SIEGE AND SURRENDER OF PORT HUDSON—THE
INVESTMENT—SKIRMISHING—THE FIRST GRAND ASSAULT—ASSAILED AND
ASSAILANTS—DOUBLY ARMED—LIEUT. PRATT AT BATTERY 11—THE “ESSEX”
DRIVEN OFF—LIEUT. ADAMS ELECTED—ARTILLERY PRACTICE—ASSAULT
OF JUNE 14TH—EFFECT OF BUCK AND BALL—BANKS’ INHUMANITY—LEAD
FOR WATER—A GALLANT CORPORAL—BATTERY 11 SILENCED—GALLANT
SCHURMUR’S DEATH—THE SUNKEN BATTERY—MULE AND PEAS—THE
FALL OF VICKSBURG—UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER—GEN. GARDNER’S
SWORD—CASUALTIES OF THE FIRST.
The initiatory steps of the siege of Port Hudson may be reckoned from May
20th, 1863, when Gen. Augur, with his own and Gen. Sherman’s division,
advanced from Baton Rouge. Gen. Banks, who had been campaigning in the
Teche country, embarking his troops at Shreveport, landed at Bayou
Sara, five miles above Port Hudson, on the 21st. His forces consisted
of the divisions of Gens. Grover and Emory, Gen. Weitzel’s brigade of
sappers and miners and two regiments of negro troops. A junction was
effected with Gen. Augur’s command on the 22d, thus closely investing
the position. Gen. Banks then assumed command, his forces consisting
of four divisions, one brigade and two unattached regiments, numbering
from twenty-five to thirty thousand men. To resist this army, Gen. Frank
Gardner had Beale’s brigade, consisting of the First and Twenty-ninth
Mississippi regiments, the Tenth and Fifteenth Arkansas and the
Forty-ninth Alabama; Lieut.-Col. Miles’ Legion; the First Alabama acting
as heavy artillery; DeGournay’s battalion of heavy artillery; a Tennessee
company of heavy artillery; several companies of Mississippi light
artillery, and some dismounted cavalry—all told, about six thousand men.
Col. DeGournay, in an account of the siege, also mentions the Twelfth,
Sixteenth, Eighteenth and Twenty-third Arkansas regiment, First Arkansas
battalion, Ninth Louisiana battalion, a battalion of Texans from Maxey’s
brigade; but he places the number fit for duty at the beginning of the
siege at only five thousand, the Arkansas regiments being skeletons.
On the 21st, Gen. Gardner sent out Col. Miles, with 400 cavalry and a
battery, to reconnoitre in the direction of Plain’s Stores. About four
miles from Port Hudson they encountered Gen. Augur’s advance, and a
severe skirmish of two and a half hours followed. The Confederate loss
was thirty killed and forty wounded. At the same time Col. Powers’
cavalry, 300 strong, had a skirmish on the Bayou Sara road, and, being
cut off, did not return to Port Hudson. When night fell the other
forces were recalled within the fortifications. From Saturday, the 23d,
to Tuesday, the 26th, the enemy were engaged in taking positions, the
close investment being completed on the 24th. The First Alabama, with
the exception of detachments at the guns, went to the front on the 23d,
and were stationed on the northern line, at that time unfortified. Col.
Steadman having been assigned to the command of the left wing of the
garrison, Lieut.-Col. Locke commanded the regiment. Gen. Beale had
command of the centre, and Col. Miles of the right. On the 24th there was
heavy skirmishing, the First Alabama being engaged. The same day an order
was issued for the brass rifle to be taken to a redan near the Jackson
road. Lieut. Frank, with a detachment of the sick and cooks—the only men
of the company in camp—went with the gun and opened fire at long range
upon a battery of the enemy, which was soon silenced. This gun remained
at the Jackson road redan during the entire siege, the gunners suffering
severely, and the gun being several times dismounted. On the 25th the
First Alabama was again heavily engaged skirmishing, keeping back the
enemy, while at the same time hurriedly fortifying, and lost twelve or
fifteen men in killed and wounded. On the 26th the 30-pound Parrott was
sent down to Battery No. 11 with a detachment of Co. K, under command
of Lieut. Pratt, Sergt. Williamson, gunner, and a 24-pounder, rifled,
was transferred from Battery No. 2 to No. 1. Lieut. Tuttle was in charge
of Battery No. 1, and Lieut. Frank remained at the Jackson redan with
the brass gun. Most of the 24-pounders were transferred from the river
batteries to the fortifications, their places being supplied with Quaker
guns. On the 26th there was but little firing, both armies preparing for
the work of the following day.
Early on the morning of the 27th the enemy opened a heavy fire from both
the land batteries and the fleet, and at 6, A. M., the Federal troops
advanced to the assault. The heaviest attack was directed against the
Confederate left, the assaulting column consisting of Grover’s and
Emory’s divisions, Weitzel’s brigade and the two regiments of negro
troops. On the extreme left the negroes, supported by a brigade of
whites, crossed Sandy Creek and assaulted the position held by Col.
Shelby with the Twenty-ninth Mississippi. They advanced at a double-quick
till within about 150 yards of the works, when the 24-pounder in Battery
No. 1, manned by Co. K, and two pieces of light artillery on Col.
Shelby’s line, opened on them; at the same time they were received with
volleys of musketry from the Mississippians. The negroes turned and fled,
without firing a shot. About 250 of them were killed and wounded in front
of the works; but the Federal reports stated that 600 were killed and
wounded. If this were correct, they must have been shot down by the white
brigade in their rear; and, indeed, volleys of musketry were heard in the
direction of their flight. The First Alabama, Lieut.-Col. Locke, and the
Tenth Arkansas, Col, Witt, engaged the enemy outside the entrenchments in
the thick woods, and fought most gallantly; but were compelled, by the
heavy force brought against them, to fall back across Sandy Creek. Col.
Johnson, with the Fifteenth Arkansas, 300 men, occupied and fortified a
hill jutting out from the line, and held it till the close of the siege,
though desperate efforts were made to dislodge them; on the 27th they
repulsed a very heavy assault, the enemy’s dead in front of the position
numbering eighty or ninety. Gen. Beale’s command in the centre, and Col.
Miles’ on the right, were assailed by Augur’s and Sherman’s divisions
about 2, P. M., but the enemy was everywhere repulsed with heavy loss. At
the Jackson road the detachment of Co. K, Lieut. Frank commanding, who
were serving the brass rifle, were, with but one exception, killed or
wounded. While ramming a charge home, Private Henry Smith was mortally
wounded by a sharpshooter; Corp. Fergerson promptly stepped to his place,
and was instantly fatally shot. In the meantime Private Hayes had been
stricken down. Private Sears was busy attending the wounded and Lieut.
Frank and Sergt. Ellis fired the gun themselves several rounds, the
former pointing and the latter loading. While doing this Lieut. Frank
fell, pierced by a Minie ball; by his request, Sergt. Ellis carried him
out of the battery to Gen. Beale’s headquarters, and gave him some water
from the General’s canteen. Sergt. Ellis then asked for more men, and
the General sent his courier to the rear for a detachment, which came
under Lieut. Tuttle’s command. Lieut. Frank and Corp. Fergerson died
that night; Private Smith lingered until July 10th; Private Hayes’ wound
was slight. Near the camp, Private Winslett was instantly killed by a
shell while on his way to Battery No. 11 with the Parrott gun. The final
effort of the day was made about 3, P. M., when the enemy, under cover
of a white flag, made a dash on a portion of our lines, but they were
easily repulsed. All day the fleet kept up an incessant firing upon the
lower batteries, but did no damage. The Confederates had about 5,500
muskets at the breastworks; and had the men been evenly distributed, they
would have been about three feet apart. Fortunately, the nature of the
ground enabled Gen. Gardner to leave long stretches of the works defended
only by pickets; and, as the charges were not simultaneous, troops were
hurried from one point to another where most needed. The fortifications,
as previously stated, consisted of an ordinary field earthwork, over
any portion of which, at the beginning of the siege—it was materially
strengthened during the 48 days at exposed points—a fox hunter could
have leaped. In some places, in fact, as in front of the First Alabama,
there were no breastworks. Against this small force and weak defences
Banks hurled nearly his whole army of 25,000 men, who fought bravely, but
were badly handled. Gen. Banks loss was 293 killed and 1,549 wounded;
the Confederate loss was about 200 killed and wounded. The Confederates
picked up outside the works the following night a considerable number
of Enfield rifles. These guns, with others subsequently captured, were
retained at the works, and ere the close of the siege most of the men
were armed with two guns each—a musket loaded with buck and ball for
use at close quarters, and a rifle for sharp shooting. As the fixed
ammunition for the Enfield’s became exhausted, the men used the powder
from musket cartridges, and for lead picked up Minie balls fired into the
place by the enemy. These Yankee leaden missiles were also used instead
of canister and were so thick on the surface of the ground within our
lines, that it was but the work of a few minutes to pick up enough to
charge a 12-pounder gun.
During the bombardment, on the 27th, a rifle shell from the fleet struck
in Battery No. 5 disabling the 10-inch Columbiad carriage and killing
a private of Co. G, First Alabama. A squad from Co. K worked in that
battery on the nights of the 27th and 28th in dismounting and remounting,
after the repair of the carriage, this 10-inch gun, which was ready for
service again on the 29th. The man who was killed was standing on the
carriage and was literally torn to pieces.
On the 28th there was a cessation of hostilities at the breastworks
for the purpose of burying the dead. Gen. Banks did not deem it worth
while to bury the colored troops who “fought nobly,” and their bodies
lay festering in the sun till the close of the siege, when the colored
regiments gathered the bones of their unfortunate brothers-in-arms and
buried them.
At 7 P. M. the truce ended and the enemy made a furious rush upon the
position held by the First Alabama. The fighting lasted nearly an hour,
but the enemy were gallantly repulsed. The armistice did not embrace the
river batteries and fleet, and the firing from the latter was unusually
heavy. As previously mentioned Lieut. Pratt had received orders to take
the 30-pounder Parrott, with a detachment from Co. K to Battery No. 11.
An old 24-pounder, rifled, manned by a detachment from Col. DeGournay’s
battalion was also ordered to report to him at the same battery. His
orders were to open upon the enemy’s fleet at daylight, but owing to
the darkness of the night and the road being torn up by shells, it was
after sunrise when the guns were got into position. The battery was very
small, having been built for one gun only, and the parapet was but little
over knee-high. About 6 A. M., everything being in readiness, Lieut.
Pratt opened fire with the two guns upon the “Essex” anchored one mile
or more distant. Within ten minutes the little battery was receiving
the concentrated fire of the fleet including the six mortar-boats. The
“Essex,” owing to her position, was the most accurate in her fire; three
shells from her nine-inch guns exploded on the platform of the battery,
and one struck a canteen hanging on the knob of the cascable of the
Parrott. Private Joe Tunnell was slightly wounded by this shell; he was
thrown upon his face and it was supposed he was killed, but he got up
and brushing the dirt from his face exclaimed, “Well, boys they liked
to have got me.” His wound though not serious disabled him, and Lieut.
Pratt, in addition to his own duties as commander, had to assist in
serving the gun. Lieut. Pratt was himself wounded during the action, but
did not leave the battery; he was standing on the parapet watching the
effect of the fire, when a shell exploded in the earth under his feet,
and threw him into the battery, while fragments of the shell struck him
on the hand and hip. Never did men act with more coolness than those at
these guns, nor has artillery often been more ably served. There were
fired from Co. K’s gun 49 shot and shell, and from the other piece 50.
The enemy’s vessels were struck repeatedly; one shell from the Parrott
was seen to enter a port-hole of the “Essex,” after which she closed
her ports and, without firing another shot, retired out of range. The
“Genesee” was also struck, and it was thought partially crippled. In
addition to the casualties in Co. K, one man at the other gun was wounded.
The enemy made no more general assaults upon the works until June 14th,
but in the meantime were approaching by parallels and planting batteries
of heavy siege and naval guns. A steady fire was kept up day and night
both by the fleet and the land batteries. There were about eighty siege
pieces in these latter. An eight-inch howitzer so planted as to enfilade
a portion of the southern line of defences, caused much amusement as well
as annoyance to the Confederates. It was fired with light charges so as
to make the shell ricochet and was, in consequence, christened “Bounding
Bet” by the men, who speedily sought cover whenever they saw a puff of
smoke from it. The deadly missile would go rolling and skipping along
the inside of the line of works, finally exploding; one, that failed to
burst, was opened and found to contain 480 copper balls of less than half
an inch in diameter.
The sharp shooters were constantly engaged, and a man could scarcely show
his head above the breastworks, at the more exposed points, without its
being made a target. On May 31st the Parrott gun in Battery 11 fired a
few rounds at the fleet. Soon after this Co. K was given a 24-pounder
siege gun on the south side of the works named, by the company that
had formerly used it, “Virginia,” and the Parrott was transferred to
DeGournay’s battalion.
On the 3d of June an election was held in Co. K to fill the vacancy
caused by the death of Lieut. Frank. N. K. Adams received 37 votes, W.
L. Ellis 7, scattering 4, and Lieut. Adams was duly commissioned. Hot
weather had now set in, and this, coupled with constant exposure in the
trenches, caused much sickness among the troops; camp fever, diarrhœa,
chills and fever soon reduced the number able to report for duty nearly
one-third, and many of Co. K were among the sick. The company now served
only at the artillery; Lieut. Pratt had charge of the “Virginia,” on
the south side of the fortifications, Lieut. Tuttle had “The Baby,”
brass rifle, at the Jackson Road, Lieut. Adams remained at Battery No.
1, occasionally relieving Lieuts. Pratt and Tuttle. Capt. Whitfield was
placed in command of the Batteries 1, 2, 3 and 5, manned by detachments
from Cos. K, A, G and B, respectively. The detachments of Co. K, at the
“Virginia” and “Baby,” were daily relieved by the men held in reserve
at Battery No. 1. The fire of the enemy’s land batteries was now very
annoying, and the Confederate artillery could not fire a gun without
having the fire of a dozen pieces concentrated upon it. Co. K’s brass gun
was in this way several times silenced, and during the siege had two or
three sets of wheels cut down. Finally the artillerists were compelled to
withdraw their guns from the batteries and only run them in when a charge
was made. In a measure to meet this emergency, the ten-inch Columbiad in
Battery No. 4, on the river, was turned around and brought to bear by
calculation on the batteries giving the most annoyance, and fire opened,
apparently with considerable effect as the enemy’s fire slackened. Quite
a number of eight and nine-inch guns were landed from the fleet, and
placed in positions where they did much damage to the Confederate works.
A battery of seven of these guns were located in front of Gen. Beale’s
centre, one of six guns to the right of the Jackson Road, in front of Co.
K’s brass gun, and one of seven guns in front of Col. Steadman’s command.
From all of these a constant fire was kept up.
A singular phenomenon occurred on the night of June 13th; after a heavy
cannonading an immense wave, at least six feet in height, rushed up the
river, and at the same time Battery No. 6 caved into the river, one gun
being lost. Whether the wave caused the bluff to cave in, or the bluff
caving caused the wave, was a disputed question in camp, the general
opinion, however, was that not a sufficient mass of earth fell to cause
such a disturbance of the river.
About 3 A. M. on the 11th, after a heavy bombardment, the enemy made an
attempt to storm the southeast angle of the works, but were repulsed.
On the morning of the 13th a tremendous bombardment was opened, and a
show of force was made. The firing then ceased and Gen. Banks sent in a
flag of truce, demanding the surrender of the place. He complimented the
garrison and commander in high terms; their courage, he said, amounted
almost to heroism, but it was folly for them to attempt to hold the
place any longer, as it was at his will, and he demanded the surrender
in the name of humanity, to prevent the sacrifice of lives, as it would
be impossible to save the garrison from being put to the sword when the
works should be carried by assault; his artillery was equal to any in
extent and efficiency, and his men outnumbered the garrison five to one.
Gen. Gardner simply replied that his duty required him to defend the post.
Before day on the morning of June 14th the enemy’s land batteries and
the fleet opened fire with unusual rapidity, and about daylight the
assault began. From the northeast angle to the Jackson Road the fighting
was the most severe; the line between these points was defended by the
First Mississippi and Forty-ninth Alabama and three or four pieces of
artillery, including Co. K’s brass rifle at the Jackson Road. Gen. Banks’
plan of attack was as follows: two regiments of sharp shooters were
ordered to advance as skirmishers, these were followed by a regiment with
hand grenades, while another rolled up cotton bales to fill the ditch.
Weitzel’s brigade and two brigades commanded by Cols. Kimball and Morgan,
all under command of Gen. Weitzel, formed the storming party. On the left
of this command was Gen. Emory’s division under command of Gen. Paine.
The Federals advanced, through their parallels, to within three hundred
yards, and then, under cover of the dusk of the early morning and the
smoke of their artillery, formed their line of battle, and advanced to
the assault, in many places approaching to within ten feet of the works.
They were received, however, with so deadly a fire of “buck and ball”
that they were everywhere driven back with heavy loss, or crouched in
the ditch for protection. By mere physical pressure of numbers some got
within the works, in front of the First Mississippi and Forty-ninth
Alabama regiments, but were instantly shot down. Co. K’s brass rifle
did good execution; Lieut. Tuttle was in command and Sergt. Royals was
gunner. In the midst of a terrific shower of rifle balls, it was served
with coolness and deliberation. The enemy’s hand grenade experiment
proved an unfortunate one for the assailants, as very few exploded when
thrown in—they were percussion grenades—but when thrown back by the
Confederates, from the slightly elevated works, into the midst of the
Federals below, they exploded, carrying death to their former owners.
The fight lasted, with great severity, for about two hours, when the
infantry fell back, but a heavy artillery fire was kept up all day.
About one hundred prisoners were captured in the ditch near the Jackson
Road, being unable to retreat. Among the Federal troops, who especially
distinguished themselves here, were the Eighth New Hampshire and
Thirty-eighth Massachusetts regiments. The fighting was very severe in
front of the First Alabama, but the enemy did not get so near the works.
On the right a feint was made, but the enemy did not approach to within
close musketry range. In front of the 24-pounder, “Virginia,” manned by
Co. K, they approached near enough for shrapnel, and Lieut. Pratt sent a
few shell into their ranks, but they soon withdrew. The enemy’s official
report of the losses, was 203 killed, 1,401 wounded, 201 missing, total
1,805. Probably many of those reported missing were killed, as there were
260 Federal dead buried in front of the centre alone, while the number of
prisoners taken was but about 100.
After this repulse, Gen. Banks sent no flag of truce for the purpose of
burying the dead or removing the wounded for three days. On the 17th
Gen. Gardner sent out a flag and requested the Federal commander to bury
his dead; but he replied that there were no dead to bury. Gen. Beale, at
Gen. Gardner’s request, then sent a flag to Gen. Augur, who commanded
in his front, calling his attention to the unburied dead. Gen. Augur
replied that he did not think there were any there, but would grant a
cessation of hostilities to see. Parties of Confederates were detailed to
collect and pass over to the Federals the dead near our lines, and, as
above stated, 260 were thus removed. Among the dead was found a wounded
officer—a Captain—who had been lying exposed to the sun for three days
without water, and was fly blown from head to foot. At the close of the
siege the writer was informed that this man recovered. During the three
days many wounded must have perished on the field, as they could be heard
crying piteously for help. A Confederate, more tender-hearted than Banks,
was shot by the enemy while carrying a canteen of water to a wounded
Federal who lay near the works. In front of Col. Steadman’s position the
dead were not buried, and their bodies could seen from the breastworks,
at the time of the surrender, twenty-five days after the fight.
On June 15th Co. K removed a 42-pounder, smooth-bore, barbette carriage,
from Battery 2 or 3 to Battery No. 1, to replace the 24-pounder siege
piece which had been sent to the land defences.
During the remainder of the month, there was an incessant fire of sharp
shooters and artillery. To the left of the Jackson Road, the enemy built
up a tower of casks filled with earth, two or three tiers in height, from
which their sharpshooters were able to over look the Confederate works,
and keep up an annoying fire. It was not more than 60 yards from our
lines, but the two or three pieces of artillery which could be brought
to bear on it, were commanded by a score of the enemy’s heavy guns, and
could not be used to batter it down. At other portions of the line the
enemy rolled bales of cotton to within close range, and surmounted them
with sand-bags, arranged with narrow loop-holes, for the sharpshooters.
On the 25th, Corp. L. H. Skelton, of Co. F, First Mississippi regiment,
crawled out and placed port-fires in the bales of cotton and fired them;
the first attempt failing, he went out a second time and succeeded in
burning a number of bales. On the night of the 26th, 30 men made a
sortie near the southeast angle, spiked the guns of one of the enemy’s
batteries, and captured seven prisoners.
Co. K began about the last of June to make an excavation, partially
behind the Jackson Road redoubt, in which to place their brass rifle,
with a view of battering down the sharp shooters’ tower. It was intended
to be so constructed as to be protected from the enemy’s artillery, but
as the work could only be done at night, it was not completed in time to
be of essential service. J. McCarty was killed at the brass gun, on June
23d, by a fragment of a shell. This was the last casualty in the company
during the siege.
While these events were in progress in the centre, the enemy had been
busy, on the extreme right, preparing to assault Battery No. 11, which
was the key to the Confederate works. They erected a battery containing
17 eight and nine-inch smooth bore guns and 20-pounder Parrotts, on the
opposite side of the ravine and distant only 150 yards. On the opposite
bank of the river, Parrott guns, manned by United States Regulars, were
planted. Lieut. Schurmer, of DeGournay’s battalion, was in command of
Battery 11, and its defense could have been entrusted to no more gallant
gentleman. Gen. D. H. Hill, in a letter to the writer, said, “I knew
Schurmer well at Yorktown,” and in a subsequent number of his magazine
related the following incident connected with the siege of that place,
where Schurmer was under his command: Schurmer was in charge of a
42-pounder, and especially distinguished himself by the accuracy of his
fire. It was regarded as remarkable, even in the Federal army, and one of
the French princes, on McClellan’s staff, made mention of it in a report
of the operations at Yorktown. When Yorktown was evacuated he remained
in Fort Magruder firing the 42-pounder all night, thus contributing
essentially to the deception of the enemy. He attempted to escape the
next morning on foot, but, exhausted, fell asleep by the wayside and was
captured.
In Battery No. 11 was the 30-pounder Parrott formerly in Battery No.
1. On Friday morning, June 26th, the fleet and land batteries opened a
terrific fire on the earthwork, and in a few minutes Co. K’s old gun
was forever silenced. One shell exploded in the muzzle, breaking off
about a foot of it, while the carriage was struck by five or six shots
and cut down. Three times during the day the Confederate flag was shot
away, falling outside the works, and each time Schurmer, regardless of
the storm of shot and shell, replaced it. Without intermission by day or
night, the enemy kept up this fire until the 30th, and under cover of
it advanced their parallels down through the ravine to within fifteen
feet of the battery. Gallant Schurmer never relaxed his heroic devotion
to duty, and on the 29th fell dead at his post. The next day while the
Confederates were rolling ten-inch shells over the parapet into the
enemy’s ditches, a storming party of some two hundred men made a rush
for the battery. Its squad of defenders were hastily reinforced and the
assailants were driven out, leaving sixteen dead inside our lines. On
July 4th the Federal sappers were driven out of their ditches by hand
grenades, but they claimed, after the surrender, that they had mined
Battery 11 and had 3,000 pounds of powder under it ready to explode had
the siege been further prolonged. The enemy’s batteries, on the west bank
of the river, occasionally opened but were always silenced by Batteries
3, 4 and 5. On the centre of the south side the enemy kept quiet, and the
detachment of Co. K, at the 24-pounder, had but little to do. A few shots
were fired on the 2d of July.
At the northeast angle the enemy, during the latter part of June and the
first of July, were very busy mining, but the Confederates were no less
industrious. An inner line of works extending across the angle was thrown
up, the enemy’s mine was countermined, and on the 4th blown up. The
enemy’s sappers were also constantly annoyed by rolling ten-inch shells
into their ditches. On July 4th the enemy fired salutes from all their
batteries with shotted guns, making it a warm day within our lines.
On the night of the 6th, Co. K completed the sunken redoubt for the brass
rifle, and on the following morning opened fire on the sharpshooters’
castle; but the embrasure was incorrectly laid off, and the gun could
not be brought to bear on the tower without firing so close to the side
of the embrasure as to cause the earth to cave in; so that, after firing
three shots, the gun could no longer be brought to bear on the mark.
Owing to the fire of the sharpshooters, nothing could be done to correct
the mistake till night. The necessary changes in the earthwork were made
that night, and on the morning of the 8th the detachment was at the gun
ready to open fire, when the flag of truce was raised.
The condition of the garrison was now such as to limit further resistance
to a few days. Early in June the enemy’s shells had fired the commissary
building and mill, destroying several thousand bushels of grain and the
chief means of grinding what was left. Fortunately, the only locomotive
of the Clinton and Port Hudson Railroad was at Port Hudson. This was
blocked up, and furnished power to drive a portable mill. The corn, with
the exception of two or three days’ rations, held in reserve for an
emergency, failed the last of June, and the supply of meat failed about
the same time. There still remained a considerable stock of field peas
and mules. When the men of the First Alabama were asked if they would
eat mule, they replied, “Yes; give us dog if necessary.” The same spirit
animated the whole garrison. Mules were slaughtered, and the meat issued
on the 29th or 30th of June; the peas were issued whole and also ground
into meal. Those sick in camp and hospital were fed by their comrades
upon rats, daintily served up as squirrels. In the pea diet there were
some drawbacks; the peas were stored in bulk on the floor of the church,
and the concussion of the bombardment had broken in every pane of glass
in the building. This, in comminuted form, was mingled with the peas; and
it was no unusual incident to be made painfully aware of its presence
in masticating the peas. There were some among the garrison who could
not stomach the mule, and, to satisfy these, an unexpected discovery
was made of sixty barrels of corn beef. Some wonder was expressed as to
this windfall, but it was accepted, eaten in good faith and pronounced
excellent. It was not until after the surrender that those who ate it
knew that it was carefully corned mule.
The ammunition, although it had been economized, was so nearly fired away
that another general assault would have exhausted the supply. Nearly
every cannon on the land fortifications had been disabled, and in the
river batteries there remained but nine or ten fit for use.
On the first day of the siege there were 5,500 men at the breastworks;
some 600 had been killed and wounded; many had died of disease, and at
least 2,000 were suffering from camp-fever and diarrhœa, many of them
being unable, under any emergency, to fire a musket.
This was the situation when, on the 7th of July, salutes from the enemy’s
batteries and fleet, and continued cheering all along their lines,
announced some great event. The lines were so close that the garrison
was not long kept in ignorance that Vicksburg had fallen. That night
Gen. Gardner summoned a council of war, consisting of Gen. Beale, Cols.
Steadman, Miles, Lyle and Shelby, and Lieut.-Col. Marshal J. Smith. They
decided unanimously that it was impossible to hold out longer, inasmuch
as the provisions were nearly exhausted; of ammunition there remained but
twenty rounds per man, with a small supply for the artillery; and a large
proportion of the garrison were sick or, from exhaustion, unfit for duty.
A communication was at once sent to Gen. Banks, stating what had been
heard in regard to the fall of Vicksburg, asking for official information
and notifying him that, if the report was true, Gen. Gardner was ready
to negotiate for terms of surrender. Gen. Banks’ reply, enclosing a
despatch from Gen. Grant, announcing the fall of Vicksburg, was received
before day. Gen. Gardner at once appointed Cols. Miles and Steadman
and Lieut.-Col. Smith commissioners to arrange terms of surrender. To
represent the Federals, Gen Banks appointed Brig.-Gen. Chas. P. Stone,
Brig.-Gen. Wm. Dwight and Col. Henry M. Birge. The following terms were
drawn up and signed:—
_Article I._—Maj.-Gen. Frank Gardner surrenders to the United States
forces, under Maj.-Gen. Banks, the place of Port Hudson and its
dependencies, with its garrison, armaments, munitions, public funds and
materials of war, in the condition, as nearly as may be, in which they
were at the hour of the cessation of hostilities, namely, 6 o’clock, A.
M., July 8, 1863.
_Article II._—The surrender stipulated in Article I is qualified by no
condition save that the officers and enlisted men comprising the garrison
shall receive the treatment due to prisoners of war according to the
usages of civilized warfare.
_Article III._—All private property of officers and enlisted men shall be
respected, and left to the respective owners.
_Article IV._—The position of Port Hudson shall be occupied to-morrow at
7 o’clock, A. M., by the forces of the United States, and its garrison
received as prisoners of war by such general officers of the United
States service as may be designated by Gen. Banks with the ordinary
formalities of rendition. The Confederate troops will be drawn up in
line, officers in their positions, the right of the line resting on the
edges of the prairie south of the railroad depot, the left extending in
the direction of the village of Port Hudson. The arms and colors will be
conveniently piled, and will be received by the officers of the United
States.
_Article V._—The sick and wounded of the garrison will be cared for by
the authorities of the United States, assisted, if desired by either
party, by the medical officers of the garrison.
CHAS. P. STONE, _Brig.-Gen. U. S. A._
W. N. MILES, _Col. Com. Right Wing, C. S. A._
WM. DWIGHT, _Brig.-Gen., U. S. A._
I. G. W. STEADMAN, _Col. Com. Left Wing, C. S. A._
MARSHAL J. SMITH, _Lt.-Col. & Chief of Art., C. S. A._
HENRY W. BIRGE, _Col. Com. 5th Brig., Grovers Div., U. S. A._
Approved,
N. P. BANKS, _Maj.-Gen._
Approved,
FRANK GARDNER, _Maj.-Gen._
On the morning of the 9th, the garrison was formed in line and two
officers were sent, by Gen. Gardner, to conduct in the Federal officer
deputed to receive the surrender. This was Gen. Andrews, who entered the
lines on the Clinton Road shortly after 7 o’clock. Gen. Gardner met him
at the right of the line and delivered up his sword, saying, “General, I
will now formally surrender my command to you, and for that purpose will
give the command “Ground arms.” Gen. Andrews replied, that he received
Gen. Gardner’s sword, but returned it to him for having maintained his
defence so gallantly. Meanwhile the Federal infantry moved in, and the
wings resting on the river cut off any attempt to escape. A few officers
and men, including Maj. Knox, of the First Alabama, concealed themselves
near the outer lines, prior to the surrender, and the following night
made their escape. There were, all told, 6,233 prisoners surrendered,
but this included many non-effectives, such as teamsters, commissary,
quartermaster and ordnance employees. At no time were there more than
5,500 muskets at the works. There were also surrendered 5,000 stand of
firearms and 51 pieces of artillery, the latter including a number of
small cast-iron guns, not mounted, and a number of disabled guns. The
small number of muskets surrendered is accounted for by the fact that
many of the soldiers threw their guns into the river or broke them.
The casualties in the First Alabama regiment during the siege were as
follows:
Co. A, Killed, 3, Wounded, 17, Died of disease, 4
” B, ” 5, ” 4, ” 1
” C, ” 3, ” 9, ” 1
” D, ” 6, ” 7, ” 2
” E, ” 4, ” 6, ” 2
” F, ” 12, ” 6, ”
” G, ” 5, ” 9, ” 1
” H, ” 4, ” 6, ” 1
” I, ” 2, ” ”
” K, ” 4, ” [*]6, ” 4
-- -- --
Total, 48 70 16
Co. K’s casualties were as follows: Lieut. Frank, Corp. Fergerson and
Private Winslett killed May 27th; Private McCarty, killed June 23;
Private Henry Smith, mortally wounded, May 27th, died July 10th; Lieut.
Pratt and Private Josiah Tunnell, wounded May 28th; Private Clark,
wounded May 10th, at Troth’s Landing; Private Hayes, wounded May 27th
and Sergt. Williamson, wounded during the siege. Private Boon, died
June 29th, of disease, Private Scott, July 3d, Private Mills, July 5th,
Private Holston, July 6th.
During the siege two or three private families remained in the town, but
suffered no casualties excepting one accidental; a boy having found an
unexploded shell was playing with it when it burst, seriously wounding
himself and mother.
[*] One mortally.