just as they do it in the brook at
Stanfordville.
_March 14, 1864._
_Monday._ Two cannon were brought on board to-day and mounted on the
forecastle. This looks like business, but none of us know as yet where
we go or when. The Evening Star came in with a large mail this morning.
I had one letter, from my never-failing correspondent, sister Jane. Was
glad to hear that all's well at home.
_March 15, 1864._
_Tuesday._ The Laurel Hill, our present habitation, cut loose from foot
of Poydras Street this morning and tied up at the foot of First Street.
Forage for man and beast soon began to come on board and kept it up by
spells all day. The paymaster came and paid everybody but Ames and Van
Alstyne. The one is under arrest for drunkenness, and the other has been
"absent without leave." We looked on with wistful eyes, but the
paymaster never took the hint. Whether out of pity or not I don't know,
Colonel Parker invited me to go with him and Captain Hoyt to the
theatre. We went, and enjoyed what we saw of it very much. At what
seemed to me the most interesting part, the captain of the Laurel Hill
came in and said he had orders to go to Port Hudson as soon as he could
get up steam. The officers and many of the men were out on pass and we
started out to round them up. I found Major Palon at the St. Charles,
and he knew where others were likely to be found. He went one way and I
another. I found it easier to find them than to get them started for the
boat. Some refused to go; thinking it a ruse to get them back on the
boat. I did get one started and we double-quicked it to the foot of
First Street just in time to get on board. Upon counting noses we found
sixteen officers were left behind, Colonel Bostwick among them.
_March 16, 1864._
_Wednesday._ Woke up opposite Donaldsonville, passed Baton Rouge a
little after noon, and reached Port Hudson at 4 P. M. Here we received
orders from General Andrews to land in the morning, as the Laurel Hill
is needed for another purpose. So we settled down for another night of
comfort, not knowing what the next may be.
_March 17, 1864._
_Thursday._ We unloaded ourselves and our belongings, and teams soon
carted them to the high ground above. We settled in the quarters just
vacated by the 22d C. D. A., borrowed some tents and in a little while
were living like soldiers again. I could not help thinking how different
was our coming this time from what it was almost a year ago. Then it
took us six long weeks to get inside, and now not as many hours. As we
had no orders, we looked about the place for a while and then settled
down, I to my everlasting task of writing.
_March 18, 1864._
_Friday._ Same old story. With no idea when I can mail a letter I kept
right on writing them, and by night was where I could begin to see the
end. No news from the missing ones yet.
_March 19, 1864._
_Saturday._ We found a ball and had a game, which helped to pass the
time. Colonel Parker tried to find Colonel Bostwick by telegraph, but
did not make out. At night was detailed for guard to-morrow.
_March 20, 1864._
_Sunday._ On duty and in camp all day, of course. An order came for us
to go on board the Illinois, which was tied up under the bluff, but
before teams came for us the Illinois cut loose and went down the
river.
_March 21, 1864._
_Monday._ We were ordered on board the Laurel Hill again until further
orders. That suited us much better than lying on the ground in camp, and
as soon as teams came we loaded up and were soon in our old comfortable
quarters again.
Major Hill's sentence was carried out at noon on the parade ground, and
in as public a manner as possible. He is to forfeit a year's pay, and
spend the next ten years on Dry Tortugas at hard labor. His straps and
buttons were also cut off.[9]
The Laurel Hill has orders to take on 4,000 sacks of grain and then drop
down to Baton Rouge for a part of Grover's Division, after which she is
to go to Alexandria, somewhere on the Red River, I believe.
_March 22, 1864._
_Tuesday._ Oats kept coming on board all day, and by the sound all night
as well. The Errickson came up and unloaded two regiments of colored
troops at night.
_March 23, 1864._
_Wednesday._ Left Port Hudson at 4 A. M., and at 6 were at Baton Rouge.
I hustled off for a call on the 128th. Found them breaking camp to go
with us, and at noon we were all together on board the Laurel Hill. At 1
P. M. we started up-stream again. I had to go all over the story of my
going home, for it was very interesting to all of Company B. But they
had little to tell me, for they had been in the one place ever since I
left them. Dr. Andrus had also been home. He is the same good soul he
has been all along. No wonder the boys all love him well enough to die
for him if it were necessary. Any man that can first get, and then keep
the profound respect of the 128th New York's officers and men alike, is
truly a wonderful man, and one perfectly safe to pattern after. If I die
in the army I hope it will be with Dr. Andrus near me, for it would be
so much easier. He has spoken for another game of checkers as soon as we
can find a place and a board to play on.
We kept on past Port Hudson, going first one way and then another, on
account of the many crooks in the river, and by night entered the mouth
of the Red River. I have found out why it is called red. The banks are a
reddish clay, and enough is all the time washing away to color the water
so it shows plainly after it joins the Mississippi.
_March 24, 1864._
_Thursday._ Still going up the Red River. We passed a fort, called Fort
Derussey, which was until lately in possession of the enemy. General A.
J. Smith, with portions of the 16th and 17th Army Corps, took it with
everything in it. These troops were with Grant at Vicksburg, and are now
ahead of us on the way to Alexandria. These with the 19th Corps under
Banks make a big army. The Red River is mostly crooks. Now and then a
straight place gives a look ahead and backward, and boats of all kinds
cover the water. They are mostly transports loaded with troops and their
equipments. It is easy to tell about moving an army, but the amount of
stuff that must be moved with them is another thing. By water it is a
question of boats enough, and by land a question of enough mules and
wagons. Where all these things come from is what I often wonder at.
Mules and wagons are constantly giving out, and yet there is never any
lack. And I have never seen any repair shops for wagons or hospitals for
mules. Once they give out their places must be taken by others. The
wonders performed by the quartermaster's department are not mentioned in
any reports I have seen, and yet it is what the life and success of the
army most depends on.
A man hailed us from the bank and was taken on board. He proved to be
one of those captured at Sabine Pass last fall when Franklin's
expedition undertook to land there. He escaped, and has been living with
the negroes most of the time since. From all I can learn we are on the
way to Shreveport, where the Rebels are said to be waiting in force.
Shreveport is said to be the gateway between this state and Texas.
_March 25, 1864._
_Friday._ We reached Alexandria about midnight. The 128th went ashore,
but we of the recruiting squad remained on board. We hear nothing of
Colonel Bostwick and the others that were left behind. After breakfast I
went ashore and looked up the 128th, and also looked about the place. It
is a pretty place, not quite so large as Baton Rouge, but in every way a
much better place to live in. A broad street runs along next the levee,
and appears to be the principal business street. The Court House, a
large brick building stands on a square by itself, and is the finest
building I saw. Alexandria is rather a big village than a city. The
streets are wide, and the houses are not crowded up against each other.
Nearly every house has a yard and one or more shade trees in it. I saw
no fortifications. If there are any they are outside. Altogether it is
the finest place to live in I have seen in Louisiana. General Smith had
taken possession, and we had only to walk in and enjoy ourselves.
Towards night the negroes began to flock in and we enlisted quite a
number. Dr. Andrus staid with us. The pilot let us in his house, where
we rigged up a checker-board and played till most morning. Neither of us
had anything to brag about when we finally gave it up.
_March 26, 1864._
_Saturday._ The boats cover the water as far as can be seen both up and
down the river. There are rapids a little way above town and the
gunboats have trouble in getting over, there only being places where the
water is deep enough for them to clear the rocks. The 128th, which went
into camp a mile or so out, moved back in town for provost guard duty.
Colonel Bostwick and the other missing ones came up and our family is
all together again. Captain Laird, who has not before been with us, came
with them. He was assigned to Company D, and if ever we get a regiment,
I suppose he will be my captain. For that reason, I have looked him over
pretty closely, and without being able to tell why, yet there is
something about the man I don't like. I hope I may be mistaken in him,
as I sometimes have been in others. At any rate we won't have much to do
with each other for a while, so I am not going to worry over it.
It was expected that the 19th Corps would take the lead from this point,
but General Smith has gone on with his army. The Laurel Hill got sailing
orders and we had to leave our pleasant quarters. We took a large brick
house, where we have all the room we want. The dining-room was so large
we all ate at one table. Dr. Andrus came and staid with us again, and we
had another tie game of checkers. The last tenants took all the
furniture with them, so we had to sleep on the floor, but we don't mind
a little thing like that.
_March 27, 1864._
_Sunday._ Colonel Bostwick sent all hands out to look up recruits and we
are to make that our business from this on. We are to report every night
what success we meet with. Not one of us got a recruit, but we all got a
lecture.
_March 28, 1864._
_Monday._ Colonel B. didn't like the house we were in, and we all moved
into another that he liked better. Moving day at home used to be a busy
one, and so were several days before and after, but we have improved on
the old order of doing such things. We just pick up what belongs to us,
walk out of the old house into the new one and throw them down--and the
job is done.
Lieutenant Bell and I were set at making out reports, and we managed to
smuggle in a letter or two apiece. After that, Sergeant House from
Company B came in and we all walked up the river as far as the Falls, as
the rapids are here called. It was very interesting to watch the
ironclads feel their way over the rocks into the deeper water above. The
hospital boat, the Woodford, hit a rock and sprung a leak. She was run
ashore on the opposite side and the gang plank run out. From the way the
sick people hurried off I don't think they were very badly off. The boat
began to settle down, as if the damage was serious.
_March 29, 1864._
_Tuesday._ Was detailed for officer of the guard, and was in camp all
day. There are men coming in every day that have escaped the
conscript-officers and have been living in the woods like wild beasts.
They opposed secession and would not serve in the secession army. Many
of them are owners of property in this place, but they left their homes
and their families and herded together for protection against small
bands of pursuers, scattering again when a larger force was sent after
them. Now that the coast is clear, they offer to act as scouts or to
fight in the ranks for the Union cause. Nearly enough for a regiment
have reported. They are well armed and are ready to use their guns
against the common enemy. They are not the poor whites, who are as
ignorant as the blacks, but are intelligent men, and the stories they
tell of the wrongs they have suffered and the sufferings they have
endured have made my blood boil with sympathy for them. They swear
Alexandria shall never again be in possession of their enemies, for they
will burn it to the ground before that happens. They call themselves
"Jay-hawkers" and seem proud of the name. It seems wicked to doubt their
sincerity, and yet I can't help thinking what a slick trick it would be
for the Rebels to cut these men loose from their army and send them
among us with just such a story as they tell. Now and then one could
slip away and not be missed as regular enlisted soldiers would, and so
every plan and every move we make be carried straight to them.
Rumor says Colonel Bostwick has been detailed at headquarters; and
Lieutenant Colonel Parker has been appointed superintendent of
recruiting service in this department.
_March 30, 1864._
_Wednesday._ New orders already. Major Palon, with Lieutenants Bell,
Dillon and Van Alstyne, is to go to Natchitoches for recruits. The
Jay-hawkers say every one of the recruiting squad is known by name to
General Mouton, and that he also has a pretty good description of each
one. He has had this ever since we camped on his plantation last fall.
If any are captured we are to be tried by the civil authorities for
"nigger stealing," the penalty for which is death. How General Mouton
got all this information the Jay-hawkers say they don't know, but if
what I have been mean enough to hint at should be true, then it all
becomes plain. It seems to me they should be watched until they prove
their sincerity by their works. We begin to think we are somebody after
all, to be mentioned in general orders, even if it is only to advertise
us as "nigger-stealers."
We boarded the steamer Jennie Rogers at noon. I tried to get Tony to
stay back, telling him the Jay-hawker story and that if he was caught in
our company his fate would be as bad or worse than ours. At first he
decided to stay, but as we were going on board he changed his mind and
would go, saying, "If the Rebels get you, then I'm going to die wid
you." We ran up to the rapids and stopped. The gunboat Ozart had got
fast in the mud by going too close to the opposite bank. A big rope was
run across the river to a tree and made fast, and the machinery on the
Ozart went to winding up on it, thinking to pull herself loose. Next,
another rope was tied to the middle of the big one, and a tugboat began
pulling on it, the Ozart all the time winding up the slack. The big
rope, or hawser as they call it, was finally pulled high enough so the
tug could go under it, and then it went up-stream as far as the rope
would let it, and then, with a full head of steam, came down under it,
fetching up with a tremendous yank on the hawser, which made the water
fly from it in all directions. This was done several times, but the
Ozart was still there. Then a tree was cut and one end brought on board,
the other resting against the bank. In some way, tackles were rigged so
that the tree was made to push, and the tug giving one more pull, the
Ozart came loose from the bank and seemed none the worse for the tugging
she had had. The line across the river was then taken in and the Jennie
Rogers went on for ten or a dozen miles and tied up for the night.
_March 31, 1864._
_Thursday._ We started at daybreak and had gone perhaps twenty miles,
when we overtook General Smith's army, which was stopping every boat
that came along, until enough were had to carry his army. We tied up and
I went ashore and mixed up with the western soldiers to see how they
differed from the eastern troops. They are larger men on the average,
and more on the rough and ready order than ours, but on the whole I
liked them first-rate. They were at Vicksburg, and if they told the
truth about the siege of Vicksburg, we of Port Hudson hardly know what
war is like. As I could not match their stories, I told none, more than
to give an outline of the siege, which they thought must have been
pretty tame.
From an old man, a native, I was told an interesting story about a hill
that is in sight. He said it is called "The Hill of Death," so named by
the Indians, who fought a Kilkenny-cat battle there until all were
killed but a few women and children. It is not much of a hill, not more
than half as big as Bryan's "Sugar Loaf," but otherwise much like it.
Boats kept coming and tying up. Those that came later brought news of
the capture and destruction of the Lacrosse, just below Fort Derussey
yesterday. Also that the Mattie Stevens was fired on and her pilot
killed. Sim Bryan, our mail carrier, was on the Mattie, and if the Rebs
got Sim and the letters he carried they know what our opinion of them
is.
_April 1, 1864._
_Friday._ Moving day at home. Our folks will get into their new home
to-day, and I wish I was there to help settle them down in it. It will
be their first move without me since I was big enough to help.
I slept late this morning, till long after breakfast, and then, having
nothing to get up for, lay and dozed until dinner time. Tony had my
clothes brushed and my boots blacked and felt much worse than I did
because I had lost my breakfast. I told him I would make it up for
dinner, and I did. The river is full of boats now.
_April 2, 1864._
_Saturday._ About noon General Smith and staff went on board the
Clarabelle and at 2 P. M. we started up the creek. A copy of the code of
signals that are to govern us was sent to each vessel. The river is so
narrow we must go Indian file, and are to keep 400 yards from each
other. One long whistle while tied up means "Get under way." One long
whistle while under way means "Tie up." Three short whistles, "Close
order." Four short whistles, "Open order." Five short whistles, "I wish
to communicate." One gun from the flagship, "The enemy is in sight." Two
short whistles and a long one, "I want assistance." Three short whistles
and a long one, "The enemy has a battery." Four short whistles and a
long one, "The troops will land." One gun and a long whistle, "All
right." We got under way and everything went well until dark when, in
rounding a short turn in the pesky little rivulet, another boat bumped
into ours and stove a hole in below the water line. The Jennie was
pointed for shore and by the time she struck there, there was such a
panic among the Vicksburg heroes as I don't believe eastern men ever
thought of. At any rate none of our party so much as thought of joining
in. They rushed for the side and began jumping from the upper and lower
deck at the same time, landing on each other and some of them in the
water, and then began quarreling and fighting over the hurts they had
got. The rush to one side tipped the hole out of water, and as soon as
the men could be got on the boat again it was held in that position
until the damage was repaired. The whole thing was amusing from our
point of view, and after a good laugh over it we went to bed.
_April 3, 1864._
_Sunday._ The leak was stopped and the water pumped out, and at 4 A. M.
we took our place in the line and went on. An idea of the number of
boats is had from the fact that they had been passing all the time this
was going on, and the end was not in sight when we started again.
At noon we stopped for wood, and to relieve the neighbors of their
surplus chickens. The western men are all right on a chicken raid, for I
don't think one escaped them. At 6 P. M. we were under way again, but
the Jennie ran onto a sand bar soon after and it took a lot of puffing
and blowing to get loose from it, and to catch up and take our proper
distance again. This makes thirty out of the last thirty-eight days I
have been afloat. One in New Orleans, four at Port Hudson, and three at
Alexandria, is all the time I have been ashore. At that rate I will soon
be a sailor.
_April 4, 1864._
GRAND ECORE. LA. _Monday._ We reached Grand Ecore some time in the night
without further mishap and found ourselves tied fast to a tree on the
bank when we awoke this morning. About noon the Jennie untied and went a
little above the town and made fast again. We did nothing but watch the
unloading of the troops. About 10 P. M., just as we were about to turn
in, an order came for us to report at once at Alexandria for further
orders. We were told that the Luminary was to start at daylight, and
Major Palon told me to see if I could verify the report. Between us and
the Luminary was a creek, without a bridge or other visible means of
crossing. Tony found a boat and we were soon on board the Luminary,
where we found the report about her sailing at daylight was true. In the
meantime, some one had taken our boat, and we had to go away along the
bayou until we could hear the challenge of the picket guards before we
could get across. We legged it down the opposite side, and in the
darkness mistook the Hastings for the Jennie Rogers. From her we got our
bearings and were soon on board the Jennie and reported. The Jennie had
a small boat, the Little Jennie, and with this we crossed the bayou and
were soon on board the Luminary, only to find that since I was there her
orders had been changed and she was to go up the river instead of down.
By this time it was almost morning and we went back to the Jennie Rogers
and to bed. I had had exercise enough to make me ready to sleep almost
anywhere, and I was soon sound asleep.
_April 5, 1864._
_Tuesday._ We were glad we left the Luminary, for she ran into a nest of
Johnnies, who fired on her and killed six men. Heavy firing was heard in
front and skirmish firing much nearer. Smith's troops had gone in that
direction and had probably met some opposition. I went ashore and fell
in with an old resident who told me that Grand Ecore proper lies four
miles back in the country now, though it was once right on the river
bank. It being on the inside of a bend, the water kept washing the earth
from one side and leaving it on the other, until now the village and
river are four miles apart. At every time of high water the river moves
on a little farther, leaving a strip of new made ground on which young
cottonwood trees immediately sprout up. This makes the top look like a
great green stairway, the first step of which was made by the last
freshet, the next by the freshet before, and so on to the top.
The firing grew nearer and there was more of it. By ten o'clock it was
plain that hot fighting was going on, and not very far away. The dense
growth of cottonwoods cut our view down in that direction to a little
strip along the river, and out of this wounded men and small parties of
prisoners began to come. By noon it seemed as if the whole of Smith's
army was coming back and coming in a hurry, too. Batteries from below
were rushed up and planted in the young cottonwoods right in front of
us. Artillery horses, with their traces cut, came out by the dozen, and
there was everything to show that a part or the whole of Smith's army
was retreating. Soon the woods were alive with choppers, and the trees
began to fall. In a time so short I hardly dare tell it the road and a
strip each side of it was uncovered for at least a mile. How men could
live where trees fell as they did there is a miracle. All the time men,
horses and mules kept coming by the hundreds, and maybe thousands. Boats
began loading with them. Forty-seven were put on our boat, three of them
commissioned officers. A guard of negro soldiers was on the boat and the
idea of being put under them made them howl with rage. Such swearing as
one captain did would be hard to beat anywhere. The trouble in front
began to quiet down. Not a shot had come our way, and not one had been
fired in that direction. Whatever had happened was too far away for us
to more than guess at. But it was plain that General A. J. Smith had
run afoul of something that was a match for him, and what we were
looking at was a genuine retreat. From the way boats were loading up and
moving down-stream it looked as if the "nigger-stealers" were to have
plenty of company on the way to Alexandria. From an artillery sergeant
who was not so scared but that he could tell what had happened I found
out this much. That the road ran through the woods for a long way and
finally went diagonally across a large cleared space and into the woods
beyond. That they were not molested until, while crossing this opening,
they were fired upon and a panic was the result. The road was full and
reinforcements could not get at them from either direction, and they cut
loose and ran for it. The infantry caught some of the bolder of the
enemy and brought them in. They could not stop the retreat. They had to
get out of the way or get run over by the crazy men and horses that
filled the narrow road.
One of the prisoners is a Captain Todd. He was quite willing to talk. He
said he was a cousin to President Lincoln's wife, and that he should now
take the amnesty oath and try to get a job as clerk in some department.
Captain Faulkner, another prisoner, is as full of venom as a
rattlesnake. He brags of what he has done and tells of what he will yet
do. If he carries out his present intentions we had better skip for the
north before he gets loose. He said he led the force that riddled the
Black Hawk at Morgan's Bend, and I think he told the truth, for the
pilot on the Black Hawk at that time is now pilot on this boat. They
knew each other at sight. Captain Faulkner said, "Captain Frayer, I had
four shots at you at Morgan's Bend, and all I ask for is one more."
The main force is somewhere in advance, but a good bunch of the rear
guard is here. Everyone is blaming everyone else for what happened, and
I expect all hands are ashamed of it now. When General Smith gets at
them I expect they will feel worse yet.
Captain Faulkner's horse came in with others, and as soon as the captain
saw him he begged to have him taken on board. He called him up close to
the boat by whistling through his fingers. The coming of his horse
changed the captain wonderfully. If he hated us, he certainly loved his
horse. I felt sorry for him and told him so. He asked me to take off his
saddle and bridle and perhaps he would find his way home. I stripped him
and found a bullet had grazed his back and the flies were already at
work. The saddle had also galled him. More out of pity for the horse
than the captain, I took him to the river and washed his sore back
clean, and at the captain's suggestion got some bacon fat from the
steward and rubbed it well in. The captain said that would stop the
flies. He was very grateful and told me all about the horse, how
intelligent he was and how he hated to leave him. Said he never needed
training, for he knew more than most people. He had raised him from a
colt and no other white man had ever handled him as much as I had just
done. Among the soldiers I found one that was a fellow passenger on the
McClellan, and that brought up the subject of the rough passage and the
rougher passengers. He said the ones I had arrested were tried and sent
to the Dry Tortugas, which is an island in the Gulf of Mexico off the
Florida coast.
_April 6, 1864._
_Wednesday._ Captain Faulkner was up before I, and had called up his
horse. The pony, for he was nothing else, tried to get up the gang
plank, and would have come on board if the guard had not driven him
back. I wished I could see them together. I had never seen so much
affection shown by a horse, and I felt almost as bad as the captain did
to see them kept from each other. I gave him a good washing with soap
and water and another greasing with bacon fat. About seven o'clock the
Jennie untied and went down the river about a mile, where she stopped
for wood. The pony followed, and when the gang plank was run out he
again tried to come on board. This was too much for me. I went to the
captain and offered him the only five-dollar bill I had in the world to
take him on. But it was of no use. He resented my offering him money to
disobey orders, and the door against the pony was closed. The last I saw
of him he was running off across the country as if a new idea had struck
him. But Captain Faulkner was most grateful to me, and I hope if the
enemy ever gets hold of me Captain Faulkner will be among them, for he
says he would just like a chance to get even with me for what I have
done.
Another of the prisoners had been overseer on the plantation where we
were taking on wood. His wife, with their little boy, came on board and
pleaded for his release on parole. This, together with the pony affair,
made the day a miserable one for me. Someway that sort of suffering hit
me in a very tender spot. I could have seen the overseer and Captain
Faulkner both shot and not have felt as badly as I did to think of that
wife and child mourning for their husband and father, and the pony
looking for his master, and perhaps falling into the hands of someone
who would be cruel to him without ever knowing how near human he is. It
is lucky for the government that I am not president, for such things as
I have seen and heard to-day would tempt me to pardon Jeff Davis
himself. When the wood was on board we started down the river for
Alexandria, having done nothing more to earn our pay than to spend a few
days as spectators of the stirring times at Grand Ecore. At a bend in
the river by a woodyard an old darkey, mounted on an old gray mule,
hailed us and said the Rebs were waiting for us in the woods about a
mile below. A boat behind us had some guns on her forward deck, and
began shelling the woods as soon as they came within reach, and we went
past without a shot being fired at us. The river was lower than when we
came up, and also narrower, in places not much wider than the length of
the boat. At 11 P. M. we reached Alexandria and went to headquarters to
report. We found the family all abed and asleep. A whiskey bottle
standing on the table relieved us of any embarrassment we might
otherwise have felt for calling at so late an hour. We soon had them all
out of bed to receive us in a manner more fitting to the occasion. Dr.
Warren got mad and used some improper language, for which he was soundly
spanked and put to bed again. Thus ended our trip to Natchitoches, a
place we never saw.
_April 7, 1864._
_Thursday._ There being nothing to hinder, I went to visit the 128th.
Found that Charlie Travis had died while we were away. He was one of the
best of the lot, and Company B was feeling pretty sober over his sudden
taking off. They were going to have chicken for dinner and I had to stay
and help out. After that I came home and wrote a letter. The Polar Star
came up with 500 prisoners on the way to the front to be exchanged. They
were delighted at the prospect of a chance to fight us again. Those we
brought down with us, on their way to prison, didn't seem to feel so
happy.
_April 8, 1864._
_Friday._ While we were up the river the rest of the squad have enlisted
over 300 men, and have gone in camp just out of town. Colonel Parker is
in command. After breakfast I went to see them. Found Sol shaking yet;
cold one day and hot the next. From his looks he has been real badly
off. I visited them until noon and then went back to headquarters, where
I found a lot of writing had been saved up for me. I wrote till night
and then made Sol another visit, after which I came home and went to
bed.
_April 9, 1864._
_Saturday._ Orders for up the river again. The same four go, with Major
Palon in command as before. Some way this trip smells stronger of danger
than any we have taken. We have packed our trunks, keeping out an extra
shirt apiece, and left the keys, with directions what to do with them in
case we don't come back. At 1 P. M. we boarded the Laurel Hill, our old
favorite, and set out. As we were turning about to get under way another
boat almost touched us, and on it was Lieutenant Manning, with a bundle
of letters in his hand for us. Was ever anything more tantalizing than
that? To go off, not knowing for how long, with those letters almost in
our hands, was worse than not seeing them at all. But there was no help
for it and we went on, swallowing our disappointment as best we could.
We reached the rapids and got over them without mishap, and in a little
while had tied up for the night. We sat on the deck and smoked,
wondering if any of the letters were for us, after all, and when we
would see them in case they were.
_April 10, 1864._
_Sunday._ We started at daylight and met with no adventures worth
telling of on the way. At 6 P. M. we were at Grand Ecore again, where we
learned that a hard battle had been fought at Mansfield Plains and at
Pleasant Hill--a two days' fight and nobody claiming the victory. Some
say the Rebs had the best of the first day's fight and that our folks
had the best of the last, which was yesterday. A large body of men and
animals is here--cavalry, infantry and artillery--all mixed up in no
sort of order. Wounded men are lying on the ground and wounded horses
and mules hobbling about. I looked until dark, and then listened to the
sounds of suffering until sleep overtook me.
_April 11, 1864._
_Monday._ We went ashore and put up our two tents as much out of the way
as possible, and waited for things to settle down. Wounded men were all
the time being brought in, some on stretchers and some on foot. General
Ransom went past on a stretcher, with one knee bandaged and bloody.
Right behind him walked a man with one arm gone, and who was joking with
another who was carrying his cut-off arm in his hand. I got out among
them to try and hear what had happened and what I heard was not
altogether complimentary to General Banks. But it was Smith's men who
were talking and some allowance must be made for that. They say it has
all come of poor management on the part of General Banks. If Grant had
been in command this would never have happened, from all of which I
judge the Rebs have given them a dressing out and they are mad at
General Banks about it.
A strong rear guard is all that keeps them from coming and finishing up
the job. Lieutenant Bell has been out taking notes and upon a
comparison, we have both the same story to tell. Everything is in a
mixed-up condition. Everyone is full of trouble but the recruiting
squad, and we have nothing to do but look on. The process of unraveling
the tangle is very interesting to me, but so much suffering on every
hand makes me sick, and I cannot help wondering if it pays.
_April 12, 1864._
_Tuesday._ Having no orders to do otherwise, I kept out among the
stragglers to learn what I could. The wounded have mostly been sent down
the river for better treatment than can be had here on the hospital
boats. It is said that several boats are above here, some aground and
others helping them off, while all the time the Rebs are firing on them
from the shore. One story is that reinforcements are being hurried up
the river from Alexandria and other points below.
_April 13, 1864._
_Wednesday._ Things have been lively here to-day. Firing was heard up
the river this morning, and a pontoon bridge was thrown across here and
troops hurried across and gotten into position. The Colonel Cowles came
down and reported the boats above here to be in an awkward situation.
Troops have been going up on the other side all day. They soon go out of
sight around a turn and are hid by the woods. We certainly are having
the soft side of soldiering now. There is nothing we can do but look on,
and we do that all the time. But we are obeying orders, and that's all
any of them are doing.
_April 14, 1864._
_Thursday._ The stranded boats began coming down this morning, and were
greeted with cheers from the soldiers and whistles from the steamers.
Several were riddled with bullets, and quite a number of dead men were
taken off and buried. The wounded were taken on board the hospital
boats. The Black Hawk, as usual, came in for a full share, getting the
worst shooting up of any. This is the third time she has got it on this
expedition. The land forces brought 300 prisoners with them. We are
still watching proceedings, being too light handed to do anything more.
No recruits are here, and they won't dare come in as long as the enemy
holds the ground all around us.
_April 15, 1864._
_Friday._ This has been an interesting day. An attack was expected and
preparations were made to receive it. Troops were shifted from one place
to another. The pickets on the Natchitoches road were driven in. The
woods were chopped away to give the artillery a chance in that
direction. A negro came running out of the woods saying the Rebs were
within three miles and were coming on the double-quick, but this report
was not believed, for someone besides him would have found it out. At
any rate no attack was made and the day passed and left things very much
as it found them.
_April 16, 1864._
_Saturday._ Another day of doing nothing. This looking for trouble is
worse than finding it. The troops have been shifting about all day, as
if it was hard to decide what was the right position. There were no more
signs of trouble to come than the getting ready for it. The recruiting
squad helped all it could by looking on and wondering what it is all
about.
_April 17, 1864._
_Sunday._ Reinforcements having been coming in for some days. I set out
this morning to look them over and see if the 128th was here. Sure
enough, I found them about a half mile out on the Natchitoches road,
feeling fine and ready for business. I staid all day with them, getting
back in time for supper and to talk over the hard times we are having
doing nothing.
_April 18, 1864._
_Monday._ For pastime to-day. Lieutenant Dillon and I borrowed a skiff
from one of the boats and explored the country along the river above
here. We went ashore and looked for something to vary our diet of
hard-tack and coffee. After dinner we moved our tents back into the
woods, where we will have shade all the day long. Our duties are so
laborious it is necessary to have a cool spot to work in. For exercise
we run, jump, box, or do anything we can think of to keep up
circulation. We have made the acquaintance of a stray mule and take
turns letting him tumble us off over his head in the sand. He is gentle
as can be, and lets us do anything with him except riding him beyond a
certain distance. When he has gone far enough he gives a quick jump,
stands on his head, and the thing is done.
_April 19, 1864._
_Tuesday._ Just before daylight the "Long Roll" sounded and such getting
up nothing else could have brought about. Batteries limbered up and took
position. The horses were taken back and left with harness on. Men took
their stations at the guns. Ambulances were placed in convenient places,
and every preparation made for a fight, but no one appeared to fight
with. The excitement, which was great at first, grew less until it was
all gone and the same lazy feeling that had been with us for days came
back. I have been doctoring a wounded horse for the last week, and the
beggar has got to depending on me for his rations instead of hunting for
it himself. He eats hard-tack much better than I can, and appears to
like them better than grass. I have to go across the river for grass,
and mow it with my knife. He eats it without as much as a thank you, and
as he is about cured I am going to take him across the river and leave
him soon. To-night we had a grand gymnastic performance and are going to
bed.
_April 20, 1864._
_Wednesday._ On board the John Warner, bag and baggage. When we got up
this morning we found everybody pulling up and getting ready for a move.
We watched and waited for orders to do likewise. The major, who had gone
to investigate, came back and said the Red River campaign had been given
up and all hands were going back to Alexandria. He secured passage for
us on the Warner and here we are. For fear someone would press him into
the service and forget that he was only a convalescent, I took the horse
I had patched up, and after stuffing his wound with bacon fat, I took
him across the pontoon bridge and turned him loose in the big grass on
the other side. When I came back Tony had my few things picked up and
ready to go on board. The bulk of the army goes by land and a portion of
it is already on the way to Alexandria, our first stopping-place. Major
Palon says the expedition had to be abandoned on account of the falling
of the water in the river, and if the boats get over the rapids at
Alexandria they must do it right away. At any rate a retreat is now in
order and the major says I will have plenty of filling for my diary
before it is over.
_Night._ Four thirty-pounder Parrot guns have been mounted on the
forward deck, and the men and ammunition necessary for their use is on
board. Every preparation for trouble is being made, whether we have any
or not. The cause of the retreat is common talk now among the officers.
Banks is blamed for the failure of the expedition, though I fail to see
how he is to blame for the falling of the water in the Red River.
A man fishing from the boat this afternoon hooked onto something which
when pulled up proved to be a dead soldier with his skull smashed in.
The boatmen remembered him as one who had a quarrel with a deck hand
last night, and as he, too, is missing, it is thought he killed this
soldier and after throwing him in the river cleared out. I could not get
his name or regiment, but am sure he did not belong to the 128th. It is
easy to die here and there are many ways of doing it. A dead man was
found on the upper deck of the Mattie Stevens yesterday. He was thought
to be asleep until a comrade went to wake him up and found he was
sleeping his last sleep. He was shot through the heart, but as no shot
had been fired on the boat it is supposed it came from some distance
away, missing the thousands that are here and finding only this sleeper.
He was of the 33d Massachusetts. What I have seen to-day would fill a
book. The major's prophecy that I would find plenty of filling for my
diary is coming true. I had noticed a prisoner handcuffed fast to a post
in the cabin, but had paid no attention to him until some loud talking
in his neighborhood led me to it. A soldier, one of the Western men,
with a bloody bandage around one leg, was giving this prisoner the
biggest kind of a tongue-lashing, and was with difficulty kept from
clubbing him with his cane. I finally got at the Westerner and found out
what it was about. He said his regiment was waiting in the road below
here for the line to be made up. Noticing a house and other buildings in
a grove not very far away, he and two of his comrades set out for some
eggs and perhaps something else good to eat. They were met by this
prisoner, who acted very friendly, giving them milk to drink and to fill
their canteens. When they asked for eggs he told them there were none in
the house but plenty in the loft, pointing to a loft with a ladder
reaching to it. Without a suspicion of treachery they set their guns up
by the side of the building and went up the ladder after the eggs. When
they started to come down they found their own guns pointed at them, in
the hands of this prisoner and two other men they had not seen before.
There was nothing to do but surrender, which they decided to do. They
came down and were marched into the woods for some distance, stood up in
line and fired upon. One was killed instantly, my informant was shot
through the leg and fell more from the expectation of certain death than
from his hurt. The third man was missed clean and started to run with
the three devils after him. That gave this fellow a chance and he legged
it for his regiment and fell fainting from terror and the loss of blood.
When he came to, his comrades were returning with this prisoner, the
only one they could find. They did find the man that ran away, lying
where he had been overtaken and stabbed to death with bayonets. The
wonder and the pity is they ever brought this murderer away with them.
Why they didn't shoot him full of holes instead of taking him prisoner
is what none of us can understand. I suppose he will live on Uncle Sam
for a while and then go free. This must do for one day's record. It is
late and I am almost blind from writing by the light of a lantern.
_April 21, 1864._
_Thursday._ We were loaded up and ready for a start early this morning.
We dropped down-stream to our place in the long line of steamboats,
gunboats and most every kind of boats. Got onto a sand bar and had to be
pulled off. A gunboat got fast just below us and getting that loose took
the rest of the day.
_April 22, 1864._
_Friday._ We got another start at about daylight and kept going until
noon, when we struck bottom and had to be pulled loose again. We could
plainly see that the bottom of the river was much nearer the top than
when we came up. We stopped at the same landing for wood where the old
contraband warned us of trouble on our last trip down. Sure enough, he
was here again and with another warning. He said the woods below Cane
River were alive with sharpshooters, of which he had warned the boats
ahead, and would warn those to come. We heard firing long before we
reached Cane River, and as we neared the woods the guns on our boat
began a raking fire on each side and kept it up until the woods were
passed. It was dark by this time and the boats went little if any faster
than the flow of the river. We reached the rapids above Alexandria about
10 P. M., and so far as I know, not a person was hurt on the way.
_April 23, 1864._
_Saturday._ When we awoke we were glad to hear it raining hard. This
will at least stop the river from going any lower, and may raise it. We
left the boat and took a four-mile walk to Alexandria, where we found
our folks well and enjoying themselves. The regiment is nearly full. If
we had remained here we might have filled it. As it is, our two trips to
Grand Ecore have amounted to nothing more than seeing some stirring
times in which we had no other part than spectators. Sol had nine
letters for me and a basketful for the others. It took me quite a while
to read so many. After reading them I began writing a reply to each one.
I had had a grumbling toothache for some days and to-day it has taken
hold for sure. I suppose my walk in the rain gave it an excuse. At night
we were relieved from recruiting service and ordered back to the
regiment, I reporting to Captain Laird for duty. Lieutenant Bell and I
were ordered to report for fatigue duty in the morning at 7 A. M.
_April 24, 1864._
_Sunday._ Agreeable to orders, Bell and I reported to the quartermaster
at 7 o'clock and were given 134 men and sent to the rapids to unload
boats and load up wagons for transportation below the falls. One was to
check what came off the boats and the other what the wagons carted off.
Someone else checked again as the stuff was loaded on the boats below
the falls, and if anything was lost it was easy to tell who was to
blame. My tooth ached so badly that the quartermaster put another in my
place and I went back to camp to try and get rid of it. Dr. Andrus
talked me off the notion, and gave me something to put in it, which
helped it so much that I went back and finished out the day. When we
reached camp at night I felt as if I had earned my pay, having walked
sixteen miles, done a lot of writing, and had suffered severely with
toothache nearly all the time.
_April 25, 1864._
_Monday._ The army begins to get in from up the river. The 128th had a
brush at Cane River and lost one man. I put in the day writing, and at
night went and visited with Sol.
_April 26, 1864._
_Tuesday._ Kept right on writing. Sim goes in a day or two and I want to
get even with my correspondents.
_April 27, 1864._
_Wednesday._ Heavy firing up the river. By the sound it is ten or more
miles away. The gunboats are up there holding the enemy from getting
their artillery within reach of the transports. The Rebs are closing in
around Alexandria and the pickets begin to clash. Went for a walk with
Captain Enoch, after which I called on Dr. Andrus to get him to do
something with that tooth. He put me off with some more medicine, but
says if it doesn't stop to-night he will pull it to-morrow.
_April 28, 1864._
_Thursday._ On duty as officer of the guard, and next to nothing to do.
So many of the men are helping unload the boats, the camp is almost
empty. The enemy is fighting his way along day by day. The roar of
artillery is heard almost constantly. Our lines must hold the country
for ten miles all round us, for that is as close as the fighting appears
to be. We hear of wrangling among our leaders, one blaming another for
the fix we are in. A dam is being built below the falls to raise the
water so the gunboats may slide over. A Colonel Bailey is the engineer
in charge of the job, and it is quite a job, too.
_Night._ A ring of fire surrounds Alexandria to-night. It is said our
forces are working in and burning everything as they come. Lieutenant
Ames, who has been under arrest since last winter for drunkenness, was
to-day dismissed from the service.
_April 29, 1864._
_Friday._ No fighting here yet. The firing outside is constant now, but
what it amounts to we don't know. Was relieved from duty at 8 o'clock
and went for a walk before turning in. On a back street a terrible
commotion broke out as I was passing a backyard with a high slab fence
around it. I peeked through a knothole and saw a shocking sight. An old
sow had a little child down on the ground and was trying to eat it. Two
women, one with a broom and the other with a mop, were hammering the sow
and screaming at the top of their voices, while the old sow was making
such a noise as only a hog can make when raging mad. Just as I had taken
in the situation, something struck the top of the fence with force
enough to shake it from end to end. One of the ugly-looking dogs called
bloodhounds had jumped and caught his fore feet over the top and was
scrambling for a hold with his hind feet. Just as I looked up he got a
toe hold, and quicker than I can tell it was over the fence and had the
old varmint by the back of the neck. The women ran in the house with the
child, and whether the child or the old sow lived I don't know, but I
shall always think well of the bloodhound after this. I went back home
and slept the day away.
_April 30, 1864._
_Saturday._ Five letters to-day. All from good friends at home. They are
all well and know nothing of the predicament we are in. Every loose
board about town is being gathered up for use at the dam. The water is
already up so many of the lighter draught boats are floated over the
rocks. The gunboats, our main dependence, are there yet.
_May 1, 1864._
_Sunday._ My tooth bothered me yet, and I went to the hospital this
morning determined to get rid of it. Dr. Andrus was out, but Lew Brooks,
the hospital steward, said he could do the job just as well. He got a
good deep hold and pulled on it, but the tooth stood firm. After a
second trial and a second failure, he called in a man to hold my head
still and tried it again with both hands. The tooth simply wouldn't come
out. But the character of the pain was changed, and that was a little
satisfaction. Dr. Andrus gave me some chloroform linament which helped
some, but has taken from my mouth what little skin Brooks left on. I
have been in agony all day. The tooth sticks out so I can't shut my
jaws, and is getting sore every minute.
_May 2, 1864._
_Monday._ I don't know what has been done to-day, and I don't care. I
have had troubles enough of my own. Dr. Warren has excused me from duty.
Tony made me a stew that needed no chewing, and I drank it without
asking what he made it from.
_May 3, 1864._
_Tuesday._ Have felt worse to-day than any day. My neck and shoulders
are so lame and sore I can hardly roll my eyes. My mouth is better, and
I can begin to use it.
_May 4, 1864._
_Wednesday._ I found myself this morning feeling much more like myself.
Tony stole a chicken and cooked it so I could suck the meat off the
bones, and it made the whole world seem better. I got out among folks,
and hope by another day to be able to manage a hard-tack. The Rebs are
coming, for the firing sounds plainer than any day yet. There is much
discussion of, and more cussing about, the situation we are in. A party
of unarmed men was seen on the other side of the river, and a boat was
sent over. They proved to be all that is known to be left of the 120th
Ohio, which was on its way to join us. They were fired on from the shore
and their boat crippled. The men jumped overboard and swam ashore, and
while the most were captured, some got away and have found their way
here. Others may come if not picked up on the way.
Sergeant Nace, who said he belongs to the 176th New York, found me
to-day and almost claimed relationship. He knows the folks in Rowe
Hollow, and from his talk and actions was very glad to see me. I never
heard of the man before. He was a good talker, and if the ears of the
people in Rowe Hollow didn't burn it wasn't because they were not talked
about.
_May 5, 1864._
_Thursday._ Reported for duty and was put on as officer of the guard.
The 128th got in touch with the rebel skirmish line and Casey, of
Company I, was shot through the mouth. The dam is being pushed in every
possible way. Trees are cut and dragged in the river, and bags filled
with earth are thrown in to fill up the spaces. Stones are so scarce
that brick houses not in use are torn down and used for ballast. I
bought a horse, saddle and bridle to-day for four dollars, and he is now
eating government hay with the mules. He may come handy when we skip
out, which we expect to do as soon as the gunboats are over the falls.
General Smith fought quite a battle above here to-day and took some
prisoners. It is reported to-night that the John Warner, the boat that
brought us from Grand Ecore, has been sunk in the river below here, and
Sim Bryan captured. He had our mail, and if the Rebs read our letters
they know about what we think of them. I'd like to hear the comments
they make. The tables have been turned, and we are now the besieged,
instead of the besiegers.
_May 6, 1864._
_Friday._ "It never rains but it pours." About noon Lieutenant Colonel
Foster of the 128th and about thirty others came in. They are all that
are known to have escaped from the John Warner. They report the river
blocked for anything short of our ironclads, which at present are lying
above the rapids waiting for the dam to be finished. Colonel Foster
thinks Sim may have destroyed the mail, but the time was rather short
for it. Our pay rolls and the monthly returns were in his bag, and five
letters from me to different friends. If the captors get any comfort
out of them they are welcome. Colonel Foster had some dispatches with
him, but managed to get away with them. As a reminder, he brought with
him a ball in the calf of his leg which Dr. Andrews cut out with his
jackknife. It was just under the skin and popped out at the first cut.
Just at night more came in. They had escaped in the confusion of the
attack and our cavalry scouts had found them and brought them in. These
say that Captain Dane was hung, but we hardly think they had time to see
all they tell of. However, it may be true, for he left the Confederate
service when Butler took New Orleans, and has since been in our service,
and true to it. He is the one who ran the A. G. Brown on our Texas trip.
He has made several trips to Grand Ecore, the last of which was when we
came down with him. The 128th had another brush with the enemy last
night and took several prisoners.
_May 7, 1864._
_Saturday._ The 128th and another regiment captured and brought in a
wagon train loaded with corn and other stuff the Rebs had picked up for
their own use. They are skinning the country below here, so we will have
to board ourselves or go hungry when we leave Alexandria.
_May 8, 1864._
_Sunday._ A very hot day. The men are being examined and any not fit for
a hard tramp are put on the boats. The dam is nearly completed. All but
the deepest draught boats are below the rapids waiting for the dam to be
blown up so they can come down and load up for the run down the river.
From all I can learn the plans are for the gunboats, provided they get
over the rapids all right, to protect the left flank, which is to follow
the right bank of the river and go as fast as infantry can possibly go.
General Smith is to take care of the rear and as much of the right flank
as he can. General Banks is to open up the way and also to look out for
the right flank. No hard fighting is expected, but skirmish fighting is
looked for all the way down. I went up to the dam just at night. The
water rushes over it and through it like a young Niagara. It is a big
job, and the engineers deserve great credit, whether it does all it is
expected to or not.
_May 9, 1864._
_Monday._ The dam broke away in the night; all the boats near the break
were swept through by the rush of water and are now where they can be
used. The accident brought out a new idea, which is to repair the break
and to build wing dams from each side towards it, and to depend on the
rush of water pulling the whole outfit through.
Marching orders were issued this morning and every effort is being made
for a sudden start. I have only my blanket and my diary to carry.
Everything else besides my sword and revolver is on the Rob Roy. The
troops have been moving out, getting in position, and everything
betokens an early departure from Alexandria. We have a regiment of
unarmed negro soldiers to get away with. They can be handled fairly well
in camp, but how they will act in case of an attack is not yet known.
_May 10, 1864._
_Tuesday._ A rainy day, a rare thing nowadays. Colonel Parker succeeded
in getting arms for our men, and they are wild with delight. Few of them
ever had a gun in their hands before, and are as awkward with them as
can be. We have been drilling them in the manual of arms and they did as
well as could be expected. The army is getting straightened out for a
start as soon as the ironclads are released. The wagon train is said to
be fifteen miles long now, and the final start will add miles to it.
_May 11, 1864._
_Wednesday._ We put in a solid day of drilling in the manual of arms. No
loading has been attempted, but the times and motions have been drilled
into the woolly heads, so that a very encouraging improvement is the
result. Captain Laird, my captain, is missing, and whether he has run
away or been carried away, no one seems to know. At any rate, the care
and conduct of Company D now comes upon your humble servant.
_May 12, 1864._
_Thursday._ Another day of the same. While the most of them do as well
as can be expected, yet the ignorance and stupidity of the others is
enough to try the patience of a saint. A boat came up to-day and was
only fired on at one point. This looks as if the Rebs are planning some
new move which will develop later. The moving preparations go steadily
on, and the dam is progressing finely.
_May 13, 1864._
_Friday._ Eight miles below Alexandria. The Jay-hawkers kept their
promise to burn the place rather than have it go into the hands of the
enemy again. About daylight this morning cries of fire and the ringing
of alarm bells were heard on every side. I think a hundred fires must
have been started at one time. We grabbed the few things we had to carry
and marched out of the fire territory, where we left them under guard
and went back to do what we could to help the people. There was no such
thing as saving the buildings. Fires were breaking out in new places all
the time. All we could do was to help the people get over the levee, the
only place where the heat did not reach and where there was nothing to
burn. There was no lack of help, but all were helpless to do more than
that. Only the things most needful, such as beds and eatables, were
saved. One lady begged so for her piano that it was got out on the porch
and there left to burn. Cows ran bellowing through the streets.
Chickens flew out from yards and fell in the streets with their feathers
scorching on them. A dog with his bushy tail on fire ran howling
through, turning to snap at the fire as he ran. There is no use trying
to tell about the sights I saw and the sounds of distress I heard. It
cannot be told and could hardly be believed if it were told. Crowds of
people, men, women, children and soldiers, were running with all they
could carry, when the heat would become unbearable, and dropping all,
they would flee for their lives, leaving everything but their bodies to
burn. Over the levee the sights and sounds were harrowing. Thousands of
people, mostly women, children and old men, were wringing their hands as
they stood by the little piles of what was left of all their worldly
possessions. Thieves were everywhere, and some of them were soldiers. I
saw one knocked down and left in the street, who had his arms full of
stolen articles. The provost guards were everywhere, and, I am told,
shot down everyone caught spreading the fire or stealing. Nearly all
buildings were of wood; great patches of burning roofs would sail away,
to drop and start a new fire. By noon the thickly settled portion of
Alexandria was a smoking ruin. The thousands of beautiful shade trees
were as bare as in winter, and those that stood nearest the houses were
themselves burning. An attempt was made to save one section by blowing
up a church that stood in an open space, but the fuse went out and the
powder did not explode until the building burned down to it, and then
scattered the fire instead of stopping it, making the destruction more
complete than if nothing of the kind had been attempted.
Having done all that could be done for the place and the people, the
call sounded and, as soon as we could get together and call the roll, we
came on to this place, where we hope to stay to-night, for we certainly
are in need of a rest. It is said the ironclads got over the rapids this
morning and that we are to start on our long tramp early to-morrow
morning.
FOOTNOTES:
[9] I have no recollection at this time of this affair more than is here
given.