The 24th April.--Passage of the United States Fleet.--After the
Storm.--The "River Defence" boats.--The Refuge in the
Bayou.--Surrender of the Forts.--Extracts from Commodore Mitchell's
official reports.--Council of War.--Destruction of the
"Louisiana."--Our Commander General B. F. Butler.--Transferred to
the United States frigate "Colorado."
On the night of April 23d, the bursting of the shells was as incessant
as usual. Toward daylight of the 24th, an ominous calm of brief duration
was broken by the first broadside of the advancing fleet, which had
approached so rapidly as to remove and pass the obstructions
undiscovered, and before the launch on picket duty could get back to our
fleet. For a few minutes the roar of the guns was deafening; but objects
were so obscured by the darkness and the dense smoke, that we could only
fire, with effect, at the flashes of the ship's guns. The Louisiana's
three bow guns (one rifled seven-inch and two seven-inch shell guns) and
her three starboard broadside guns (a rifled six-inch and two eight-inch
shell guns) were all that could be brought to bear during the
engagement; for being moored to the river bank, the stern and port
broadside guns were useless. The U. S. fleet came up in two divisions,
delivering their broadsides in rapid succession. One of the ships was
set on fire by one of the fireboats (a number of which had been
prepared) but the flames were speedily extinguished. It is said that the
unarmed tug Mozier, under her heroic commander, Sherman, while towing a
fireboat alongside a heavy ship, was sunk by a broadside delivered at
short range, all on board perishing. One of the largest ships, believed
to be the Hartford, came in contact with our stern, and received the
fire of our three bow guns while in this position, returning a
broadside, but she soon swung clear of us and continued on her way up
the river.
When day fairly broke, the storm had passed away, leaving wreck and ruin
in its wake. The river banks were dotted, here and there, with burning
steamers, and a large portion of the U. S. fleet had succeeded in
getting beyond the forts. A few vessels of the attacking force had
failed to pass the obstructions before daylight, and were driven back by
the guns from the forts. The Louisiana and the McRae were the only
vessels left to the Confederates; but the former was almost intact, her
armor proving a sufficient defence against the broadsides, even when
delivered at close range. The eight-inch shells of the Hartford buried
themselves about half their diameter in our armor, and crumbled into
fragments. All of our casualties occurred on the spar deck; our gallant
commander being mortally wounded there; and many of the mechanics, who
were quartered on board the tenders alongside of us, were killed or
wounded. The McRae and the Manassas were in the stream in time to take
an active part in the conflict; the former being considerably cut up.
The Manassas struck two vessels with her prow, but did not succeed in
sinking either. Having followed the fleet some distance up the river,
and being hard pressed and seriously damaged, she was run ashore and
abandoned. She shortly afterwards floated off and drifting down the
river, sank between the forts. The Louisiana State gunboat "Governor
Moore" made a gallant fight, sinking the U. S. gunboat "Verona."
Kennon, in his official report, states his loss at fifty-seven killed
and thirteen wounded out of a crew of ninety-three. He ran his vessel
ashore when she was in a sinking condition, and set fire to her with
his own hand. The "River Defence" gunboats, with the exception of the
"Resolute," were either destroyed by fire of the enemy's fleet, or by
their own crews. The "Resolute" was discovered ashore, after the action,
about a mile above Fort Jackson and abandoned by her crew. Lieut. Alden,
with a party from the "McRae," took possession of her, and endeavored to
get her afloat as she was very little injured, but being attacked by one
of the gunboats from above, which succeeded in putting several shots
through her hull at the water line, Alden was compelled to abandon her
after setting her on fire. Among the mortally wounded on board the
"McRae" was her commander T. B. Huger. The "Defiance," one of the "River
Defence" gunboats, escaped without material injury. She was turned over
to the command of Commodore Mitchell by Captain Stevenson on the 26th,
without any of her officers and crew, who refused to remain in her, and
went ashore.[4]
After landing the wounded, we continued the work upon the machinery of
the Louisiana, buoyed up by the hope of soon being able to retrieve our
disasters. Our number was increased by officers and men who had escaped
from some of the abandoned vessels. Many of them, to obtain shelter
from the shells and canister shot of the Federal fleet, had taken refuge
in the "bayous" which lie not far from the river in many places; and
they looked like half drowned rats as they came on board the Louisiana.
One of the officers gave a ludicrous account of a poor girl, who had
fled from her home on the river bank as the fleet was passing, with no
clothing except her night dress, and no earthly possession but a lap-dog
which she held in her clasped arms. She had sought the same place of
refuge and as the shells and shot would whistle over her head she would
dive like a duck under the water; and every time she rose above the
surface, the lap-dog would sneeze and whimper a protest against the
frequent submersions. The officer at last persuaded her to let him take
charge of her draggled pet; and finally had the pleasure of seeing her
safe back to her home before leaving her.
During the night of the 27th after unremitting labor, our machinery was
at last completed, and we prepared to make the attempt to go up the
river in pursuit of the fleet. Commodore Mitchell notified General
Duncan of his purpose, and the latter seemed sanguine of a successful
issue, assuring the Commodore of his ability to hold the forts for
weeks. Orders were issued on board the Louisiana for the crew to have an
early breakfast, and every thing to be in readiness to cast off from the
river bank a little after sunrise. The situation justified the hopes
entertained by us of at least partially retrieving our fortunes, when,
shortly after daylight, an officer came across the river to us from Fort
Jackson, with General Duncan's compliments, and to say that General D.
was about to surrender the forts to Commodore Porter.[5] In nautical
parlance, we were "struck flat aback" by this astounding intelligence.
With the forts as a base of operations, we might repeat the effort, if
the first were unsuccessful; and would be able to repair damages, if
necessary, under shelter of their guns; but with their surrender we were
helpless. The capture of the Louisiana would then become, indeed, a mere
question of time, without the firing of a gun; for we would have been
unable to replenish our supplies either of provisions or coal when
exhausted. The most sanguine spirits on board, in the light of their
experience of the motive power of the Louisiana, did not believe that we
could accomplish more than the control of that portion of the river
within the range of our guns; nor that the vessel could ever do much
more than stem the rapid current of the Mississippi. The surrender of
New Orleans was, indeed, inevitable; but even that catastrophe would not
involve complete possession of the river by the enemy while we held the
forts near its mouth. The gigantic efforts afterwards made by the
Federal forces for the capture of Vicksburg showed the vital importance
attached by the United States Government to the possession of the
fortified positions on the Mississippi, while the equally desperate
exertions made by the Confederacy to hold it, demonstrated our
consciousness of its value to us.
Commodore Mitchell ordered his boat and proceeded with all haste to
remonstrate with General Duncan; but all was unavailing; the General
informing the Commodore that he had already dispatched a boat to the
United States fleet, offering to surrender his command under certain
conditions; disclaiming, in the offer, all control over the forces
afloat. The Commodore's boat had scarcely got back to the Louisiana,
when the quartermaster on duty reported one of the ships of the fleet
below steaming up the river towards us, with a white flag flying at the
mast-head. General Duncan, it is said, stated to the citizens of New
Orleans a few days afterward, that a large number of his guns had been
spiked by the mutineers of the garrison; and that he had no alternative
but to surrender.
A hasty council of war was held on board the Louisiana, during which it
was decided to transfer the officers and crew to our two tenders and to
burn the ship. This was speedily carried into effect, and the two
transports steamed across the river as the flames burst through the
Louisiana's hatchway.[6] Those who wished to make the attempt to escape
through the bayous, received permission to do so; and a few of the
number, familiar with the locality, succeeded in evading the Federal
pickets, and getting within the Confederate lines. The rest of us were
entrapped; passing several hours of very unpleasant suspense, while the
forts were being surrendered. It was a grand spectacle when the flames
reached the Louisiana's magazine. The hawsers, securing her to the
river-bank, having been burnt in two, she floated out into the stream a
few minutes before the explosion; and at the moment of its occurrence, a
column of pure white smoke shot rapidly high into the air from the
blazing hull, wreathing itself at the top into the shape of a snow-white
"cumulus" cloud; and in a few seconds afterwards, huge fragments of the
wreck showered down, far and wide, upon the river and the adjacent
shore. The Louisiana had disappeared before the deafening report
attending the catastrophe reached our ears.
Immediately after the United States flag was hoisted upon the forts, the
steamer "Harriet Lane" steamed slowly toward us, and sent a shot over
our heads as a summons to haul down the Confederate flag which was then
flying at our peak. The demand was promptly complied with, and we were
prisoners of war.
Upon the pretext that we had violated the usages of war by burning the
Louisiana while a flag of truce was flying, we were for a time subjected
to unusual humiliations; learning afterwards, indeed, that Commodore
Porter had recommended to the Secretary of the Navy a continuance of
harsh treatment toward us upon our arrival at Fort Warren, where we were
destined. The reply to the charge brought against us is obvious, viz.,
we were no parties to the flag of truce; nor were we included in the
terms of the surrender; General Duncan treating only for the garrisons
under his command, and expressly disclaiming any connection with us.
We were kept for a few days in close confinement on board the United
States gunboat "Clifton,"[7] and were transferred from her on the 7th of
May to the frigate Colorado, lying off the mouth of the Mississippi.
Here we found Kennon, who had been consigned to a "lower deep" than
ourselves. He was placed under a sentry's charge behind a canvas screen
on the opposite side of the gun deck from us; and strict orders were
given that no one should hold any communication with him. The charge
against him was, that he had caused the death of some of his wounded
crew by setting fire to his ship before their removal, a charge denied
by him; but even if it were true, or admitted, that some of his crew
were unable to escape, he was only responsible to his own government. In
a few days, however, he was released from solitary confinement, and many
restrictions were removed from all of us. But humiliations or physical
discomforts weighed as a feather upon our spirits compared with our
reflections upon the consequences of the disaster which we had
witnessed; and our consciousness that this sad fate had been brought
upon the country chiefly by treachery and want of concert. And, indeed,
the extent of the disaster could scarcely be exaggerated. It gave the
United States Government possession of the State of Louisiana, the
almost complete control of the Mississippi river, and separated Texas
and Arkansas from the rest of the Confederacy for the remainder of the
war.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report dated August 19th,
1862. "The following is believed to be a correct list of the vessels
that passed up by Forts Jackson and St. Philip during the engagement of
the 24th April; mounting in the aggregate one hundred and eighty-four
guns, viz.,
Hartford steamer, 28 guns 1st class sloop.
Richmond, " 28 " "
Brooklyn, " 28 " "
Pensacola, " 28 " "
Mississippi, " 21 " "
Iroquois, " 10 " 2d class sloop.
Oneida, " 10 " "
Verona, " 11 " "
Cayuga, " 5 " "
Penola, " 5 " "
Wissahickon, " 5 " "
Winona, " 5 " "
How any controversy could arise as to which branch of the U. S. Service
deserves the credit of the capture of New Orleans is a matter of wonder
to those who were present at the time. The following article from the
Richmond Enquirer of September 10th, 1875, written by an eye-witness of
many of the scenes in the city which he describes, would seem
conclusively to establish the fact that the navy alone achieved the
capture.
"The question has again been raised as to whether the army or the navy
is entitled to the credit of having captured New Orleans from the
Confederates in April or May, 1862. It has been a mooted point in
history ever since the event happened, and its discussion has caused no
little angry feeling between the two branches of the service. Ben
Butler, of course, laid claim to the honors of the capture, and
proclaimed himself "the hero" of New Orleans, completely overshadowing
Farragut and his fleet, and the lying histories of the day, written in
the Radical interest on the other side of the line, have perpetuated the
fraud. No citizen of New Orleans who personally knows anything of the
circumstances of the fall of the city into the hands of the Federals has
ever had any doubts as to who was or is entitled to the credit; but the
persistent efforts of Butler and his friends to claim the lion's share
in that exploit, have at last called out the Hon. Gideon Welles,
Secretary of the Navy in Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet, as the champion of
Admiral Farragut and his gallant tars. In the course of an article in
the Hartford _Times_, Mr. Welles shows that "In January, 1862, the plan
for the reduction of the forts below New Orleans and the capture of the
city was fully matured in the Navy Department, Farragut receiving orders
in detail for the work on the 20th of that month; that the memorable
passage of the forts was made, and the surly submission of the Mayor of
New Orleans received by Farragut on the 26th of April, formal possession
being immediately taken and the United States flag displayed on the
public buildings; that the army was not only absent alike from the plan
and the execution of this great movement, but did not appear until May
1, when General Butler's troops arrived, and on the day following
entered upon the occupation of the city captured by Farragut."
Quite correct, Mr. ex-Secretary. Farragut passed the forts as stated,
with the Hartford and one or two other vessels, destroyed the ram
Manassas, and the other Confederate vessels of war, after a most
desperate battle, in which at least one of his best ships was sunk, and
then made his way in his flag-ship unmolested up the river. He arrived
alone in front of New Orleans on the 26th of April, and at noon brought
his guns to bear on the city at the head of Girod street. He immediately
dispatched Lieutenant Bailey with a flag of truce to the authorities
demanding the surrender, and giving them thirty-six hours in which to
reply,--at the expiration of which time he should open fire and bombard
the place, if an answer favorable to his demand were not received. The
city at this time had been partially evacuated by General Lovell and his
troops, and all authority had been surrendered by the military to the
mayor. The terms submitted by Farragut were discussed for fully
twenty-four hours by the Council, assembled at the Mayor's office, and
all this time the city was in the hands of a wild, reckless and excited
mob of citizens, while people everywhere were flying or preparing for
flight, many even in such haste as to leave their houses open and
valuables exposed to the depredations of servants or the mob. Perhaps no
more fearful scene of confusion was ever witnessed outside of Paris when
in the throes of a periodic revolution. It was a novelty then for an
American city to be captured or to fall into the hands of an enemy, and
the people had some very queer notions about defending it to the last,
and fighting the enemy with all sorts of weapons amid its ruins. It was
with the utmost difficulty the police could protect Bailey and his
middies with their flag of truce. But on the following day, and before
the time of grace expired, the Council determined that as they had no
means of defence against the enemy's ships, which held the city at the
mercy of their guns, it was best to enter into negotiations for the
surrender. Farragut then demanded that as a sign of submission the
Confederate flag should be hauled down from all points where displayed
in the city and replaced by the stars and stripes, and in the meantime
he would send a battery with his sailors and marines ashore to maintain
order. But no one was found in the city to take the Confederate flags
down, and hoist the starry banner in their place; so a battery of ships'
guns was landed and hauled through the streets till it reached the City
Hall, and there it was placed in position to cover every point of
approach. A young middy, apparently about fifteen years of age, then
made his appearance at the entrance of the City Hall, bearing a United
States flag. He was admitted without opposition, and was shown the way
to the top of the building. The lad ascended to the roof, and in full
view of an assembled multitude of thousands in the streets and on the
housetops, deliberately undid the halyards and hauled down the
Confederate, or rather Louisiana State flag; then replacing it with the
one he carried, hoisted it to the peak of the staff in its place, and
the capture of New Orleans by the navy was complete. Many who witnessed
the act of this daring boy trembled for his life, as a rifle shot from
any of the houses surrounding, or even from the street, would have
proved fatal and put an end to his young life at any moment. So excited
was the crowd in the street, when the middy came down, and so fierce the
thirst for vengeance upon any object that might present itself, that it
was found necessary to hurry him into a close carriage and drive with
all speed through back streets, to keep clear of the pressing mob, who,
in the blindness of their passion, would perhaps have sacrificed the
youngster, had they caught him, to appease their rage.
After this the city began to quiet down. The foreign residents formed
themselves into a police and took charge of the streets; and had
succeeded pretty well in restoring order, when, on the 2d of May, Butler
landed at the levee from his transports, and marched to the St. Charles,
where he established his headquarters and took formal possession of the
city. Still he found it no easy matter to subdue the spirit of a people
who did not hesitate to jeer at his soldiers or jostle them from the
sidewalks as they marched through the streets. But he soon enough became
master of the situation, and made the most for himself out of what
Farragut had so readily placed in his hands. The navy was certainly
entitled to all the credit of the capture; one ship in front of the city
with open ports was enough, it did what the entire army of Butler, had
it been ten times as numerous, could never have accomplished. New
Orleans never would have been taken by the army alone; but the guns of a
sloop-of-war in front of an open city are conclusive and irresistible
arguments. If it was heroism to capture that city the Confederacy will
always be as free to admit that Farragut was the hero of New Orleans, as
that Butler was the tyrant, robber, and oppressor of its conquered
people.
[5] Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report, dated Aug. 19th,
1862.
"During the night of Sunday the 27th we had so far succeeded in
operating the propellers that we expected early the next day to make a
fair trial of them in connection with the paddle wheels, when at
daylight an officer sent by Gen. Duncan came on board to inform us that
many of the garrison at Fort Jackson had deserted during the night; that
serious disturbances had occurred; and that the disaffection of the men
was believed to be general on account of what appeared to them to have
become the desperate character of the "defence," etc."
[6] Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report:
"I at once returned on board and called a council of war composed of
Lieutenants Wilkinson, (commanding) W. H. Ward, A. F. Warley, Wm. C.
Whittle, Jr., R. J. Bowen, Arnold, F. M. Harris, and George N. Shryock,
by whom--in consequence of the enemy's having the entire command of the
river above and below us, with an overwhelming force, and who was in the
act of obtaining quiet and undisturbed possession of Forts Jackson and
St. Philip, with all their material defences intact, with ordnance,
military stores and provisions, thus cutting the Louisiana off from all
succor or support; and her having on board not more than ten days'
provisions, her surrender would be rendered certain in a brief period by
the simple method of blockade; and that, in the condition of her motive
power and defective steering apparatus, and the immediate danger of
attack, she was very liable to capture--it was unanimously recommended
that the Louisiana be destroyed, forthwith, to prevent her falling into
the hands of the enemy, while it remained in our power to prevent it;
first retiring to our tenders."
[7] The first and only time that I ever saw the notorious General B. F.
Butler, who subsequently claimed for himself and the troops under his
command, the honor of capturing New Orleans, was on board the "Clifton."
He took passage in her to the city. No one who has ever looked upon that
unique countenance can ever forget it; and as his glance rested for a
moment upon us, each one conceived himself to be the special object of
the General's regard; for owing to his peculiar visual organs, that
distinguished individual seems to possess the Argus like faculty of
looking steadily at several persons at one and the same time. With the
pride that apes humility, or perhaps with the eccentricity of genius, he
affected, upon the occasion, a rough costume; wearing a slouch hat, and
having his trowsers tucked inside of his soiled boots; and he carried in
his hand a long stick like a pilgrim's staff. He _preceded_ his troops
to the city, however, and might therefore, with equal propriety and
regard for truth, claim the _sole_ glory of its capture.