DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION:

Personal Experiences of the Late War. 

by

RICHARD TAYLOR, Lieutenant-General in the Confederate Army. 

New York:D. Appleton and Company, 549 and 551 Broadway. 1879. 

Copyright byD. Appleton and Company, 1879. 

PREFACE. 

These reminiscences of Secession, War, and Reconstruction it has seemedto me a duty to record. An actor therein, accident of fortune affordedme exceptional advantages for an interior view. 

The opinions expressed are sincerely entertained, but of theircorrectness such readers as I may find must judge. I have in most casesbeen a witness to the facts alleged, or have obtained them from the bestsources. Where statements are made upon less authority, I have carefullyendeavored to indicate it by the language employed. 

R. TAYLOR. 

_December, 1877. _

CONTENTS. 

 PAGE

PREFACE 3

CHAPTER I. 

SECESSION. 9

Causes of the Civil War--The Charleston Convention--Conventionof Louisiana--Temper of the People. 

CHAPTER II. 

FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR. 15

Blindness of the Confederate Government--General Bragg occupiesPensacola--Battle of Manassas--Its Effects on the North and theSouth--"Initiative" and "Defensive" in War. 

CHAPTER III. 

AFTER MANASSAS. 22

General W. H. T. Walker--The Louisiana Brigade--The "Tigers"--MajorWheat--General Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis--AlexanderH. Stephens. 

CHAPTER IV. 

OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 31

McClellan as an Organizer--The James River Route toRichmond--Army of Northern Virginia moved to Orange CourtHouse--Straggling--General Ewell--Bugeaud's "Maxims"--Uselessnessof Tents--Counsels to Young Officers. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN. 42

The Army moved to Gordonsville--Joseph E. Johnston as aCommander--Valley of Virginia--Stonewall Jackson--BelleBoyd--Federals routed at Front Royal--Cuirassiers strapped to theirHorses--Battle of Winchester--A "Walk Over" at Strasburg--GeneralAshby--Battle of Port Republic. 

CHAPTER VI. 

"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND. " 83

Clever Strategy--The Valley Army summoned to the Defense ofRichmond--Battles of Cold Harbor, Frazier's Farm, MalvernHill--Ignorance of the Topography--McClellan as a Commander--GeneralR. E. Lee--His magnificent Strategy--His Mistakes. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA. 99

General Bragg--Invasion of Kentucky--Western Louisiana--ItsTopography and River Systems--The Attakapas, Home of theAcadians--The Creole Population. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 111

Federal Post at Bayou Des Allemands Surprised--Marauding bythe Federals--Salt Mines at Petit Anse--General Pemberton--MajorBrent Chief of Artillery--Federal Operations on the Lafourche--GunboatCotton--General Weitzel Advances up the Teche--Capture of FederalGunboats--General Kirby Smith. 

CHAPTER IX. 

ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTUREOF BERWICK'S BAY. 129

Federal Advance against Bisland--Retreat of theConfederates--Banks's Dispatches--Relief of Vicksburgimpracticable--Capture of Federal Post at Berwick's Bay--Attackon Fort Butler--Fall of Vicksburg and of Port Hudson. 

CHAPTER X. 

MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER--CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS. 148

The Confederate Losses at Vicksburg and Port Hudson--Federalsbeaten at Bayou Bourbeau--Trans-Mississippi Department, its Bureauxand Staff--A Federal Fleet and Army ascend Red River--Battle ofPleasant Hill--Success of the Confederates--Perilous Situationof Banks's Army and the Fleet. 

CHAPTER XI. 

ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER. 176

The Fleet descends Red River to Grand Ecore--Banks concentrateshis Army there--Taylor's Force weakened by General KirbySmith--Confederates harass Rear of Federal Column--The Federalscross the River at Monette's Ferry and reach Alexandria--Retreatof the Fleet harassed--It passes over the Falls at Alexandria. 

CHAPTER XII. 

EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 196

The Mississippi controlled by the Federals--Taylor assignedto the Command of Alabama, Mississippi, etc. --Forrest'sOperations--General Sherman in Georgia--Desperate Situationof Hood--Remnant of his Army sent to North Carolina. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR--SURRENDER. 221

Fall of Mobile--Last Engagement of the War--Johnston-ShermanConvention--Taylor surrenders to General Canby--Last Hours of the"Trans-Mississippi Department. "

CHAPTER XIV. 

CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS. 230

Gettysburg--Shiloh--Albert Sidney Johnston--Lack ofStatesmanship in the Confederacy--"King Cotton"--Carpet-Baggers. 

CHAPTER XV. 

RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON. 239

Interceding for Prisoners--Debauchery and Corruption inWashington--General Grant--Andrew Johnson--Stevens, WinterDavis, Sumner--Setting up and pulling down State Governments--The"Ku-Klux"--Philadelphia Convention. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT. 256

Demoralization at the North--a Corrupt Vice-President--aHypocritical Banker--a Great Preacher profiting by his ownEvil Reputation--Knaves made Plenipotentiaries--A SpuriousLegislature installed in the Louisiana State House--GeneralSheridan in New Orleans--An American Alberoni--PresidentialElection of 1876--Congress over-awed by a Display of MilitaryForce. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

CONCLUSION. 268

The Financial Crisis--Breaches of Trust--LaborTroubles--Destitution--Negro Suffrage fatal to the South. 

DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION. 

CHAPTER I. 

SECESSION. 

The history of the United States, as yet unwritten, will show the causesof the "Civil War" to have been in existence during the Colonial era, and to have cropped out into full view in the debates of the severalState Assemblies on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in whichinstrument Luther Martin, Patrick Henry, and others, insisted that theywere implanted. African slavery at the time was universal, and itsextinction in the North, as well as its extension in the South, was dueto economic reasons alone. 

The first serious difficulty of the Federal Government arose from theattempt to lay an excise on distilled spirits. The second arose from thehostility of New England traders to the policy of the Government in thewar of 1812, by which their special interests were menaced; and there isnow evidence to prove that, but for the unexpected peace, an attempt todisrupt the Union would then have been made. 

The "Missouri Compromise" of 1820 was in reality a truce betweenantagonistic revenue systems, each seeking to gain the balance of power. For many years subsequently, slaves--as domestic servants--were taken tothe Territories without exciting remark, and the "Nullification"movement in South Carolina was entirely directed against the tariff. 

Anti-slavery was agitated from an early period, but failed to attractpublic attention for many years. At length, by unwearied industry, byingeniously attaching itself to exciting questions of the day, withwhich it had no natural connection, it succeeded in making a lodgment inthe public mind, which, like a subject exhausted by long effort, isexposed to the attack of some malignant fever, that in a normalcondition of vigor would have been resisted. The common belief thatslavery was the cause of civil war is incorrect, and Abolitionists arenot justified in claiming the glory and spoils of the conflict and inpluming themselves as "choosers of the slain. "

The vast immigration that poured into the country between the years 1840and 1860 had a very important influence in directing the events of thelatter year. The numbers were too great to be absorbed and assimilatedby the native population. States in the West were controlled by Germanand Scandinavian voters, while the Irish took possession of the seaboardtowns. Although the balance of party strength was not much affected bythese naturalized voters, the modes of political thought were seriouslydisturbed, and a tendency was manifested to transfer exciting topicsfrom the domain of argument to that of violence. 

The aged and feeble President, Mr. Buchanan, unfitted for troubloustimes, was driven to and fro by ambitious leaders of his own party, aswas the last weak Hapsburg who reigned in Spain by the rival factions ofFrance and Austria. 

Under these conditions the National Democratic Convention met atCharleston, South Carolina, in the spring of 1860, to declare theprinciples on which the ensuing presidential campaign was to beconducted, and select candidates for the offices of President andVice-President. Appointed a delegate by the Democracy of my State, Louisiana, in company with others I reached Charleston two days inadvance of the time. We were at once met by an invitation to join incouncil delegates from the Gulf States, to agree upon some common groundof action in the Convention, but declined for the reason that we wereaccredited to the National Convention, and had no authority toparticipate in other deliberations. This invitation and the terms inwhich it was conveyed argued badly for the harmony of the Conventionitself, and for the preservation of the unity of the Democracy, then theonly organization supported in all quarters of the country. 

It may be interesting to recall the impression created at the time bythe tone and temper of different delegations. New England adhered to theold tenets of the Jefferson school. Two leaders from Massachusetts, Messrs. Caleb Cushing and Benjamin F. Butler, of whom the former waschosen President of the Convention, warmly supported the candidacy ofMr. Jefferson Davis. New York, under the direction of Mr. Dean Richmond, gave its influence to Mr. Douglas. Of a combative temperament, Mr. Richmond was impressed with a belief that "secession" was but a bugbearto frighten the northern wing of the party. Thus he failed to appreciatethe gravity of the situation, and impaired the value of unusual commonsense and unselfish patriotism, qualities he possessed to an eminentdegree. The anxieties of Pennsylvania as to candidates were accompaniedby a philosophic indifference as to principles. The Northwest was ardentfor Douglas, who divided with Guthrie Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana held moderateopinions, and were ready to adopt any honorable means to preserve theunity of the party and country. The conduct of the South Carolinadelegates was admirable. Representing the most advanced constituency inthe Convention, they were singularly reticent, and abstained from addingfuel to the flames. They limited their rôle to that of dignified, courteous hosts, and played it as Carolina gentlemen are wont to do. From Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas came the fieryspirits, led by Mr. William L. Yancey of Alabama, an able rhetorician. This gentleman had persuaded his State Convention to pass a resolution, directing its delegates to withdraw from Charleston if the Democracythere assembled refused to adopt the extreme Southern view as to therights of citizens in the territories. In this he was opposed byex-Governor Winston, a man of conservative tendencies, and long therival of Mr. Yancey in State politics. Both gentlemen were sent toCharleston, but the majority of their co-delegates sustained Mr. Yancey. 

Several days after its organization the National Convention reached apoint which made the withdrawal of Alabama imminent. Filled with anxiousforebodings, I sought after nightfall the lodgings of Messrs. Slidell, Bayard, and Bright, United States senators, who had come to Charleston, not as delegates, but under the impulse of hostility to the principlesand candidacy of Mr. Douglas. There, after pointing out the certainconsequences of Alabama's impending action, I made an earnest appeal forpeace and harmony, and with success. Mr. Yancey was sent for, came intoour views after some discussion, and undertook to call his peopletogether at that late hour, and secure their consent to disregardinstructions. We waited until near dawn for Yancey's return, but hisefforts failed of success. Governor Winston, originally opposed toinstructions as unwise and dangerous, now insisted that they should beobeyed to the letter, and carried a majority of the Alabama delegateswith him. Thus the last hope of preserving the unity of the NationalDemocracy was destroyed, and by one who was its earnest advocate. 

The withdrawal of Alabama, followed by other Southern States, theadjournment of a part of the Convention to Baltimore and of another partto Richmond, and the election of Lincoln by votes of Northern States, require no further mention. 

In January, 1861, the General Assembly of Louisiana met. A member of theupper branch, and chairman of its Committee on Federal Relations, Ireported, and assisted in passing, an act to call a Convention of thepeople of the State to consider of matters beyond the competency of theAssembly. The Convention met in March, and was presided over byex-Governor and ex-United States Senator Alexander Mouton, a man of highcharacter. I represented my own parish, St. Charles, and was appointedchairman of the Military and Defense Committee, on behalf of which twoordinances were reported and passed: one, to raise two regiments; theother, to authorize the Governor to expend a million of dollars in thepurchase of arms and munitions. The officers of the two regiments wereto be appointed by the Governor, and the men to be enlisted for fiveyears, unless sooner discharged. More would have been desirable in theway of raising troops, but the temper of men's minds did not thenjustify the effort. The Governor declined to use his authority topurchase arms, assured as he was on all sides that there was no dangerof war, and that the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge, completely inour power, would furnish more than we could need. It was vainly urged inreply that the stores of the arsenal were almost valueless, the armsbeing altered flintlock muskets, and the accouterments out of date. Thecurrent was too strong to stem. 

The Convention, by an immense majority of votes, adopted an ordinancedeclaring that Louisiana ceased to be a State within the Union. Indeed, similar action having already been taken by her neighbors, Louisiana ofnecessity followed. At the time and since, I marveled at the joyous andcareless temper in which men, much my superiors in sagacity andexperience, consummated these acts. There appeared the same general_gaîté de coeur_ that M. Ollivier claimed for the Imperial Ministrywhen war was declared against Prussia. The attachment of northern andwestern people to the Union; their superiority in numbers, in wealth, and especially in mechanical resources; the command of the sea; the lustof rule and territory always felt by democracies, and nowhere to agreater degree than in the South--all these facts were laughed to scorn, or their mention was ascribed to timidity and treachery. 

As soon as the Convention adjourned, finding myself out of harmony withprevailing opinion as to the certainty of war and necessity forpreparation, I retired to my estate, determined to accept suchresponsibility only as came to me unsought. 

The inauguration of President Lincoln; the confederation of SouthCarolina, Georgia, and the five Gulf States; the attitude of the borderslave States, hoping to mediate; the assembling of Confederate forcesat Pensacola, Charleston, and other points; the seizure of United Statesforts and arsenals; the attack on "Sumter"; war--these followed withbewildering rapidity, and the human agencies concerned seemed asunconscious as scene-shifters in some awful tragedy. 

CHAPTER II. 

FIRST SCENES OF THE WAR. 

I was drawn from my retreat by an invitation from General Bragg, aparticular friend, to visit Pensacola, where he commanded the southernforces, composed of volunteers from the adjacent States. Full ofenthusiasm for their cause, and of the best material, officers and menwere, with few exceptions, without instruction, and the number ofeducated officers was, as in all the southern armies, too limited tosatisfy the imperious demands of the staff, much less those of thedrill-master. Besides, the vicious system of election of officers struckat the very root of that stern discipline without which raw men cannotbe converted into soldiers. 

The Confederate Government, then seated at Montgomery, weakly recededfrom its determination to accept no volunteers for short terms ofservice, and took regiments for twelve months. The same blindness smotethe question of finance. Instead of laying taxes, which the generalenthusiasm would have cheerfully endured, the Confederate authoritiespledged their credit, and that too for an amount which might haveimplied a pact with Mr. Seward that, should war unhappily break out, itsduration was to be strictly limited to sixty days. The effect of theseerrors was felt throughout the struggle. 

General Bragg occupied Pensacola, the United States navy yard, and FortBarrancas on the mainland; while Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa island, washeld by Federal troops, with several war vessels anchored outside theharbor. There was an understanding that no hostile movement would bemade by either side without notice. Consequently, Bragg worked at hisbatteries bearing on Pickens, while Major Brown, the Federal commander, strengthened with sand bags and earth the weak landward curtain of hisfort; and time was pleasantly passed by both parties in watching eachother's occupation. 

Some months before this period, when Florida enforced her assumed rightto control all points within her limits, a small company of UnitedStates artillery, under Lieutenant Slemmer, was stationed at Barrancas, where it was helpless. After much manoeuvring, the State forces ofFlorida induced Slemmer to retire from Barrancas to Pickens, then_garrisoned_ by one ordnance sergeant, and at the mercy of a corporal'sguard in a rowboat. Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, was in a similarcondition before Anderson retired to it with his company. The earlyseizure of these two fortresses would have spared the Confederates manyserious embarrassments; but such small details were neglected at thattime. 

My visit to Pensacola was brought to a close by information from theGovernor of Louisiana of my appointment to the colonelcy of the 9thLouisiana infantry, a regiment just formed at camp on the railway somemiles north of New Orleans, and under orders for Richmond. Accepting theappointment, I hastened to the camp, inspected the command, ordered theLieutenant Colonel--Randolph, a well-instructed officer for the time--tomove by rail to Richmond as rapidly as transportation was furnished, andwent on to New Orleans, as well to procure equipment, in which theregiment was deficient, as to give some hours to private affairs. It wasknown that there was a scarcity of small-arm ammunition in Virginia, owing to the rapid concentration of troops; and I was fortunate inobtaining from the Louisiana authorities a hundred thousand rounds, withwhich, together with some field equipment, I proceeded by express toRichmond, where I found my command, about a thousand strong, justarrived and preparing to go into camp. The town was filled with rumor ofbattle away north at Manassas, where Beauregard commanded theConfederate forces. A multitude of wild reports, all equally inflamed, reached my ears while looking after the transportation of my ammunition, of which I did not wish to lose sight. Reaching camp, I paraded theregiment, and stated the necessity for prompt action, and my purpose tomake application to be sent to the front immediately. Officers and menwere delighted with the prospect of active service, and largely suppliedwant of experience by zeal. Ammunition was served out, three days'rations were ordered for haversacks, and all camp equipage notabsolutely essential was stored. 

These details attended to, at 5 P. M. I visited the war office, presidedover by General Pope Walker of Alabama. When the object of my visit wasstated, the Secretary expressed much pleasure, as he was anxious to sendtroops forward, but had few in readiness to move, owing to the lack ofammunition, etc. As I had been in Richmond but a few hours, my desire tomove and adequate state of preparation gained me some "red-letter" marksat the war office. The Secretary thought that a train would be inreadiness at 9 o'clock that night. Accordingly, the regiment was marchedto the station, where we remained several weary hours. At length, longafter midnight, our train made its appearance. As the usual time toManassas was some six hours, we confidently expected to arrive in theearly forenoon; but this expectation our engine brought to grief. Itproved a machine of the most wheezy and helpless character, creepingsnail-like on levels, and requiring the men to leave the carriages tohelp it up grades. As the morning wore on, the sound of guns, reëchoedfrom the Blue Ridge mountains on our left, became loud and constant. Atevery halt of the wretched engine the noise of battle grew more and moreintense, as did our impatience. I hope the attention of the recordingangel was engrossed that day in other directions. Later we met men, single or in squads, some with arms and some without, moving south, inwhich quarter they all appeared to have pressing engagements. 

At dusk we gained Manassas Junction, near the field where, on that day, the battle of first "Manassas" had been fought and won. Bivouacking themen by the roadside, I sought through the darkness the headquarters ofGeneral Beauregard, to whom I was instructed to report. With muchdifficulty and delay the place was found, and a staff officer told methat orders would be sent the following morning. By these I was directedto select a suitable camp, thus indicating that no immediate movementwas contemplated. 

The confusion that reigned about our camps for the next few days wasextreme. Regiments seemed to have lost their colonels, colonels theirregiments. Men of all arms and all commands were mixed in the wildestway. A constant fusillade of small arms and singing of bullets were keptup, indicative of a superfluity of disorder, if not of ammunition. Oneof my men was severely wounded in camp by a "stray, " and derived noconsolation from my suggestion that it was a delicate attention of ourcomrades to mitigate the disappointment of missing the battle. Theelation of our people at their success was natural. They had achievedall, and more than all, that could have been expected of raw troops; andsome commands had emulated veterans by their steadiness under fire. Settled to the routine of camp duty, I found many opportunities to goover the adjacent battle field with those who had shared the action, then fresh in their memories. Once I had the privilege of so doing incompany with Generals Johnston and Beauregard; and I will now give myopinion of this, as I purpose doing of such subsequent actions, andcommanders therein, as came within the range of my personal experienceduring the war. 

Although since the days of Nimrod war has been the constant occupationof men, the fingers of one hand suffice to number the great commanders. The "unlearned" hardly think of usurping Tyndall's place in the lectureroom, or of taking his cuneiform bricks from Rawlinson; yet the worldhas been much more prolific of learned scientists and philologers thanof able generals. Notwithstanding, the average American (and, judgingfrom the dictatorship of Maître Gambetta, the Frenchman) would not havehesitated to supersede Napoleon at Austerlitz or Nelson at Trafalgar. True, Cleon captured the Spartan garrison, and Narses gained victories, and Bunyan wrote the "Pilgrim's Progress;" but pestilent demagogues andmutilated guardians of Eastern zenanas have not always been successfulin war, nor the great and useful profession of tinkers written allegory. As men without knowledge have at all times usurped the right tocriticise campaigns and commanders, they will doubtless continue to doso despite the protests of professional soldiers, who discharge thisduty in a reverent spirit, knowing that the greatest is he who commitsthe fewest blunders. 

General McDowell, the Federal commander at Manassas, and a trainedsoldier of unusual acquirement, was so hounded and worried by ignorant, impatient politicians and newspapers as to be scarcely responsible forhis acts. This may be said of all the commanders in the beginning of thewar, and notably of Albert Sidney Johnston, whose early fall on thefield of Shiloh was irreparable, and mayhap determined the fate of theSouth. McDowell's plan of battle was excellent, and its execution by hismob no worse than might have been confidently expected. The lateGovernor Andrew of Massachusetts observed that his men thought they weregoing to a town meeting, and this is exhaustive criticism. With soldiersat his disposal, McDowell would have succeeded in turning andoverwhelming Beauregard's left, driving him from his rail communicationswith Richmond, and preventing the junction of Johnston from the valley. It appears that Beauregard was to some extent surprised by the attack, contemplating movements by his own centre and right. His exposed andweak left stubbornly resisted the shock of attacking masses, while he, with coolness and personal daring most inspiriting to his men, broughtup assistance from centre and right; and the ground was held untilJohnston, who had skillfully eluded Patterson, arrived and began feedingour line, when the affair was soon decided. 

There can be little question that with a strong brigade of soldiersJohnston could have gone to Washington and Baltimore. Whether, with hismeans, he should have advanced, has been too much and angrily discussedalready. Napoleon held that, no matter how great the confusion andexhaustion of a victorious army might be, a defeated one must be ahundred-fold worse, and action should be based on this. Assuredly, ifthere be justification in disregarding an axiom of Napoleon, the wildconfusion of the Confederates after Manassas afforded it. 

The first skirmishes and actions of the war proved that the Southron, untrained, was a better fighter than the Northerner--not because of morecourage, but of the social and economic conditions by which he wassurrounded. Devoted to agriculture in a sparsely populated country, theSouthron was self-reliant, a practiced horseman, and skilled in the useof arms. The dense population of the North, the habit of association forcommercial and manufacturing purposes, weakened individuality ofcharacter, and horsemanship and the use of arms were exceptionalaccomplishments. The rapid development of railways and manufactures inthe West had assimilated the people of that region to their easternneighbors, and the old race of frontier riflemen had wandered to the farinterior of the continent. Instruction and discipline soon equalizeddifferences, and battles were decided by generalship and numbers; andthis was the experience of our kinsmen in their great civil war. Thecountry squires who followed the banners of Newcastle and Rupert atfirst swept the eastern-counties yeomanry and the London train-bandsfrom the field; but fiery and impetuous valor was at last overmatched bythe disciplined purpose and stubborn constancy of Cromwell's Ironsides. 

The value of the "initiative" in war cannot be overstated. It surpassesin power mere accession of numbers, as it requires neither transport norcommissariat. Holding it, a commander lays his plans deliberately, andexecutes them at his own appointed time and in his own way. The"defensive" is weak, lowering the morale of the army reduced to it, enforcing constant watchfulness lest threatened attacks become real, andkeeping commander and troops in a state of anxious tension. Thesetruisms would not deserve mention did not the public mind ignore thefact that their application is limited to trained soldiers, and oftenbecome impatient for the employment of proved ability to sustain siegesand hold lines in offensive movements. A collection of untrained men isneither more nor less than a mob, in which individual courage goes fornothing. In movement each person finds his liberty of action merged in acrowd, ignorant and incapable of direction. Every obstacle createsconfusion, speedily converted into panic by opposition. The heroicdefenders of Saragossa could not for a moment have faced a battalion ofFrench infantry in the open field. Osman's solitary attempt to operateoutside of Plevna met with no success; and the recent defeat of Moukhtarmay be ascribed to incaution in taking position too far from his line ofdefense, where, when attacked, manoeuvres of which his people wereincapable became necessary. 

CHAPTER III. 

AFTER MANASSAS. 

After the action at Manassas, the summer and winter of 1861 wore awaywithout movements of special note in our quarter, excepting the defeatof the Federals at Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac, by a detached brigadeof Confederates, commanded by General Evans of South Carolina, aWest-Pointer enjoying the sobriquet of _Shanks_ from the thinness of hislegs. 

In the organization of our army, my regiment was brigaded with the 6th, 7th, and 8th regiments of the Louisiana infantry, and placed underGeneral William H. T. Walker of Georgia. Graduated from West Point in thesummer of 1837, this officer joined the 6th United States infantryoperating against the Seminoles in Florida. On Christmas day followingwas fought the battle of Okeechobee, the severest fight of that Indianwar. The savages were posted on a thickly jungled island in the lake, through the waters of which, breast-high, the troops advanced severalhundred yards to the attack. The loss on our side was heavy, but theIndians were so completely routed as to break their spirit. ColonelZachary Taylor commanded, and there won his yellow sash and grade. Walker was desperately wounded, and the medical people gave him up; buthe laughed at their predictions and recovered. In the war with Mexico, assaulting Molino del Rey, he received several wounds, all pronouncedfatal, and science thought itself avenged. Again he got well, as hesaid, to spite the doctors. Always a martyr to asthma, he rarely enjoyedsleep but in a sitting posture; yet he was as cheerful and full ofrestless activity as the celebrated Earl of Peterborough. Peace withMexico established, Walker became commandant of cadets at West Point. His ability as an instructor, and his lofty, martial bearing, deeplyimpressed his new brigade and prepared it for stern work. SubsequentlyWalker died on the field near Atlanta, defending the soil of his nativeState--a death of all others he would have chosen. I have dwelt somewhaton his character, because it was one of the strangest I have met. Noenterprise was too rash to awaken his ardor, if it necessitated daringcourage and self-devotion. Truly, he might have come forth from thepages of old Froissart. It is with unaffected feeling that I recall hismemory and hang before it my humble wreath of immortelles. 

In camp our army experienced much suffering and loss of strength. Drawnalmost exclusively from rural districts, where families lived isolated, the men were scourged with mumps, whooping-cough, and measles, diseasesreadily overcome by childhood in urban populations. Measles proved asvirulent as smallpox or cholera. Sudden changes of temperature drove theeruption from the surface to the internal organs, and fevers, lung andtyphoid, and dysenteries followed. My regiment was fearfully smitten, and I passed days in hospital, nursing the sick and trying to comfortthe last moments of many poor lads, dying so far from home and friends. Time and frequent changes of camp brought improvement, but my own healthgave way. A persistent low fever sapped my strength and impaired the useof my limbs. General Johnston kindly ordered me off to the Fauquiersprings, sulphur waters, some twenty miles to the south. There I wasjoined and carefully nursed by a devoted sister, and after some weeksslowly regained health. 

On the eve of returning to the army, I learned of my promotion tobrigadier, to relieve General Walker, transferred to a brigade ofGeorgians. This promotion seriously embarrassed me. Of the four colonelswhose regiments constituted the brigade, I was the junior in commission, and the other three had been present and "won their spurs" at the recentbattle, so far the only important one of the war. Besides, my knownfriendship for President Davis, with whom I was connected by his firstmarriage with my elder sister, would justify the opinion that mypromotion was due to favoritism. Arrived at headquarters, I obtainedleave to go to Richmond, where, after an affectionate reception, thePresident listened to the story of my feelings, the reasons on whichthey were based, and the request that the promotion should be revoked. He replied that he would take a day for reflection before deciding thematter. The following day I was told that the answer to my appeal wouldbe forwarded to the army, to which I immediately returned. The Presidenthad employed the delay in writing a letter to the senior officers of thebrigade, in which he began by stating that promotions to the grade ofgeneral officer were by law intrusted to him, and were made forconsiderations of public good, of which he alone was judge. He then, outof abundant kindness for me, went on to soothe the feelings of theseofficers with a tenderness and delicacy of touch worthy a woman's hand, and so effectually as to secure me their hearty support. No wonder thatall who enjoy the friendship of Jefferson Davis love him as Jonathan didDavid. 

Several weeks without notable incident were devoted to instruction, especially in marching, the only military quality for which Southerntroops had no aptitude. Owing to the good traditions left by mypredecessor, Walker, and the zeal of officers and men, the brigade madegreat progress. 

With the army at this time was a battalion of three companies fromLouisiana, commanded by Major Wheat. These detached companies had beenthrown together previous to the fight at Manassas, where Wheat wasseverely wounded. The strongest of the three, and giving character toall, was called the "Tigers. " Recruited on the levee and in the alleysof New Orleans, the men might have come out of "Alsatia, " where theywould have been worthy subjects of that illustrious potentate, "DukeHildebrod. " The captain, who had succeeded to the immediate command ofthese worthies on the advancement of Wheat, enjoying the luxury of manyaliases, called himself White, perhaps out of respect for the purity ofthe patriotic garb lately assumed. So villainous was the reputation ofthis battalion that every commander desired to be rid of it; andGeneral Johnston assigned it to me, despite my efforts to decline thehonor of such society. He promised, however, to sustain me in anymeasures to enforce discipline, and but a few hours elapsed before thefulfillment of the promise was exacted. For some disorder after tattoo, several "Tigers" were arrested and placed in charge of the brigadeguard. Their comrades attempted to force the guard and release them. Theattempt failed, and two ringleaders were captured and put in irons forthe night. On the ensuing morning an order for a general court-martialwas obtained from army headquarters, and the court met at 10 A. M. Theprisoners were found guilty, and sentenced to be shot at sunset. Iordered the "firing party" to be detailed from their own company; butWheat and his officers begged to be spared this hard duty, fearing thatthe "Tigers" would refuse to fire on their comrades. I insisted for thesake of the example, and pointed out the serious consequences ofdisobedience by their men. The brigade, under arms, was marched out; andas the news had spread, many thousands from other commands flocked towitness the scene. The firing party, ten "Tigers, " was drawn up fifteenpaces from the prisoners, the brigade provost gave the command to fire, and the unhappy men fell dead without a struggle. This account is givenbecause it was the first military execution in the Army of NorthernVirginia; and punishment, so closely following offense, produced amarked effect. But Major "Bob" Wheat deserves an extended notice. 

In the early summer of 1846, after the victories of Palo Alto and Resacade la Palma, the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor laynear the town of Matamoros. Visiting the hospital of a recently joinedvolunteer corps from the States, I remarked a bright-eyed youth of somenineteen years, wan with disease, but cheery withal. The interest heinspired led to his removal to army headquarters, where he soonrecovered health and became a pet. This was Bob Wheat, son of anEpiscopal clergyman, who had left school to come to the war. He nextwent to Cuba with Lopez, was wounded and captured, but escaped thegarrote to follow Walker to Nicaragua. Exhausting the capacities ofSouth American patriots to _pronounce_, he quitted their society indisgust, and joined Garibaldi in Italy, whence his keen scent of combatsummoned him home in convenient time to receive a bullet at Manassas. The most complete Dugald Dalgetty possible, he had "all the defects ofthe good qualities" of that doughty warrior. 

Some months after the time of which I am writing, a body of Federalhorse was captured in the valley of Virginia. The colonel commanding, who had been dismounted in the fray, approached me. A stalwart man, withhuge mustaches, cavalry boots adorned with spurs worthy of a_caballero_, slouched hat, and plume, he strode along with thenonchalant air of one who had wooed Dame Fortune too long to be castdown by her frowns. Suddenly Major Wheat, near by, sprang from his horsewith a cry of "Percy! old boy!" "Why, Bob!" was echoed back, and a warmembrace was exchanged. Colonel Percy Wyndham, an Englishman in theFederal service, had last parted from Wheat in Italy, or some othercountry where the pleasant business of killing was going on, and nowfraternized with his friend in the manner described. 

Poor Wheat! A month later, and he slept his last sleep on the bloodyfield of Cold Harbor. He lies there in a soldier's grave. Gallantspirit! let us hope that his readiness to die for his cause has made"the scarlet of his sins like unto wool. "

As the autumn of the year 1861 passed away, the question of armyorganization pressed for solution, while divergent opinions were held bythe Government at Richmond and General Johnston. The latter sent me toPresident Davis to explain his views and urge their adoption. My missionmet with no success; but in discharging it, I was made aware of theestrangement growing up between these eminent persons, whichsubsequently became "the spring of woes unnumbered. " An earnest effortmade by me to remove the cloud, then "no greater than a man's hand, "failed; though the elevation of character of the two men, which madethem listen patiently to my appeals, justified hope. Time but served towiden the breach. Without the knowledge and despite the wishes ofGeneral Johnston, the descendants of the ancient dwellers in the caveof Adullam gathered themselves behind his shield, and shot their arrowsat President Davis and his advisers, weakening the influence of the headof the cause for which all were struggling. 

Immediately after the birth of the Confederacy, a resolution was adoptedby the "Provisional Congress" declaring that military and navalofficers, resigning the service of the United States Government to enterthat of the Confederate, would preserve their relative rank. Later on, the President was authorized to make five appointments to the grade ofgeneral. These appointments were announced after the battle of Manassas, and in the following order of seniority: Samuel Cooper, Albert SidneyJohnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and G. T. Beauregard. 

Near the close of President Buchanan's administration, in 1860, diedGeneral Jesup, Quartermaster-General of the United States army; andJoseph E. Johnston, then lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, was appointed tothe vacancy. Now the Quartermaster-General had the rank, pay, andemoluments of a brigadier-general; but the rank was staff, and by lawthis officer could not exercise command over troops unless by specialassignment. When, in the spring of 1861, the officers in questionentered the service of the Confederacy, Cooper had been Adjutant-Generalof the United States Army, with the rank of colonel; Albert SidneyJohnston, colonel and brigadier-general by brevet, and on duty as such;Lee, lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, senior to Joseph E. Johnston in theline before the latter's appointment above mentioned; Beauregard, majorof engineers. In arranging the order of seniority of generals, PresidentDavis held to the superiority of line to staff rank, while Joseph E. Johnston took the opposite view, and sincerely believed that injusticewas done him. 

After the grave and wondrous scenes through which we have passed, allthis seems like "a tempest in a tea-pot;" but it had much influence anddeserves attention. 

General Beauregard, who about this time was transferred to the army inthe West, commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston, was also known to havegrievances. Whatever their source, it could not have been _rank_; but itis due to this General--a gentleman of taste--to say that no utterancescame from him. Indiscreet persons at Richmond, claiming the privilegeand discharging the duty of friendship, gave tongue to loud and frequentplaints, and increased the confusion of the hour. 

As the year 1862 opened, and the time for active movements drew near, weighty cares attended the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. The folly of accepting regiments for the short period of twelve months, to which allusion has been made, was now apparent. Having taken servicein the spring of 1861, the time of many of the troops would expire justas the Federal host in their front might be expected to advance. A largemajority of the men were willing to reënlist, provided that they couldfirst go home to arrange private affairs; and fortunately, the fearfulcondition of the country permitted the granting of furloughs on a largescale. Except on a few pikes, movements were impossible, and an armycould no more have marched across country than across Chesapeake bay. Closet warriors in cozy studies, with smooth macadamized roadways beforetheir doors, sneer at the idea of military movements being arrested bymud. I apprehend that these gentlemen have never served in a bad countryduring the rainy season, and are ignorant of the fact that, in hisRussian campaign, the elements proved too strong for the genius ofNapoleon. 

General Johnston met the difficulties of his position with greatcoolness, tact, and judgment; but his burden was by no means lightenedby the interference of certain politicians at Richmond. These wereperhaps inflamed by the success that had attended the tactical effortsof their Washington peers. At all events, they now threw themselves uponmilitary questions with much ardor. Their leader was Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confederacy, who is entitledto a place by himself. 

Like the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke, Mr. Stephens has an acuteintellect attached to a frail and meagre body. As was said by the wittyCanon of St. Paul's of Francis Jeffrey, his mind is in a state ofindecent exposure. A trained and skillful politician, he was for manyyears before the war returned to the United States House ofRepresentatives from the district in which he resides, and his "device"seems always to have been, "Fiat justitia, ruat coelum. " When, inDecember, 1849, the Congress assembled, there was a Whig administration, and the same party had a small majority in the lower House, of which Mr. Stephens, an ardent Whig, was a member; but he could not see his way tosupport his party's candidate for Speaker, and this inability to find aroad, plain mayhap to weaker organs, secured the control of the House tohis political adversaries. During the exciting period preceding"secession" Mr. Stephens held and avowed moderate opinions; but, sweptalong by the resistless torrent surrounding him, he discovered andproclaimed that "slavery was the corner-stone of the confederacy. " Inthe strong vernacular of the West, this was "rather piling the agony" onthe humanitarians, whose sympathies were not much quickened toward usthereby. As the struggle progressed, Mr. Stephens, with all theimpartiality of an equity judge, marked many of the virtues of theGovernment north of the Potomac, and all the vices of that on his ownside of the river. Regarding the military questions in hand heentertained and publicly expressed original opinions, which I willattempt to convey as accurately as possible. The war was for principlesand rights, and it was in defense of these, as well as of theirproperty, that the people had taken up arms. They could always be reliedon when a battle was imminent; but, when no fighting was to be done, they had best be at home attending to their families and interests. Astheir intelligence was equal to their patriotism, they were as capableof judging of the necessity of their presence with the colors as thecommanders of armies, who were but professional soldiers fighting forrank and pay, and most of them without property in the South. It may beobserved that such opinions are more comfortably cherished by politicalgentlemen, two hundred miles away, than by commanders immediately infront of the enemy. 

In July, 1865, two months after the close of the great war, I visitedWashington in the hope of effecting some change in the condition ofJefferson Davis, then ill and a prisoner at Fortress Monroe; and thisvisit was protracted to November before its object was accomplished. Inthe latter part of October of the same year Mr. Stephens came toWashington, where he was the object of much attention on the part ofpeople controlling the Congress and the country. Desiring hiscoöperation in behalf of Mr. Davis, I sought and found him sitting neara fire (for he is of a chilly nature), smoking his pipe. He heard me insevere politeness, and, without unnecessary expenditure of enthusiasm, promised his assistance. Since the war Mr. Stephens has again found aseat in the Congress, where, unlike the rebel brigadiers, his presenceis not a rock of offense to the loyal mind. [1]

[Footnote 1: The foregoing sketch of Mr. Stephens appeared substantiallyin the "North American Review, " but the date of the interview inWashington was not stated. Thereupon Mr. Stephens, in print, seized onJuly, and declared that, as he was a prisoner in Fort Warren during thatmonth, the interview was a "Munchausenism. " He also disputes thecorrectness of the opinions concerning military matters ascribed to him, although scores of his associates at Richmond will attest it. Again, heassumes the non-existence of twelve-months' regiments because some tookservice for the war, etc. 

Like other ills, feeble health has its compensations, especially forthose who unite restless vanity and ambition to a feminine desire forsympathy. It has been much the habit of Mr. Stephens to datecontroversial epistles from "a sick chamber, " as do ladies in a delicatesituation. A diplomatist of the last century, the Chevalier D'Eon, byusurping the privileges of the opposite sex, inspired grave doubtsconcerning his own. ]

CHAPTER IV. 

OPENING OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 

Pursuing "the even tenor of his way, " Johnston rapidly increased theefficiency of his army. Furloughed men returned in large numbers beforetheir leaves had terminated, many bringing new recruits with them. Divisions were formed, and officers selected to command them. Someislands of dry land appeared amid the sea of mud, when the movement ofthe Federal forces in our front changed the theatre of war and openedthe important campaign of 1862. 

When overtaken by unexpected calamity African tribes destroy the fetichpreviously worshiped, and with much noise seek some new idol in whichthey can incarnate their vanities and hopes. Stunned by the rout atManassas, the North pulled down an old veteran, Scott, and hislieutenant, McDowell, and set up McClellan, who caught the public eye atthe moment by reason of some minor successes in Western Virginia, wherethe Confederate General, Robert Garnett, was killed. It is but fair toadmit that the South had not emulated the wisdom of Solomon nor themodesty of Godolphin. The capture of Fort Sumter, with its garrison ofless than a hundred men, was hardly Gibraltar; yet it would put thegrandiloquent hidalgoes of Spain on their mettle to make more clatterover the downfall of the cross of St. George from that historic rock. McClellan was the young Napoleon, the very god of war in his latestavatar. While this was absurd, and in the end injurious to McClellan, itwas of service to his Government; for it strengthened his loins to thetask before him--a task demanding the highest order of ability and theinfluence of a demigod. A great war was to be carried on, and a greatarmy, the most complex of machines, was necessary. 

The cardinal principles on which the art of war is based are few andunchangeable, resembling in this the code of morality; but theirapplication varies as the theatre of the war, the genius and temper ofthe people engaged, and the kind of arms employed. The United States hadnever possessed a great army. The entire force engaged in the waragainst Mexico would scarcely have made a respectable _corps d'armée_, and to study the organization of great armies and campaigns a recurrenceto the Napoleonic era was necessary. The Governments of Europe for ahalf century had been improving armaments, and changing the tacticalunit of formation and manoeuvre to correspond to such improvement. TheItalian campaign of Louis Napoleon established some advance in fieldartillery, but the supreme importance of breech-loaders was not admitteduntil Sadowa, in 1866. All this must be considered in determining thevalue of McClellan's work. Taking the raw material intrusted to him, heconverted it into a great military machine, complete in all its parts, fitted for its intended purpose. Moreover, he resisted the naturalimpatience of his Government and people, and the follies of politiciansand newspapers, and for months refused to put his machine at work beforeall its delicate adjustments were perfected. Thus, much in its owndespite, the North obtained armies and the foundation of success. Thecorrectness of the system adopted by McClellan proved equal to allemergencies, and remained unchanged until the close of the war. Disappointed in his hands, and suffering painful defeats in those of hisimmediate successors, the "Army of the Potomac" always recovered, showeditself a vital organism, and finally triumphed. McClellan organizedvictory for his section, and those who deem the preservation of the"Union" the first of earthly duties should not cease to do himreverence. 

I have here written of McClellan, not as a leader, but an organizer ofarmies; and as such he deserves to rank with the Von Moltkes, Scharnhorsts, and Louvois of history. 

Constant struggle against the fatal interference of politicians with hismilitary plans and duties separated McClellan from the civil departmentof his Government, and led him to adopt a policy of his own. Themilitary road to Richmond, and the only one as events proved, was by thepeninsula and the James river, and it was his duty so to advise. Heinsisted, and had his way; but not for long. A little of thatselfishness which serves lower intelligences as an instinct ofself-preservation would have shown him that his most dangerous enemieswere not in his front. The Administration at Washington had to deal witha people blind with rage, an ignorant and meddlesome Congress, and awolfish horde of place-hunters. A sudden dash of the Confederates on thecapital might change the attitude of foreign powers. These politicalconsiderations weighed heavily at the seat of government, but were ofsmall moment to the military commander. In a conflict between civilpolicy and military strategy, the latter must yield. The jealousymanifested by the Venetian and Dutch republics toward their commandershas often been criticised; but it should be remembered that they keptthe military in strict subjection to the civil power; and when they wereoverthrown, it was by foreign invasion, not by military usurpation. Their annals afford no example of the declaration by their generals thatthe special purpose of republican armies is to preserve civil order andenforce civil law. 

After the battle of Chickamauga, in 1863, General Grant was promoted tothe command of the armies of the United States, and called toWashington. In a conference between him, President Lincoln, andSecretary Stanton, the approaching campaign in Virginia was discussed. Grant said that the advance on Richmond should be made by the Jamesriver. It was replied that the Government required the interposition ofan army between Lee and Washington, and could not consent at that lateday to the adoption of a plan which would be taken by the public as aconfession of previous error. Grant observed that he was indifferent asto routes; but if the Government preferred its own, so often tried, tothe one he suggested, it must be prepared for the additional loss of ahundred thousand men. The men were promised, Grant accepted thegovernmental plan of campaign, and was supported to the end. The abovecame to me well authenticated, and I have no doubt of itscorrectness. [2]

[Footnote 2: Some of the early pages of this work were published in thenumber of the "North American Review" for January, 1878, including theabove account of a conference at Washington between President Lincoln, Secretary Stanton, and General Grant. In the "New York Herald" of May27, 1878, appears an interview with General Grant, in which the lattersays, "The whole story is a fabrication, and whoever vouched for it toGeneral Taylor vouched for a fiction. " General Halleck, who was at thetime in question Chief of Staff at the war office, related the story ofthis conference to me in New Orleans, where he was on a visit fromLouisville, Ky. , then his headquarters. Several years later GeneralJoseph E. Johnston gave me the same account, which he had from anotherofficer of the United States Army, also at the time in the war office. Aletter from General Johnston, confirming the accuracy of my relation, has been published. Since, I have received a letter, dated New York, June 6, 1878, wherein the writer states that in Washington, in 1868 or1869, he had an account of this conference, as I give it, from GeneralJohn A. Logan of Illinois. When calling for reënforcements, after hislosses in the Wilderness, General Grant reminded Stanton of hisopposition to the land route in their conference, but added that "hewould now fight it out on this line if it takes all summer. " The writerof this communication is quite unknown to me, but manifests hissincerity by suggesting that I should write to General Logan, who, hedoubts not, will confirm his statement. I have not so written, because Ihave no acquaintance with General Logan, and no desire to press thematter further. From many sources comes evidence that _a conference_ washeld, which General Grant seems to deny. Moreover, I cannot forget thatin one notable instance a question of fact was raised against GeneralGrant, with much burden of evidence; and while declaiming any wish orintent of entering on another, one may hold in all charity that GeneralGrant's memory may be as treacherous about _facts_ as mine proved abouta _date_, when, in a letter to the "Herald, " I stupidly gave two yearsafter General Halleck's death as the time of his conversation with me. These considerations have determined me to let the account of theconference stand as originally written. ]

During his operations on the peninsula and near Richmond, McClellancomplained much of want of support; but the constancy with whichPresident Lincoln adhered to him was, under the circumstances, surprising. He had drifted away from the dominant Washington sentiment, and alienated the sympathies of his Government. His fall was inevitable;the affection of the army but hastened it; even victory could not savehim. He adopted the habit of saying, "My army, " "My soldiers. " Suchphraseology may be employed by a Frederick or Napoleon, sovereigns aswell as generals; but officers command the armies of their governments. General McClellan is an upright, patriotic man, incapable ofwrong-doing, and has a high standard of morality, to which he lives moreclosely than most men do to a lower one; but it is to be remembered thatthe examples of the good are temptations and opportunities to theunscrupulous. The habit of thought underlying such language, or soonengendered by its use, has made Mexico and the South American republicsthe wonder and scorn of civilization. 

The foregoing account of McClellan's downfall is deemed pertinentbecause he was the central figure in the Northern field, and laid thefoundation of Northern success. Above all, he and a gallant band ofofficers supporting him impressed a generous, chivalric spirit on thewar, which soon faded away; and the future historian, in recounting somelater operations, will doubt if he is dealing with campaigns of generalsor expeditions of brigands. 

The intention of McClellan to transfer his base from Washington to somepoint farther south was known to Johnston, but there was doubt whetherFredericksburg or the Peninsula would be selected. To meet eithercontingency, Johnston in the spring of 1862 moved his army from Manassasto the vicinity of Orange Court House, where he was within easy reach ofboth Fredericksburg and Richmond. The movement was executed with thequiet precision characteristic of Johnston, unrivaled as a master oflogistics. 

I was ordered to withdraw the infantry pickets from the lower Bull Runafter nightfall, and move on a road through the county of PrinceWilliam, east of the line of railway from Manassas to Orange. This roadwas tough and heavy, and crossed by frequent streams, affluents of theneighboring Potomac. These furnished occupation and instruction to asmall body of pioneers, recently organized, while the difficulties ofthe road drew heavily on the marching capacity--or rather incapacity--ofthe men. Straggling was then, and continued throughout to be, the viceof Southern armies. The climate of the South was not favorable topedestrian exercise, and, centaur-like, its inhabitants, from infancy toold age, passed their lives on horseback, seldom walking the mostinsignificant distance. When brought into the field, the men were asignorant of the art of marching as babes, and required for theirinstruction the same patient, unwearied attention. On this andsubsequent marches frequent halts were made, to enable stragglers toclose up; and I set the example to mounted officers of riding to therear of the column, to encourage the weary by relieving them of theirarms, and occasionally giving a footsore fellow a cast on my horse. Themen appreciated this care and attention, followed advice as to thefitting of their shoes, cold bathing of feet, and healing of abrasions, and soon held it a disgrace to fall out of ranks. Before a month hadpassed the brigade learned how to march, and, in the Valley withJackson, covered long distances without leaving a straggler behind. Indeed, in several instances it emulated the achievement of Crauford's"Light Brigade, " whose wonderful march to join Wellington at Talaveraremains the stoutest feat of modern soldiership. 

Arrived at the Rappahannock, I found the railway bridge floored for thepassage of troops and trains. The army, with the exception of Ewell'sdivision, composed of Elzey's, Trimball's, and my brigades, had passedthe Rapidan, and was lying around Orange Court House, where GeneralJohnston had his headquarters. Some horse, under Stuart, remained northof the Rappahannock, toward Manassas. 

For the first time Ewell had his division together and under hisimmediate command; and as we remained for many days between the rivers, I had abundant opportunities for studying the original character of"Dick Ewell. " We had known each other for many years, but now ourfriendship and intercourse became close and constant. Graduated fromWest Point in 1840, Ewell joined the 1st regiment of United Statesdragoons, and, saving the Mexican war, in which he served with suchdistinction as a young cavalryman could gain, his whole military lifehad been passed on the plains, where, as he often asserted, he hadlearned all about commanding fifty United States dragoons, and forgotteneverything else. In this he did himself injustice, as his career proves;but he was of a singular modesty. Bright, prominent eyes, a bomb-shaped, bald head, and a nose like that of Francis of Valois, gave him astriking resemblance to a woodcock; and this was increased by abird-like habit of putting his head on one side to utter his quaintspeeches. He fancied that he had some mysterious internal malady, andwould eat nothing but frumenty, a preparation of wheat; and hisplaintive way of talking of his disease, as if he were some one else, was droll in the extreme. His nervousness prevented him from takingregular sleep, and he passed nights curled around a camp-stool, inpositions to dislocate an ordinary person's joints and drive the"caoutchouc man" to despair. On such occasions, after long silence, hewould suddenly direct his eyes and nose toward me with "General Taylor!What do you suppose President Davis made me a major-generalfor?"--beginning with a sharp accent and ending with a gentle lisp. Superbly mounted, he was the boldest of horsemen, invariably leaving theroads to take timber and water. No follower of the "Pytchley" or "Quorn"could have lived with him across country. With a fine tactical eye onthe battle field, he was never content with his own plan until he hadsecured the approval of another's judgment, and chafed under therestraint of command, preparing to fight with the skirmish line. On twooccasions in the Valley, during the temporary absence of Jackson fromthe front, Ewell summoned me to his side, and immediately rushed forwardamong the skirmishers, where some sharp work was going on. Havingrefreshed himself, he returned with the hope that "old Jackson would notcatch him at it. " He always spoke of Jackson, several years his junior, as "old, " and told me in confidence that he admired his genius, but wascertain of his lunacy, and that he never saw one of Jackson's couriersapproach without expecting an order to assault the north pole. 

Later, after he had heard Jackson seriously declare that he never atepepper because it produced a weakness in his left leg, he was confirmedin this opinion. With all his oddities, perhaps in some measure becauseof them, Ewell was adored by officers and men. 

Orders from headquarters directed all surplus provisions, in the countrybetween the Rappahannock and Rapidan, to be sent south of the latterstream. Executing these orders strictly, as we daily expected to rejointhe army, the division began to be straitened for supplies. Thecommissary of my brigade, Major Davis, was the very pearl ofcommissaries. Indefatigable in discharge of duty, he had as fine a nosefor bullocks and bacon as Major Monsoon for sherry. The commissaries ofthe other brigades were less efficient, and for some days drew rationsfrom Davis; but it soon became my duty to take care of my own command, and General Ewell's attention was called to the subject. The Generalthought that it was impossible so rich a country could be exhausted, andsallied forth on a cattle hunt himself. Late in the day he returned witha bull, jaded as was he of Ballyraggan after he had been goaded to thesummit of that classic pass, and venerable enough to have fertilized themilky mothers of the herds of our early Presidents, whose former estateslie in this vicinity. With a triumphant air Ewell showed me his plunder. I observed that the bull was a most respectable animal, but would hardlyafford much subsistence to eight thousand men. "Ah! I was thinking of myfifty dragoons, " replied the General. The joke spread, and doubtlessfurnished sauce for the happy few to whose lot the bull fell. 

Meantime, the cavalry force in our front had been withdrawn, and theFederal pickets made their appearance on the north bank of theRappahannock, occasionally exchanging a shot with ours across thestream. This served to enliven us for a day or two, and kept Ewellbusy, as he always feared lest some one would get under fire before him. At length a fire of artillery and small arms was opened from the northend of the bridge, near the south end of which my brigade was camped. Ordering the command to move out, I galloped down to the river, where Ifound Ewell assisting with his own hands to place some guns in position. The affair was over in a few minutes. The enemy had quietly run up twopieces of artillery, supported by dismounted horsemen, and opened fireon my camp; but the promptness with which the men had moved preventedloss, saving one or two brush huts, and a few mess pans. 

The bridge had previously been prepared for burning, Ewell's ordersbeing to destroy all railway bridges behind him, to prevent the use ofthe rails by the Federals. During the little _alerte_ mentioned, I sawsmoke rising from the bridge, which was soon a mass of flame. Now, thiswas the only bridge for some miles up or down; and though the river wasfordable at many points, the fords were deep and impassable after rains. Its premature destruction not only prevented us from scouting andforaging on the north bank, but gave notice to the enemy of our purposeto abandon the country. Annoyed, and doubtless expressing the feeling inmy countenance, as I watched the flames, Ewell, after a long silence, said, "You don't like it. " Whereupon I related the following fromBugeaud's "Maxims": At the close of the Napoleonic wars, Bugeaud, ayoung colonel, commanded a French regiment on the Swiss frontier. Astream spanned by a bridge, but fordable above and below, separated himfrom an Austrian force of four times his strength. He first determinedto destroy the bridge, but reflected that if left it might tempt theenemy, whenever he moved, to neglect the fords. Accordingly, he maskedhis regiment as near his end of the bridge as the topography of theground permitted, and waited. The Austrians moved by the bridge, andBugeaud, seizing the moment, fell upon them in the act of crossing anddestroyed the entire force. Moral: 'Tis easier to watch and defend onebridge than many miles of fordable water. "Why did you keep the storyuntil the bridge was burnt?" exclaimed Ewell. Subsequently, allegingthat he had small opportunity for study after leaving West Point, hedrew from me whatever some reading and a good memory could supply; buthis shrewd remarks changed many erroneous opinions I had formed, and our"talks" were of more value to me than to him. 

As our next move, hourly expected, would take us beyond the reach ofrailways, I here reduced the brigade to light marching order. My ownkit, consisting of a change of underwear and a tent "fly, " could becarried on my horse. A fly can be put up in a moment, and by stoppingthe weather end with boughs a comfortable hut is made. The men carriedeach his blanket, an extra shirt and drawers, two pairs of socks(woolen), and a pair of extra shoes. These, with his arm and ammunition, were a sufficient load for strong marching. Tents, especially in awooded country, are not only a nuisance, involving much transportation, the bane of armies, but are detrimental to health. In cool weather theyare certain to be tightly closed, and the number of men occupying thembreeds a foul atmosphere. The rapidity with which men learn to shelterthemselves, and their ingenuity in accomplishing it under unfavorableconditions, are surprising. My people grumbled no little at being"stripped", but soon admitted that they were better for it, and came todespise useless _impedimenta_. 

I early adopted two customs, and adhered to them throughout the war. Thefirst was to examine at every halt the adjacent roads and paths, theirdirection and condition; distances of nearest towns and cross-roads; thecountry, its capacity to furnish supplies, as well as generaltopography, etc. , all of which was embodied in a rude sketch, with notesto impress it on memory. The second was to imagine while on the march anenemy before me to be attacked, or to be received in my position, andmake the necessary dispositions for either contingency. My imaginarymanoeuvres were sad blunders, but I corrected them by experience drawnfrom actual battles, and can safely affirm that such slight success as Ihad in command was due to these customs. Assuredly, a knowledge ofdetails will not make a great general; but there can be no greatness inwar without such knowledge, for genius is but a capacity to grasp andapply details. 

These observations are not for the "heaven-born, " who from their closetsscan with eagle glance fields of battle, whose mighty pens slay theirthousands and their tens of thousands, and in whose "Serbonian"inkstands "armies whole" disappear; but it is hoped that they may proveuseful to the young adopting the profession of arms, who may feelassured that the details of the art of war afford "scope and verge" forthe employment of all their faculties. Conscientious study will notperhaps make them great, but it will make them respectable; and when theresponsibility of command comes, they will not disgrace their flag, injure their cause, nor murder their men. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE VALLEY CAMPAIGN. 

At length the expected order to march came, and we moved south toGordonsville. In one of his letters to Madame du Deffand, Horace Walpolewrites of the English spring as "coming in with its accustomedseverity, " and such was our experience of a Virginian spring; or rather, it may be said that winter returned with renewed energy, and we had forseveral days snow, sleet, rain, and all possible abominations in the wayof weather. Arrived at Gordonsville, whence the army had departed forthe Peninsula, we met orders to join Jackson in the Valley, and marchedthither by Swift Run "Gap"--the local name for mountain passes. SwiftRun, an affluent of the Rapidan, has its source in this gap. The ordersmentioned were the last received from General Joseph E. Johnston, fromwhom subsequent events separated me until the close of the war; andoccasion is thus furnished for the expression of opinion of hischaracter and services. 

In the full vigor of mature manhood, erect, alert, quick, and decisive ofspeech, General Johnston was the beau ideal of a soldier. Without the leastproneness to blandishments, he gained and held the affection and confidenceof his men. Brave and impetuous in action, he had been often wounded, andno officer of the general staff of the old United States army had seen somuch actual service with troops. During the Mexican war he was permitted totake command of a voltigeur regiment, and rendered brilliant service. In1854 he resigned from the engineers to accept the lieutenant-colonelcy ofa cavalry regiment. When the civil war became certain, a Virginian bybirth, he left the position of Quartermaster-General of the United States, and offered his sword to the Confederacy. To the East, as his greatnamesake Albert Sidney to the West, he was "the rose and fair expectancy"of our cause; and his timely march from Patterson's front in the Valleyto assist Beauregard at Manassas confirmed public opinion of his capacity. Yet he cannot be said to have proved a fortunate commander. Leaving outof view Bentonville and the closing scenes in North Carolina, which wererather the spasmodic efforts of despair than regular military movements, General Johnston's "offensive" must be limited to Seven Pines or Fair Oaks. Here his plan was well considered and singularly favored of fortune. Sometwo corps of McClellan's army were posted on the southwest or Richmond sideof the Chickahominy, and a sudden rise of that stream swept away bridgesand overflowed the adjacent lowlands, cutting off these corps from theirsupports. They ought to have been crushed, but Johnston fell, severelywounded; upon which confusion ensued, and no results of importance wereattained. Official reports fail, most unwisely, to fix the responsibilityof the failure, and I do not desire to add to the gossip prevailing thenand since. 

From his own account of the war we can gather that Johnston regrets hedid not fight on the Oostenaula, after Polk had joined him. It appearsthat in a council two of his three corps commanders, Polk, Hardee, andHood, were opposed to fighting there; but to call a council at all was aweakness not to be expected of a general of Johnston's ability andself-reliant nature. 

I have written of him as a master of logistics, and his skill inhandling troops was great. As a retreat, the precision and coolness ofhis movements during the Georgia campaign would have enhanced thereputation of Moreau; but it never seems to have occurred to him toassume the offensive during the many turning movements of his flanks, movements involving time and distance. Dispassionate reflection wouldhave brought him to the conclusion that Lee was even more overweightedin Virginia than he in Georgia; that his Government had given him everyavailable man, only leaving small garrisons at Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, and Mobile; that Forrest's command in Mississippi, operatingon Sherman's communications, was virtually doing his work, while it wasidle to expect assistance from the trans-Mississippi region. Certainly, no more egregious blunder was possible than that of relieving him fromcommand in front of Atlanta. If he intended to fight there, he wasentitled to execute his plan. Had he abandoned Atlanta without astruggle, his removal would have met the approval of the army andpublic, an approval which, under the circumstances of its action, theRichmond Government failed to receive. 

I am persuaded that General Johnston's mind was so jaundiced by theunfortunate disagreement with President Davis, to which allusion hasbeen made in an earlier part of these reminiscences, as to seriouslycloud his judgment and impair his usefulness. He sincerely believedhimself the Esau of the Government, grudgingly fed on bitter herbs, while a favored Jacob enjoyed the flesh-pots. Having known himintimately for many years, having served under his command and studiedhis methods, I feel confident that his great abilities under happierconditions would have distinctly modified, if not changed, the currentof events. Destiny willed that Davis and Johnston should be brought intocollision, and the breach, once made, was never repaired. Each misjudgedthe other to the end. 

Ewell's division reached the western base of Swift Run Gap on a lovelyspring evening, April 30, 1862, and in crossing the Blue Ridge seemed tohave left winter and its rigors behind. Jackson, whom we moved to join, had suddenly that morning marched toward McDowell, some eighty mileswest, where, after uniting with a force under General Edward Johnson, hedefeated the Federal general Milroy. Some days later he as suddenlyreturned. Meanwhile we were ordered to remain in camp on the Shenandoahnear Conrad's store, at which place a bridge spanned the stream. 

The great Valley of Virginia was before us in all its beauty. Fields ofwheat spread far and wide, interspersed with woodlands, bright in theirrobes of tender green. Wherever appropriate sites existed, quaint oldmills, with turning wheels, were busily grinding the previous year'sharvest; and grove and eminence showed comfortable homesteads. The softvernal influence shed a languid grace over the scene. The theatre of warin this region was from Staunton to the Potomac, one hundred and twentymiles, with an average width of some twenty-five miles; and the BlueRidge and Alleghanies bounded it east and west. Drained by theShenandoah with its numerous affluents, the surface was nowhere flat, but a succession of graceful swells, occasionally rising into abrupthills. Resting on limestone, the soil was productive, especially ofwheat, and the underlying rock furnished abundant metal for theconstruction of roads. Railway communication was limited to the VirginiaCentral, which entered the Valley by a tunnel east of Staunton andpassed westward through that town; to the Manassas Gap, which traversedthe Blue Ridge at the pass of that name and ended at Strasburg; and tothe Winchester and Harper's Ferry, thirty miles long. The first extendedto Richmond by Charlottesville and Gordonsville, crossing at the formerplace the line from Washington and Alexandria to Lynchburg; the secondconnected Strasburg and Front Royal, in the Valley, with the same lineat Manassas Junction; and the last united with the Baltimore and Ohio atHarper's Ferry. Frequent passes or gaps in the mountains, through whichwagon roads had been constructed, afforded easy access from east andwest; and pikes were excellent, though unmetaled roads became heavyafter rains. 

But the glory of the Valley is Massanutten. Rising abruptly from theplain near Harrisonburg, twenty-five miles north of Staunton, thislovely mountain extends fifty miles, and as suddenly ends nearStrasburg. Parallel with the Blue Ridge, and of equal height, its sharppeaks have a bolder and more picturesque aspect, while the abruptness ofits slopes gives the appearance of greater altitude. Midway ofMassanutten, a gap with good road affords communication betweenNewmarket and Luray. The eastern or Luray valley, much narrower than theone west of Massanutten, is drained by the east branch of theShenandoah, which is joined at Front Royal, near the northern end of themountain, by its western affluent, whence the united waters flow north, at the base of the Blue Ridge, to meet the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. 

The inhabitants of this favored region were worthy of their inheritance. The north and south were peopled by scions of old colonial families, andthe proud names of the "Old Dominion" abounded. In the central countiesof Rockingham and Shenandoah were many descendants of German settlers. These were thrifty, substantial farmers, and, like their kinsmen ofPennsylvania, expressed their opulence in huge barns and fat cattle. Thedevotion of all to the Southern cause was wonderful. Jackson, a Valleyman by reason of his residence at Lexington, south of Staunton, wastheir hero and idol. The women sent husbands, sons, lovers, to battle ascheerfully as to marriage feasts. No oppression, no destitution couldabate their zeal. Upon a march I was accosted by two elderly sisters, who told me they had secreted a large quantity of bacon in a well ontheir estate, hard by. Federals had been in possession of the country, and, fearing the indiscretion of their slaves, they had done the work atnight with their own hands, and now desired to _give_ the meat to theirpeople. Wives and daughters of millers, whose husbands and brothers werein arms, worked the mills night and day to furnish flour to theirsoldiers. To the last, women would go distances to carry the modicum offood between themselves and starvation to a suffering Confederate. Should the sons of Virginia ever commit dishonorable acts, grim indeedwill be their reception on the further shores of Styx. They can expectno recognition from the mothers who bore them. 

Ere the war closed, the Valley was ravaged with a cruelty surpassingthat inflicted on the Palatinate two hundred years ago. That foul deedsmirched the fame of Louvois and Turenne, and public opinion, in whathas been deemed a ruder age, forced an apology from the "GrandMonarque. " Yet we have seen the official report of a Federal generalwherein are recounted the many barns, mills, and other buildingsdestroyed, concluding with the assertion that "a crow flying over theValley must take rations with him. " In the opinion of the admirers ofthe officer making this report, the achievement on which it is basedranks with Marengo. Moreover, this same officer, General Sheridan, manyyears after the close of the war, denounced several hundred thousands ofhis fellow citizens as "banditti, " and solicited permission of hisGovernment to deal with them as such. May we not well ask whetherreligion, education, science and art combined have lessened thebrutality of man since the days of Wallenstein and Tilly?

While in camp near Conrad's store, the 7th Louisiana, Colonel Hays, acrack regiment, on picket down stream, had a spirited affair, in whichthe enemy was driven with the loss of a score of prisoners. Shortlyafter, for convenience of supplies, I was directed to cross the riverand camp some miles to the southwest. The command was in superbcondition, and a four-gun battery from Bedford county, Virginia, CaptainBowyer, had recently been added to it. The four regiments, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Louisiana, would average above eight hundred bayonets. OfWheat's battalion of "Tigers" and the 7th I have written. The 6th, Colonel Seymour, recruited in New Orleans, was composed of Irishmen, stout, hardy fellows, turbulent in camp and requiring a strong hand, butresponding to kindness and justice, and ready to follow their officersto the death. The 9th, Colonel Stafford, was from North Louisiana. Planters or sons of planters, many of them men of fortune, soldieringwas a hard task to which they only became reconciled by reflecting thatit was "niddering" in gentlemen to assume voluntarily the discharge ofduties and then shirk. The 8th, Colonel Kelly, was from theAttakapas--"Acadians, " the race of which Longfellow sings in"Evangeline. " A home-loving, simple people, few spoke English, fewerstill had ever before moved ten miles from their natal _cabanas_; andthe war to them was "a liberal education, " as was the society of thelady of quality to honest Dick Steele. They had all the light gayety ofthe Gaul, and, after the manner of their ancestors, were born cooks. Acapital regimental band accompanied them, and whenever weather andground permitted, even after long marches, they would waltz and "polk"in couples with as much zest as if their arms encircled the supplewaists of the Célestines and Mélazies of their native Teche. The Valleysoldiers were largely of the Presbyterian faith, and of a solemn, piousdemeanor, and looked askant at the caperings of my Creoles, holding themto be "devices and snares. "

The brigade adjutant, Captain (afterward Colonel) Eustace Surget, whoremained with me until the war closed, was from Mississippi, where hehad large estates. Without the slightest military training, by study andzeal, he soon made himself an accomplished staff officer. Of singularcoolness in battle, he never blundered, and, though much exposed, pulledthrough without a scratch. My aide, Lieutenant Hamilton, grandson ofGeneral Hamilton of South Carolina, was a cadet in his second year atWest Point when war was declared, upon which he returned to his State--agay, cheery lad, with all the pluck of his race. 

At nightfall of the second day in this camp, an order came from GeneralJackson to join him at Newmarket, twenty odd miles north; and it wasstated that my division commander, Ewell, had been apprised of theorder. Our position was near a pike leading south of west toHarrisonburg, whence, to gain Newmarket, the great Valley pike ran duenorth. All roads near our camp had been examined and sketched, and amongthem was a road running northwest over the southern foot-hills ofMassanutten, and joining the Valley pike some distance to the north ofHarrisonburg. It was called the Keazletown road, from a little Germanvillage on the flank of Massanutten; and as it was the hypothenuse ofthe triangle, and reported good except at two points, I decided to takeit. That night a pioneer party was sent forward to light fires andrepair the road for artillery and trains. Early dawn saw us in motion, with lovely weather, a fairish road, and men in high health and spirits. 

Later in the day a mounted officer was dispatched to report our approachand select a camp, which proved to be beyond Jackson's forces, thenlying in the fields on both sides of the pike. Over three thousandstrong, neat in fresh clothing of gray with white gaiters, bands playingat the head of their regiments, not a straggler, but every man in hisplace, stepping jauntily as on parade, though it had marched twentymiles and more, in open column with arms at "right shoulder shift, " andrays of the declining sun flaming on polished bayonets, the brigademoved down the broad, smooth pike, and wheeled on to its camping ground. Jackson's men, by thousands, had gathered on either side of the road tosee us pass. Indeed, it was a martial sight, and no man with a spark ofsacred fire in his heart but would have striven hard to prove worthy ofsuch a command. 

After attending to necessary camp details, I sought Jackson, whom I hadnever met. And here it may be remarked that he then by no means held theplace in public estimation which he subsequently attained. His Manassasreputation was much impaired by operations in the Valley, to which hehad been sent after that action. The winter march on Romney had resultedin little except to freeze and discontent his troops; which discontentwas shared and expressed by the authorities at Richmond, and Jacksonresigned. The influence of Colonel Alek Boteler, seconded by that of theGovernor of Virginia, induced him to withdraw the resignation. AtKernstown, three miles south of Winchester, he was roughly handled bythe Federal General Shields, and only saved from serious disaster by thefailure of that officer to push his advantage, though Shields wasusually energetic. 

The mounted officer who had been sent on in advance pointed out a figureperched on the topmost rail of a fence overlooking the road and field, and said it was Jackson. Approaching, I saluted and declared my name andrank, then waited for a response. Before this came I had time to see apair of cavalry boots covering feet of gigantic size, a mangy cap withvisor drawn low, a heavy, dark beard, and weary eyes--eyes I afterwardsaw filled with intense but never brilliant light. A low, gentle voiceinquired the road and distance marched that day. "Keazletown road, sixand twenty miles. " "You seem to have no stragglers. " "Never allowstraggling. " "You must teach my people; they straggle badly. " A bow inreply. Just then my creoles started their band and a waltz. After acontemplative suck at a lemon, "Thoughtless fellows for serious work"came forth. I expressed a hope that the work would not be less well donebecause of the gayety. A return to the lemon gave me the opportunity toretire. Where Jackson got his lemons "no fellow could find out, " but hewas rarely without one. To have lived twelve miles from that fruit wouldhave disturbed him as much as it did the witty Dean. 

Quite late that night General Jackson came to my camp fire, where hestayed some hours. He said we would move at dawn, asked a few questionsabout the marching of my men, which seemed to have impressed him, andthen remained silent. If silence be golden, he was a "bonanza. " Hesucked lemons, ate hard-tack, and drank water, and praying and fightingappeared to be his idea of the "whole duty of man. "

In the gray of the morning, as I was forming my column on the pike, Jackson appeared and gave the route--north--which, from the situation ofits camp, put my brigade in advance of the army. After moving a shortdistance in this direction, the head of the column was turned to theeast and took the road over Massanutten gap to Luray. Scarce a word wasspoken on the march, as Jackson rode with me. From time to time acourier would gallop up, report, and return toward Luray. An ungracefulhorseman, mounted on a sorry chestnut with a shambling gait, his hugefeet with outturned toes thrust into his stirrups, and such parts of hiscountenance as the low visor of his shocking cap failed to concealwearing a wooden look, our new commander was not prepossessing. Thatnight we crossed the east branch of the Shenandoah by a bridge, andcamped on the stream, near Luray. Here, after three long marches, wewere but a short distance below Conrad's store, a point we had leftseveral days before. I began to think that Jackson was an unconsciouspoet, and, as an ardent lover of nature, desired to give strangers anopportunity to admire the beauties of his Valley. It seemed hard linesto be wandering like sentimental travelers about the country, insteadof gaining "kudos" on the Peninsula. 

Off the next morning, my command still in advance, and Jackson ridingwith me. The road led north between the east bank of the river and thewestern base of the Blue Ridge. Rain had fallen and softened it, so asto delay the wagon trains in rear. Past midday we reached a woodextending from the mountain to the river, when a mounted officer fromthe rear called Jackson's attention, who rode back with him. A momentlater, there rushed out of the wood to meet us a young, ratherwell-looking woman, afterward widely known as Belle Boyd. Breathlesswith speed and agitation, some time elapsed before she found her voice. Then, with much volubility, she said we were near Front Royal, beyondthe wood; that the town was filled with Federals, whose camp was on thewest side of the river, where they had guns in position to cover thewagon bridge, but none bearing on the railway bridge below the former;that they believed Jackson to be west of Massanutten, near Harrisonburg;that General Banks, the Federal commander, was at Winchester, twentymiles northwest of Front Royal, where he was slowly concentrating hiswidely scattered forces to meet Jackson's advance, which was expectedsome days later. All this she told with the precision of a staff officermaking a report, and it was true to the letter. Jackson was possessed ofthese facts before he left Newmarket, and based his movements upon them;but, as he never told anything, it was news to me, and gave me an ideaof the strategic value of Massanutten--pointed out, indeed, byWashington before the Revolution. There also dawned on me quite anotherview of our leader than the one from which I had been regarding him fortwo days past. 

Convinced of the correctness of the woman's statements, I hurriedforward at "a double, " hoping to surprise the enemy's idlers in thetown, or swarm over the wagon bridge with them and secure it. Doubtlessthis was rash, but I felt immensely "cocky" about my brigade, andbelieved that it would prove equal to any demand. Before we had clearedthe wood Jackson came galloping from the rear, followed by a company ofhorse. He ordered me to deploy my leading regiment as skirmishers onboth sides of the road and continue the advance, then passed on. Wespeedily came in sight of Front Royal, but the enemy had taken thealarm, and his men were scurrying over the bridge to their camp, wheretroops could be seen forming. The situation of the village issurpassingly beautiful. It lies near the east bank of the Shenandoah, which just below unites all its waters, and looks directly on thenorthern peaks of Massanutten. The Blue Ridge, with Manassas Gap, through which passes the railway, overhangs it on the east; distantAlleghany bounds the horizon to the west; and down the Shenandoah, theeye ranges over a fertile, well-farmed country. Two bridges spanned theriver--a wagon bridge above, a railway bridge some yards lower. A goodpike led to Winchester, twenty miles, and another followed the rivernorth, whence many cross-roads united with the Valley pike nearWinchester. The river, swollen by rain, was deep and turbulent, with astrong current. The Federals were posted on the west bank, here somewhathigher than the opposite, and a short distance above the junction ofwaters, with batteries bearing more especially on the upper bridge. 

Under instructions, my brigade was drawn up in line, a little retiredfrom the river, but overlooking it--the Federals and their guns in fullview. So far, not a shot had been fired. I rode down to the river'sbrink to get a better look at the enemy through a field-glass, when myhorse, heated by the march, stepped into the water to drink. Instantly abrisk fire was opened on me, bullets striking all around and raising alittle shower-bath. Like many a foolish fellow, I found it easier to getinto than out of a difficulty. I had not yet led my command into action, and, remembering that one must "strut" one's little part to the bestadvantage, sat my horse with all the composure I could muster. Aprovident camel, on the eve of a desert journey, would not have laid ina greater supply of water than did my thoughtless beast. At last heraised his head, looked placidly around, turned, and walked up the bank. 

This little incident was not without value, for my men welcomed me witha cheer; upon which, as if in response, the enemy's guns opened, and, having the range, inflicted some loss on my line. We had no guns up toreply, and, in advance as has been mentioned, had outmarched the troopsbehind us. Motionless as a statue, Jackson sat his horse some few yardsaway, and seemed lost in thought. Perhaps the circumstances mentionedsome pages back had obscured his star; but if so, a few short hoursswept away the cloud, and it blazed, Sirius-like, over the land. Iapproached him with the suggestion that the railway bridge might bepassed by stepping on the cross-ties, as the enemy's guns bore lessdirectly on it than on the upper bridge. He nodded approval. The 8thregiment was on the right of my line, near at hand; and dismounting, Colonel Kelly led it across under a sharp musketry fire. Several menfell to disappear in the dark water beneath; but the movement continuedwith great rapidity, considering the difficulty of walking on ties, andKelly with his leading files gained the opposite shore. Thereupon theenemy fired combustibles previously placed near the center of the wagonbridge. The loss of this structure would have seriously delayed us, asthe railway bridge was not floored, and I looked at Jackson, who, nearby, was watching Kelly's progress. Again he nodded, and my commandrushed at the bridge. Concealed by the cloud of smoke, the suddenness ofthe movement saved us from much loss; but it was rather a near thing. Myhorse and clothing were scorched, and many men burned their handsseverely while throwing brands into the river. We were soon over, andthe enemy in full flight to Winchester, with loss of camp, guns, andprisoners. Just as I emerged from flames and smoke, Jackson was by myside. How he got there was a mystery, as the bridge was thronged with mymen going at full speed; but smoke and fire had decidedly freshened uphis costume. 

In the angle formed by the two branches of the river was another campheld by a Federal regiment from Maryland. This was captured by a gallantlittle regiment of Marylanders, Colonel Bradley Johnson, on our side. Ihad no connection with this spirited affair, saving that theseMarylanders had acted with my command during the day, though notattached to it. We followed the enemy on the Winchester road, but tolittle purpose, as we had few horsemen over the river. Carried away byhis ardor, my commissary, Major Davis, gathered a score of mountedorderlies and couriers, and pursued until a volley from the enemy's rearguard laid him low on the road, shot through the head. During my servicewest of the Mississippi River, I sent for the colonel of a mountedregiment from western Texas, a land of herdsmen, and asked him if hecould furnish men to hunt and drive in cattle. "Why! bless you, sir, Ihave men who can find cattle where there _aint any_, " was his reply. Whatever were poor Davis's abilities as to non-existent supplies, hecould find all the country afforded, and had a wonderful way of cajolingold women out of potatoes, cabbages, onions, and other garden stuff, giving variety to camp rations, and of no small importance in preservingthe health of troops. We buried him in a field near the place of hisfall. He was much beloved by the command, and many gathered quietlyaround the grave. As there was no chaplain at hand, I repeated suchportions of the service for the dead as a long neglect of pious thingsenabled me to recall. 

Late in the night Jackson came out of the darkness and seated himself bymy camp fire. He mentioned that I would move with him in the morning, then relapsed into silence. I fancied he looked at me kindly, andinterpreted it into an approval of the conduct of the brigade. Theevents of the day, anticipations of the morrow, the death of Davis, drove away sleep, and I watched Jackson. For hours he sat silent andmotionless, with eyes fixed on the fire. I took up the idea that he wasinwardly praying, and he remained throughout the night. 

Off in the morning, Jackson leading the way, my brigade, a small body ofhorse, and a section of the Rockbridge (Virginia) artillery forming thecolumn. Major Wheat, with his battalion of "Tigers, " was directed tokeep close to the guns. Sturdy marchers, they trotted along with thehorse and artillery at Jackson's heels, and after several hours weresome distance in advance of the brigade, with which I remained. 

A volley in front, followed by wild cheers, stirred us up to a"double, " and we speedily came upon a moving spectacle. Jackson hadstruck the Valley pike at Middletown, twelve miles south of Winchester, along which a large body of Federal horse, with many wagons, washastening north. He had attacked at once with his handful of men, overwhelmed resistance, and captured prisoners and wagons. The gentleTigers were looting right merrily, diving in and out of wagons with theactivity of rabbits in a warren; but this occupation was abandoned on myapproach, and in a moment they were in line, looking as solemn andvirtuous as deacons at a funeral. Prisoners and spoil were promptlysecured. The horse was from New England, a section in which horsemanshipwas an unknown art, and some of the riders were strapped to theirsteeds. Ordered to dismount, they explained their condition, and weregiven time to unbuckle. Many breastplates and other protective deviceswere seen here, and later at Winchester. We did not know whether theFederals had organized cuirassiers, or were recurring to the customs ofGustavus Adolphus. I saw a poor fellow lying dead on the pike, piercedthrough breastplate and body by a rifle ball. Iron-clad men are of smallaccount before modern weapons. 

A part of the Federal column had passed north before Jackson reached thepike, and this, with his mounted men, he pursued. Something more than amile to the south a road left the pike and led directly west, where theFederal General Fremont, of whom we shall hear more, commanded "theMountain Department. " Attacked in front, as described, a body ofFederals, horse, artillery, and infantry, with some wagons, took thisroad, and, after moving a short distance, drew up on a crest, withunlimbered guns. Their number was unknown, and for a moment they lookedthreatening. The brigade was rapidly formed and marched straight uponthem, when their guns opened. A shell knocked over several men of the7th regiment, and a second, as I rode forward to an eminence to get aview, struck the ground under my horse and exploded. The saddle cloth onboth sides was torn away, and I and Adjutant Surget, who was just behindme, were nearly smothered with earth; but neither man nor horse receiveda scratch. The enemy soon limbered up and fled west. By somewell-directed shots, as they crossed a hill, our guns sent wagons flyingin the air, with which "P. P. C. " we left them and marched north. 

At dusk we overtook Jackson, pushing the enemy with his little mountedforce, himself in advance of all. I rode with him, and we kept onthrough the darkness. There was not resistance enough to deployinfantry. A flash, a report, and a whistling bullet from some covert metus, but there were few casualties. I quite remember thinking at the timethat Jackson was invulnerable, and that persons near him shared thatquality. An officer, riding hard, overtook us, who proved to be thechief quartermaster of the army. He reported the wagon trains farbehind, impeded by a bad road in Luray Valley. "The ammunition wagons?"sternly. "All right, sir. They were in advance, and I doubled teams onthem and brought them through. " "Ah!" in a tone of relief. 

To give countenance to this quartermaster, if such can be given of adark night, I remarked jocosely: "Never mind the wagons. There arequantities of stores in Winchester, and the General has invited me tobreakfast there to-morrow. "

Jackson, who had no more capacity for jests than a Scotchman, took thisseriously, and reached out to touch me on the arm. In fact, he was ofScotch-Irish descent, and his unconsciousness of jokes was _de race_. Without physical wants himself, he forgot that others were differentlyconstituted, and paid little heed to commissariat; but woe to the manwho failed to bring up ammunition! In advance, his trains were left farbehind. In retreat, he would fight for a wheelbarrow. 

Some time after midnight, by roads more direct from Front Royal, othertroops came on the pike, and I halted my jaded people by the roadside, where they built fires and took a turn at their haversacks. 

Moving with the first light of morning, we came to Kernstown, threemiles from Winchester, and the place of Jackson's fight with Shields. Here heavy and sustained firing, artillery and small arms, was heard. Astaff officer approached at full speed to summon me to Jackson'spresence and move up my command. A gallop of a mile or more brought meto him. Winchester was in sight, a mile to the north. To the east Ewellwith a large part of the army was fighting briskly and driving the enemyon to the town. On the west a high ridge, overlooking the country to thesouth and southeast, was occupied by a heavy mass of Federals with gunsin position. Jackson was on the pike, and near him were severalregiments lying down for shelter, as the fire from the ridge was heavyand searching. A Virginian battery, Rockbridge artillery, was fightingat a great disadvantage, and already much cut up. Poetic authorityasserts that "Old Virginny never tires, " and the conduct of this batteryjustified the assertion of the muses. With scarce a leg or wheel for manand horse, gun or caisson, to stand on, it continued to hammer away atthe crushing fire above. 

Jackson, impassive as ever, pointed to the ridge and said, "You mustcarry it. " I replied that my command would be up by the time I couldinspect the ground, and rode to the left for that purpose. A smallstream, Abraham's creek, flowed from the west through the little vale atthe southern base of the ridge, the ascent of which was steep, thoughnowhere abrupt. At one point a broad, shallow, trough-like depressionbroke the surface, which was further interrupted by some low copse, outcropping stone, and two fences. On the summit the Federal lines wereposted behind a stone wall, along a road coming west from the pike. Wornsomewhat into the soil, this road served as a countersink andstrengthened the position. Further west, there was a break in the ridge, which was occupied by a body of horse, the extreme right of the enemy'sline. 

There was scarce time to mark these features before the head of mycolumn appeared, when it was filed to the left, close to the base of theridge, for protection from the plunging fire. Meanwhile, the Rockbridgebattery held on manfully and engaged the enemy's attention. Riding onthe flank of my column, between it and the hostile line, I saw Jacksonbeside me. This was not the place for the commander of the army, and Iventured to tell him so; but he paid no attention to the remark. Wereached the shallow depression spoken of, where the enemy could depresshis guns, and his fire became close and fatal. Many men fell, and thewhistling of shot and shell occasioned much ducking of heads in thecolumn. This annoyed me no little, as it was but child's play to thework immediately in hand. Always an admirer of delightful "Uncle Toby, "I had contracted the most villainous habit of his beloved army inFlanders, and, forgetting Jackson's presence, ripped out, "What theh--are you dodging for? If there is any more of it, you will be haltedunder this fire for an hour. " The sharp tones of a familiar voiceproduced the desired effect, and the men looked as if they had swallowedramrods; but I shall never forget the reproachful surprise expressed inJackson's face. He placed his hand on my shoulder, said in a gentlevoice, "I am afraid you are a wicked fellow, " turned, and rode back tothe pike. 

The proper ground gained, the column faced to the front and began theascent. At the moment the sun rose over the Blue Ridge, without cloud ormist to obscure his rays. It was a lovely Sabbath morning, the 25th ofMay, 1862. The clear, pure atmosphere brought the Blue Ridge andAlleghany and Massanutten almost overhead. Even the cloud of murderoussmoke from the guns above made beautiful spirals in the air, and thebroad fields of luxuriant wheat glistened with dew. It is remarkablehow, in the midst of the most absorbing cares, one's attention may befixed by some insignificant object, as mine was by the flight past theline of a bluebird, one of the brightest-plumaged of our featheredtribes, bearing a worm in his beak, breakfast for his callow brood. Birdie had been on the war path, and was carrying home spoil. 

As we mounted we came in full view of both armies, whose efforts inother quarters had been slackened to await the result of our movement. Ifelt an anxiety amounting to pain for the brigade to acquit itselfhandsomely; and this feeling was shared by every man in it. About halfway up, the enemy's horse from his right charged; and to meet it, Idirected Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholls, whose regiment, the 8th, was onthe left, to withhold slightly his two flank companies. By one volley, which emptied some saddles, Nicholls drove off the horse, but was soonafter severely wounded. Progress was not stayed by this incident. Closing the many gaps made by the fierce fire, steadied the rather byit, and preserving an alignment that would have been creditable onparade, the brigade, with cadenced step and eyes on the foe, sweptgrandly over copse and ledge and fence, to crown the heights from whichthe enemy had melted away. Loud cheers went up from our army, prolongedto the east, where warm-hearted Ewell cheered himself hoarse, and ledforward his men with renewed energy. In truth, it was a gallant feat ofarms, worthy of the pen of him who immortalized the charge of the"Buffs" at Albuera. 

Breaking into column, we pursued closely. Jackson came up and grasped myhand, worth a thousand words from another, and we were soon in thestreets of Winchester, a quaint old town of some five thousandinhabitants. There was a little fighting in the streets, but the peoplewere all abroad--certainly all the women and babies. They were franticwith delight, only regretting that so many "Yankees" had escaped, andseriously impeded our movements. A buxom, comely dame of some five andthirty summers, with bright eyes and tight ankles, and conscious ofthese advantages, was especially demonstrative, exclaiming, "Oh! you aretoo late--too late!" Whereupon, a tall Creole from the Teche sprang fromthe ranks of the 8th regiment, just passing, clasped her in his arms, and imprinted a sounding kiss on her ripe lips, with "Madame! jen'arrive jamais trop tard. " A loud laugh followed, and the dame, with arosy face but merry twinkle in her eye, escaped. 

Past the town, we could see the Federals flying north on the Harper'sFerry and Martinsburg roads. Cavalry, of which there was a considerableforce with the army, might have reaped a rich harvest, but none cameforward. Raised in the adjoining region, our troopers were gossipingwith their friends, or worse. Perhaps they thought that the war wasover. Jackson joined me, and, in response to my question, "Where is thecavalry?" glowered and was silent. After several miles, finding that wewere doing no good--as indeed infantry, preserving its organization, cannot hope to overtake a flying enemy--I turned into the fields andcamped. 

Here I will "say my say" about Confederate cavalry; and though therewere exceptions to the following remarks, they were too few to qualifytheir general correctness. The difficulty of converting raw men intosoldiers is enhanced manifold when they are mounted. Both man and horserequire training, and facilities for rambling, with temptation so to do, are increased. There was but little time, and it may be said lessdisposition, to establish camps of instruction. Living on horseback, fearless and dashing, the men of the South afforded the best possiblematerial for cavalry. They had every quality but discipline, andresembled Prince Charming, whose manifold gifts, bestowed by hersisters, were rendered useless by the malignant fairy. Scores of themwandered about the country like locusts, and were only less destructiveto their own people than the enemy. The universal devotion of Southernwomen to their cause led them to give indiscriminately to all wearingthe gray. Cavalry officers naturally desired to have as large commandsas possible, and were too much indulged in this desire. Brigades andregiments were permitted to do work appropriate to squadrons andcompanies, and the cattle were unnecessarily broken down. Assuredly, ourcavalry rendered much excellent service, especially when dismounted andfighting as infantry. Such able officers as Stuart, Hampton, and theyounger Lees in the east, Forrest, Green, and Wheeler in the west, developed much talent for war; but their achievements, howeverdistinguished, fell far below the standard that would have been reachedhad not the want of discipline impaired their efforts and those of theirmen. 

After the camp was established, I rode back to Winchester to look aftermy wounded and see my sister, the same who had nursed me the previousautumn. By a second marriage she was Mrs. Dandridge, and resided in thetown. Her husband, Mr. Dandridge, was on duty at Richmond. Depot of allFederal forces in the Valley, Winchester was filled with stores. Prisoners, guns, and wagons, in large numbers, had fallen into ourhands. Of especial value were ordnance and medical stores. 

The following day my command was moved ten miles north on the pikeleading by Charlestown to Harper's Ferry, and after a day some mileseast toward the Shenandoah. This was in consequence of the operations ofthe Federal General Shields, who, in command of a considerable force tothe east of the Blue Ridge, passed Manassas Gap and drove from FrontRoyal a regiment of Georgians, left there by Jackson. Meanwhile, a partof the army was pushed forward to Martinsburg and beyond, while anotherpart threatened and shelled Harper's Ferry. Jackson himself was engagedin forwarding captured stores to Staunton. 

On Saturday, May 31, I received orders to move through Winchester, clearthe town of stragglers, and continue to Strasburg. Few or no stragglerswere found in Winchester, whence the sick and wounded, except extremecases, had been taken. I stopped for a moment, at a house near the fieldof the 25th, to see Colonel Nicholls. He had suffered amputation of thearm that morning, and the surgeons forbade his removal; so that, much tomy regret and more to his own, he was left. We reached camp at Strasburgafter dark, a march of thirty odd miles, weather very warm. Winder, withhis brigade, came in later, after a longer march from the direction ofHarper's Ferry. Jackson sat some time at my camp fire that night, andwas more communicative than I remember him before or after. He saidFremont, with a large force, was three miles west of our present camp, and must be defeated in the morning. Shields was moving up Luray Valley, and might cross Massanutten to Newmarket, or continue south until heturned the mountain to fall on our trains near Harrisonburg. Theimportance of preserving the immense trains, filled with capturedstores, was great, and would engage much of his personal attention;while he relied on the army, under Ewell's direction, to deal promptlywith Fremont. This he told in a low, gentle voice, and with manyinterruptions to afford time, as I thought and believe, for inwardprayer. The men said that his anxiety about the wagons was because ofthe lemons among the stores. 

Dawn of the following day (Sunday) was ushered in by the sound ofFremont's guns. Our lines had been early drawn out to meet him, andskirmishers pushed up to the front to attack. Much cannonading, withsome rattle of small arms, ensued. The country was densely wooded, andlittle save the smoke from the enemy's guns could be seen. My brigadewas in reserve a short distance to the rear and out of the line of fire;and here a ludicrous incident occurred. Many slaves from Louisiana hadaccompanied their masters to the war, and were a great nuisance on amarch, foraging far and wide for "prog" for their owners' messes. Toabate this, they had been put under discipline and made to march in rearof the regiments to which they pertained. They were now, some scores, assembled under a large tree, laughing, chattering, and cookingbreakfast. On a sudden, a shell burst in the tree-top, rattling downleaves and branches in fine style, and the rapid decampment of theservitors was most amusing. But I must pause to give an account of myown servant, Tom Strother, who deserves honorable and affectionatemention at my hands, and serves to illustrate a phase of Southern lifenow passed away. 

As under feudal institutions the arms of heiresses were quartered withthose of the families into which they married, in the South their slavesadopted the surname of the mistress; and one curious in genealogy couldtrace the descent and alliances of an old family by finding out thenames used by different slaves on the estate. Those of the same namewere a little clannish, preserving traditions of the family from whichtheir fathers had come, and magnifying its importance. In childhood Ioften listened with credulous ears to wondrous tales of the magnificenceof my forefathers in Virginia and Maryland, who, these imaginativeAfricans insisted, dwelt in palaces, surrounded by brave, handsome sons, lovely, virtuous daughters, and countless devoted servants. Thecharacters of many Southern children were doubtless influenced by suchtales, impressive from the good faith of the narrators. My paternalgrandmother was Miss Sarah Strother of Virginia, and from her estatecame these Strother negroes. Tom, three years my senior, was my fosterbrother and early playmate. His uncle, Charles Porter Strother (to givehim his full name), had been body servant to my grandfather, ColonelRichard Taylor, whom he attended in his last illness. He then filled thesame office to my father, following him through his Indian and Mexicancampaigns, and dying at Washington a year before his master. Tom servedin Florida and Mexico as "aide-de-camp" to his uncle, after which hemarried and became father of a large family. On this account I hesitatedto bring him to Virginia, but he would come, and was a model servant. Tall, powerful, black as ebony, he was a mirror of truth and honesty. Always cheerful, I never heard him laugh or knew of his speaking unlessspoken to. He could light a fire in a minute under the most unfavorableconditions and with the most unpromising material, made the best coffeeto be tasted outside of a creole kitchen, was a "dab" at camp stews androasts, groomed my horses (one of which he rode near me), washed mylinen, and was never behind time. Occasionally, when camped near ahouse, he would obtain starch and flat-irons, and get up my extra shirtin a way to excite the envy of a professional clear-starcher; but suchred-letter days were few. 

I used to fancy that there was a mute sympathy between General Jacksonand Tom, as they sat silent by a camp fire, the latter respectfullywithdrawn; and an incident here at Strasburg cemented this friendship. When my command was called into action, I left Tom on a hill where allwas quiet. Thereafter, from a change in the enemy's dispositions, theplace became rather hot, and Jackson, passing by, advised Tom to move;but he replied, if the General pleased, his master told him to staythere and would know where to find him, and he did not believe shellswould trouble him. Two or three nights later, Jackson was at my firewhen Tom came to give me some coffee; where upon Jackson rose andgravely shook him by the hand, and then told me the above. 

After the war was closed, Tom returned with me to New Orleans, found hiswife and children all right, and is now prosperous. My readers have hadso much fighting lately, and are about to have so much more, as torender unnecessary an apology for introducing Tom's history. 

To return. Cannonading continued without much effect, and Ewell summonedme to his presence, directing the brigade to remain in position tillfurther orders. Jackson, busy with his trains, was not at the moment onthe field, which he visited several times during the day, though I didnot happen to see him. To reach Ewell, it was necessary to pass undersome heavy shelling, and I found myself open to the reproach visitedpreviously on my men. Whether from fatigue, loss of sleep, or what, there I was, nervous as a lady, ducking like a mandarin. It wasdisgusting, and, hoping that no one saw me, I resolved to take it out ofmyself the first opportunity. There is a story of Turenne, the greatestsoldier of the Bourbons, which, if not true, is _ben trovato_. Of anervous temperament, his legs on the eve of an action trembled to suchan extent as to make it difficult to mount his horse. Looking at themcontemptuously, he said: "If you could foresee the danger into which Iam going to take you, you would tremble more. " It was with a similarfeeling, not only for my legs, but for my entire carcass, that I reachedEwell, and told him I was no more good than a frightened deer. Helaughed, and replied: "Nonsense! 'tis Tom's strong coffee. Better giveit up. Remain here in charge while I go out to the skirmishers. I can'tmake out what these people are about, for my skirmish line has stoppedthem. They won't advance, but stay out there in the wood, making a greatfuss with their guns; and I do not wish to commit myself to much advancewhile Jackson is absent. " With this, he put spurs to his horse and wasoff, and soon a brisk fusillade was heard, which seemed gradually torecede. During Ewell's absence, surrounded by his staff, I contrived tosit my horse quietly. Returning, he said: "I am completely puzzled. Ihave just driven everything back to the main body, which is large. Densewood everywhere. Jackson told me not to commit myself too far. At thisrate my attentions are not likely to become serious enough to commit anyone. I wish Jackson was here himself. " I suggested that my brigade mightbe moved to the extreme right, near the Capon road, by which Fremont hadmarched, and attempt to strike that road, as this would enable us tofind out something. He replied: "Do so; that may stir them up, and I amsick of this fiddling about. " Had Ewell been in command, he would have"pitched in" long before; but he was controlled by instructions not tobe drawn too far from the pike. 

We found the right of our line held by a Mississippi regiment, thecolonel of which told me that he had advanced just before and driven theenemy. Several of his men were wounded, and he was bleeding profuselyfrom a hit in his leg, which he was engaged in binding with ahandkerchief, remarking that "it did not pester him much. " Learning ourpurpose, he was eager to go in with us, and was not at all pleased tohear that I declined to change General Ewell's dispositions. A pluckyfellow, this colonel, whose name, if ever known, I cannot recall. Thebrigade moved forward until the enemy was reached, when, wheeling to theleft, it walked down his line. The expression is used advisedly, for itwas nothing but a "walk-over. " Sheep would have made as much resistanceas we met. Men decamped without firing, or threw down their arms andsurrendered, and it was so easy that I began to think of traps. Atlength we got under fire from our own skirmishers, and suffered somecasualties, the only ones received in the movement. 

Our whole skirmish line was advancing briskly as the Federals retired. Isought Ewell, and reported. We had a fine game before us, and thetemptation to play it was great; but Jackson's orders were imperativeand wise. He had his stores to save, Shields to guard against, Lee'sgrand strategy to promote; and all this he accomplished, alarmingWashington, fastening McDowell's strong corps at Fredericksburg andpreventing its junction with McClellan, on whose right flank hesubsequently threw himself at Cold Harbor. He could not waste timechasing Fremont, but we, who looked from a lower standpoint, grumbledand shared the men's opinion about the _lemon wagons_. 

The prisoners taken in our promenade were Germans, speaking no English;and we had a similar experience a few days later. In the Federal Armywas a German corps, the 11th, commanded by General O. O. Howard, andcalled by both sides "the Flying Dutchmen. " Since the time of Arminiusthe Germans have been a brave people; to-day, in military renown, theylead the van of the nations; but they require a cause and leaders. Inour Revolutionary struggle the Hessians were unfortunate at Bennington, Saratoga, and Trenton. We have millions of German citizens, andexcellent citizens they are. Let us hope that the foregoing facts may becommended to them, so their ways may be ways of peace in their adoptedland. 

Although the movement along the enemy's line was successful, asdescribed, it was rash and foolish. Fremont had troops which, had theybeen in the place of these Germans, would have made us pass one ofRabelais's unpleasant quarters of an hour. Alarm and disgust at my ownnervousness occasioned it, proving weak nerves to be the source of rashacts. 

Fremont made no further sign, and as the day declined the army wasrecalled to the pike and marched south. Jackson, in person, gave meinstructions to draw up my brigade facing west, on some hills above thepike, and distant from it several hundred yards, where I was to remain. He said that the road was crowded, and he wanted time to clear it, thatFremont was safe for the night, and our cavalry toward Winchesterreported Banks returned to that place from the Potomac, but not likelyto move south before the following day; then rode off, and so rapidly asto give me no time to inquire how long I was to remain, or if thecavalry would advise me in the event that Banks changed his purpose. This was near sunset, and by the time the command was in positiondarkness fell upon us. No fires were allowed, and, stacking arms, themen rested, munching cold rations from their haversacks. It was theirfirst opportunity for a bite since early morning. 

I threw myself on the ground, and tried in vain to sleep. No sound couldbe heard save the clattering of hoofs on the pike, which as the nightwore on became constant. Hour after hour passed, when, thinking I heardfiring to the north, I mounted and looked for the pike. The darkness wasso intense that it could not have been found but for the whitelimestone. Some mounted men were passing, whom I halted to question. They said their command had gone on to rejoin the army, and, theysupposed, had missed me in the dark; but there was a squadron behind, near the enemy's advance, which, a large cavalry force, had moved fromWinchester at an early period of the day and driven our people south. This was pleasant; for Winder's brigade had marched several hours since, and a wide interval existed between us. 

More firing, near and distinct, was heard, and the command was ordereddown to the pike, which it reached after much stumbling and swearing, and some confusion. Fortunately, the battery, Captain Bowyer, had beensent forward at dusk to get forage, and an orderly was dispatched to putit on the march. The 6th (Irish) regiment was in rear, and I took twocompanies for a rear guard. The column had scarce got into motion beforea party of horse rushed through the guard, knocking down several men, one of whom was severely bruised. There was a little pistol-shooting andsabre-hacking, and for some minutes things were rather mixed. Theenemy's cavalry had charged ours, and driven it on the infantry. OneFederal was captured and his horse given to the bruised man, whocongratulated the rider on his promotion to a respectable service. Idismounted, gave my horse to Tom to lead, and marched with the guard. From time to time the enemy would charge, but we could hear him comingand be ready. The guard would halt, about face, front rank with fixedbayonets kneel, rear rank fire, when, by the light of the flash, wecould see emptied saddles. Our pursuers' fire was wild, passing overhead; so we had few casualties, and these slight; but they were bold andenterprising, and well led, often charging close up to the bayonets. Iremarked this, whereupon the Irishmen answered, "Devil thank 'em forthat same. " There was no danger on the flanks. The white of the pikealone guided us. Owls could not have found their way across the fields. The face of the country has been described as a succession of rollingswells, and later the enemy got up guns, but always fired from thesummits, so that his shells passed far above us, exploding in thefields. Had the guns been trained low, with canister, it might haveproved uncomfortable, for the pike ran straight to the south. "It was afine night intirely for divarsion, " said the Irishmen, with whichsentiment I did not agree; but they were as steady as clocks and chirpyas crickets, indulging in many a jest whenever the attentions of ourfriends in the rear were slackened. They had heard of Shields'sproximity, and knew him to be an Irishman by birth, and that he hadIrish regiments with him. During an interlude I was asked if it was notprobable that we would encounter Shields, and answering affirmatively, heard: "Them Germans is poor creatures, but Shields's boys will be afterfighting. " Expressing a belief that my "boys" could match Shields's anyday, I received loud assurance from half a hundred Tipperary throats:"You may bet your life on that, sor. " Thus we beguiled the weary hours. During the night I desired to relieve the guard, but was diverted frommy purpose by scornful howls of "We are the boys to see it out. " AsArgyle's to the tartan, my heart has warmed to an Irishman since thatnight. 

Daylight came, and I tried to brace myself for hotter work, when a bodyof troops was reported in position to the south of my column. Thisproved to be Charles Winder with his (formerly Jackson's own) brigade. An accomplished soldier and true brother-in-arms, he had heard theenemy's guns during the night, and, knowing me to be in rear, halted andformed line to await me. His men were fed and rested, and he insisted ontaking my place in the rear. Passing through Winder's line, we movedslowly, with frequent halts, so as to remain near, the enemy pressinghard during the morning. The day was uncommonly hot, the sun like fire, and water scarce along the road; and our men suffered greatly. 

Just after midday my brisk young aide, Hamilton, whom I had left withWinder to bring early intelligence, came to report that officer introuble and want of assistance. My men were so jaded as to make meunwilling to retrace ground if it could be avoided; so they were orderedto form line on the crest of the slope at hand, and I went to Winder, amile to the rear. His brigade, renowned as the "Stonewall, " was deployedon both sides of the pike, on which he had four guns. Large masses ofcavalry, with guns and some sharp-shooters, were pressing him closely, while far to the north clouds of dust marked the approach of troops. Hisline was on one of the many swells crossing the pike at right angles, and a gentle slope led to the next crest south, beyond which my brigadewas forming. The problem was to retire without giving the enemy, eagerand persistent, an opportunity to charge. The situation looked so bluethat I offered to move back my command; but Winder thought he could pullthrough, and splendidly did he accomplish it. Regiment by regiment, gunby gun, the brigade was withdrawn, always checking the enemy, thoughboldly led. Winder, cool as a professor playing the new German game, directed every movement in person, and the men were worthy of him and oftheir first commander, Jackson. It was very close work in the valebefore he reached the next crest, and heavy volleys were necessary tostay our plucky foes; but, once there, my command showed so strong as toimpress the enemy, who halted to reconnoiter, and the two brigades wereunited without further trouble. 

The position was good, my battery was at hand, and our men were sofatigued that we debated whether it was not more comfortable to fightthan retreat. We could hold the ground for hours against cavalry, andnight would probably come before infantry got up, while retreat wascertain to bring the cavalry on us. At this juncture up came GeneralTurner Ashby, followed by a considerable force of horse, with guns. Thisofficer had been engaged in destroying bridges in Luray Valley, toprevent Shields from crossing that branch of the Shenandoah, and nowcame, much to our satisfaction, to take charge of the rear. He proceededto pay his respects to our friends, and soon took them off our hands. Weremained an hour to rest the men and give Ashby time to make hisdispositions, then moved on. 

Before sunset heavy clouds gathered, and the intense heat was broken bya regular downpour, in the midst of which we crossed the bridge over thewest branch of the Shenandoah--a large stream--at Mount Jackson, andcamped. There was not a dry thread about my person, and my boots wouldhave furnished a respectable bath. Notwithstanding the flood, Tom soonhad a fire, and was off to hunt forage for man and beast. Here we wereless than ten miles from Newmarket, between which and this point thearmy was camped. Jackson was easy about Massanutten Gap. Shields mustmarch south of the mountain to reach him, while the river, just crossed, was now impassable except by bridge. 

We remained thirty-six hours in this camp, from the evening of the 2duntil the morning of the 4th of June--a welcome rest to all. Two days oflight marching carried us thence to Harrisonburg, thirty miles. HereJackson quitted the pike leading to Staunton, and took the road to PortRepublic. This village, twelve miles southeast of Harrisonburg, lies atthe base of the Blue Ridge, on the east bank of the Shenandoah. Severalstreams unite here to form the east (locally called south) branch ofthat river; and here too was the only bridge from Front Royal south, allothers having been destroyed by Ashby to prevent Shields from crossing. This commander was pushing a part of his force south, from Front Royaland Luray, on the east bank. 

The army passed the night of June 5 in camp three miles fromHarrisonburg toward Port Republic. Ewell's division, which I hadrejoined for the first time since we met Jackson, was in rear; and therear brigade was General George Stewart's, composed of one Maryland andtwo Virginia regiments. My command was immediately in advance ofStewart's. Ashby had burnt the bridge at Mount Jackson to delay Fremont, and was camped with his horse in advance of Harrisonburg. The road toPort Republic was heavy from recent rains, causing much delay to trains, so that we did not move on the morning of the 6th. Early in the dayFremont, reënforced from Banks, got up; and his cavalry, vigorously led, pushed Ashby through Harrisonburg, where a sharp action occurred, resulting in the capture of many Federals--among others, Colonel PercyWyndham, commanding brigade, whose meeting with Major Wheat has beendescribed. Later, while Ewell was conversing with me, a message fromAshby took him to the rear. Federal cavalry, supported by infantry, wasadvancing on Ashby. Stewart's brigade was lying in a wood, under coverof which Ewell placed it in position. A severe struggle ensued; theenemy was driven, and many prisoners were taken. I had ridden back withEwell, and so witnessed the affair, uncommonly spirited, and creditableto both sides. Colonel Kane of Philadelphia was among the prisoners andpainfully wounded. Having known his father, Judge Kane, as well as hisbrother, the Arctic explorer, I solicited and obtained from Jackson hisparole. 

Colonel Nicholls, left wounded near Winchester, had married a short timeprevious to the war, and his young wife now appeared, seeking to joinher husband. Jackson referred her request to Ewell, who passed it to me. Of this I was informed by Captain Nicholls, 8th regiment, brother to thecolonel, killed a few days after at Cold Harbor. Much cavalryskirmishing was still going on around Harrisonburg, dangerous for a ladyto pass through; and besides, she had come from Port Republic, seen oursituation, and might be indiscreet. These considerations were stated toCaptain Nicholls, but his sister-in-law insisted on seeing me. A small, fairy-like creature, plucky as a "Dandie Dinmont" terrier, and with aheart as big as Massanutten, she was seated in a nondescript trap, drawnby two mules, driven by a negro. One look from the great, tearful eyesmade of me an abject coward, and I basely shuffled the refusal to lether pass on to Jackson. The Parthian glance of contempt that reached methrough her tears showed that the lady understood and despised mypaltering. Nicholls was speedily exchanged, became a general officer, lost a foot at Chancellorsville, and, after leading his people up out ofcaptivity, is now the conservative Governor of Louisiana. 

The skirmishing spoken of in the above connection developed into severework, in which General Ashby was killed. Alluding to his death in anofficial report, Jackson says, "As a partisan officer I never knew hissuperior. " Like Claverhouse, "with a face that painters loved to limnand ladies look upon, " he was the most daring and accomplished rider ina region of horsemen. His courage was so brilliant as to elicit applausefrom friend and foe, but he was without capacity or disposition toenforce discipline on his men. I witnessed his deep chagrin at theconduct of our troopers after the enemy had been driven from Winchesterin May. With proper organization and discipline, his bold riders underhis lead might have accomplished all that the lamented Nolan claimed aspossible for light cavalry. Popular imagination, especially the female, is much in error as to these matters. Graceful young cavaliers, withflowing locks, leaping cannon to saber countless foes, make acaptivating picture. In the language of Bosquet, "'Tis beautiful, but'tis not war"; and grave mishaps have been occasioned by thismisconception. Valor is as necessary now as ever in war, butdisciplined, subordinated valor, admitting the courage and energies ofall to be welded and directed to a common end. It is much to be desiredthat the ladies would consent to correct their opinions; for, after all, their approval stimulates our best fighting. 

On the 7th of June we marched to a place within four miles of PortRepublic, called Cross Keys, where several roads met. Near at hand wasthe meeting-house of a sect of German Quakers, Tunkers or Dunkards, asthey are indifferently named. Here Jackson determined to await and fightFremont, who followed him hard; but as a part of Shields's force was nowunpleasantly near, he pushed on to Port Republic with Winder's and otherinfantry, and a battery, which camped on the hither bank of the river. Jackson himself, with his staff and a mounted escort, crossed the bridgeand passed the night in the village. 

Ewell, in immediate charge at Cross Keys, was ready early in the morningof the 8th, when Fremont attacked. The ground was undulating, with muchwood, and no extended view could be had. In my front the attack, if suchit could be called, was feeble in the extreme--an affair of skirmishers, in which the enemy yielded to the slightest pressure. A staff officer ofJackson's, in hot haste, came with orders from his chief to march mybrigade double-quick to Port Republic. Elzey's brigade, in second lineto the rear, was asked to take my place and relieve my skirmishers;then, advising the staff officer to notify Ewell, whom he had not seen, we started on the run, for such a message from Jackson meant business. Two of the intervening miles were quickly passed, when another officerappeared with orders to halt. In half an hour, during which the sound ofbattle at Cross Keys thickened, Jackson came. As before stated, he hadpassed the night in the village, with his staff and escort. Up as usualat dawn, he started alone to recross the bridge, leaving his people tofollow. The bridge was a few yards below the last house in the village, and some mist overhung the river. Under cover of this a small body ofhorse, with one gun, from Shields's forces, had reached the east end ofthe bridge and trained the gun on it. Jackson was within an ace ofcapture. As he spurred across, the gun was fired on him, but withouteffect, and the sound brought up staff and escort, when the horseretired north. This incident occasioned the order to me. After relatingit (all save his own danger), Jackson passed on to Ewell. Thither Ifollowed, to remain in reserve until the general forward movement in theafternoon, by which Fremont was driven back with loss of prisoners. Wedid not persist far, as Shields's force was near upon us. From Ewell Ilearned that there had been some pretty fighting in the morning, thoughless than might have been expected from Fremont's numbers. I know not ifthe presence of this commander had a benumbing influence on his troops, but certainly his advanced cavalry and infantry had proved bold andenterprising. 

In the evening we moved to the river and camped. Winder's and otherbrigades crossed the bridge, and during the night Ewell, with most ofthe army, drew near, leaving Trimble's brigade and the horse at CrossKeys. No one apprehended another advance by Fremont. The followingmorning, Sunday, June 9, my command passed the bridge, moved severalhundred yards down the road, and halted. Our trains had gone east overthe Blue Ridge. The sun appeared above the mountain while the men werequietly breakfasting. Suddenly, from below, was heard the din ofbattle, loud and sustained, artillery and small arms. The men spranginto ranks, formed column, and marched, and I galloped forward a shortmile to see the following scene:

From the mountain, clothed to its base with undergrowth and timber, alevel--clear, open, and smooth--extended to the river. This plain wassome thousand yards in width. Half a mile north, a gorge, through whichflowed a small stream, cut the mountain at a right angle. The northernshoulder of this gorge projected farther into the plain than thesouthern, and on an elevated plateau of the shoulder were placed sixguns, sweeping every inch of the plain to the south. Federal lines, their right touching the river, were advancing steadily, with bannersflying and arms gleaming in the sun. A gallant show, they came on. Winder's and another brigade, with a battery, opposed them. This smallforce was suffering cruelly, and its skirmishers were driven in on theirthin supporting line. As my Irishmen predicted, "Shields's boys wereafter fighting. " Below, Ewell was hurrying his men over the bridge, butit looked as if we should be doubled up on him ere he could cross anddevelop much strength. Jackson was on the road, a little in advance ofhis line, where the fire was hottest, with reins on his horse's neck, seemingly in prayer. Attracted by my approach, he said, in his usualvoice, "Delightful excitement. " I replied that it was pleasant to learnhe was enjoying himself, but thought he might have an indigestion ofsuch fun if the six-gun battery was not silenced. He summoned a youngofficer from his staff, and pointed up the mountain. The head of myapproaching column was turned short up the slope, and speedily came to apath running parallel with the river. We took this path, the guideleading the way. From him I learned that the plateau occupied by thebattery had been used for a charcoal kiln, and the path we werefollowing, made by the burners in hauling wood, came upon the gorgeopposite the battery. Moving briskly, we reached the hither side a fewyards from the guns. Infantry was posted near, and riflemen were in theundergrowth on the slope above. Our approach, masked by timber, wasunexpected. The battery was firing rapidly, enabled from elevation tofire over the advancing lines. The head of my column began to deployunder cover for attack, when the sounds of battle to our rear appearedto recede, and a loud Federal cheer was heard, proving Jackson to behard pressed. It was rather an anxious moment, demanding instant action. Leaving a staff officer to direct my rear regiment--the 7th, ColonelHays--to form in the wood as a reserve, I ordered the attack, though thedeployment was not completed, and our rapid march by a narrow path hadoccasioned some disorder. With a rush and shout the gorge was passed andwe were in the battery. Surprise had aided us, but the enemy's infantryrallied in a moment and drove us out. We returned, to be driven a secondtime. The riflemen on the slope worried us no little, and two companiesof the 9th regiment were sent up the gorge to gain ground above anddislodge them, which was accomplished. The fighting in and around thebattery was hand to hand, and many fell from bayonet wounds. Even theartillerymen used their rammers in a way not laid down in the Manual, and died at their guns. As Conan said to the devil, "'Twas claw forclaw. " I called for Hays, but he, the promptest of men, and his splendidregiment, could not be found. Something unexpected had occurred, butthere was no time for speculation. With a desperate rally, in which Ibelieve the drummer-boys shared, we carried the battery for the thirdtime, and held it. Infantry and riflemen had been driven off, and webegan to feel a little comfortable, when the enemy, arrested in hisadvance by our attack, appeared. He had countermarched, and, with leftnear the river, came into full view of our situation. Wheeling to theright, with colors advanced, like a solid wall he marched straight uponus. There seemed nothing left but to set our backs to the mountain anddie hard. At the instant, crashing through the underwood, came Ewell, outriding staff and escort. He produced the effect of a reënforcement, and was welcomed with cheers. The line before us halted and threwforward skirmishers. A moment later, a shell came shrieking along it, loud Confederate cheers reached our delighted ears, and Jackson, freedfrom his toils, rushed up like a whirlwind, the enemy in rapid retreat. We turned the captured guns on them as they passed, Ewell serving as agunner. Though rapid, the retreat never became a rout. Fortune hadrefused her smiles, but Shields's brave "boys" preserved theirorganization and were formidable to the last; and had Shields himself, with his whole command, been on the field, we should have had tough workindeed. 

Jackson came up, with intense light in his eyes, grasped my hand, andsaid the brigade should have the captured battery. I thought the menwould go mad with cheering, especially the Irishmen. A huge fellow, withone eye closed and half his whiskers burned by powder, was ridingcock-horse on a gun, and, catching my attention, yelled out, "We toldyou to bet on your boys. " Their success against brother Patlandersseemed doubly welcome. Strange people, these Irish! Fighting every one'sbattles, and cheerfully taking the hot end of the poker, they are onlyfound wanting when engaged in what they believe to be their nationalcause. Excepting the defense of Limerick under brilliant Sarsfield, Irecall no domestic struggle in which they have shown their worth. 

While Jackson pursued the enemy without much effect, as his cavalry, left in front of Fremont, could not get over till late, we attended tothe wounded and performed the last offices to the dead, our own and theFederal. I have never seen so many dead and wounded in the same limitedspace. A large farmhouse on the plain, opposite the mouth of the gorge, was converted into a hospital. Ere long my lost 7th regiment, sadly cutup, rejoined. This regiment was in rear of the column when we leftJackson to gain the path in the woods, and before it filed out of theroad his thin line was so pressed that Jackson ordered Hays to stop theenemy's rush. This was done, for the 7th would have stopped a herd ofelephants, but at a fearful cost. Colonel Hays was severely wounded, among many others, and the number of killed was large. Upon my promotionto Major-General, Hays succeeded to the command of the brigade, servedthrough the war, returned to the practice of the law, and died in NewOrleans. He was brother to Colonel Jack Hays, formerly of Texas, now ofCalifornia, and shared much of the fighting ability of that renownedpartisan. 

The young officer who guided us through the wood deserves mention, as hewas one of the first to reach the battery, where he was killed. Lieutenant English, near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, proved to be his nameand place of birth. 

Many hours passed in discharge of sad duties to the wounded and dead, during which Fremont appeared on the opposite bank of the river andopened his guns; but, observing doubtless our occupation, he ceased hisfire, and after a short time withdrew. It may be added here that Jacksonhad caused such alarm at Washington as to start Milroy, Banks, Fremont, and Shields toward that capital, and the great valley was cleared of theenemy. 

We passed the night high up the mountain, where we moved to reach oursupply wagons. A cold rain was falling, and before we found them everyone was tired and famished. I rather took it out of the train-master forpushing so far up, although I had lunched comfortably from the haversackof a dead Federal. It is not pleasant to think of now, but war _is_ alittle hardening. 

On the 12th of June the army moved down to the river, above PortRepublic, where the valley was wide, with many trees, and no enemy toworry or make us afraid. Here closed Jackson's wonderful Valley campaignof 1862. [3]

[Footnote 3: A part of the foregoing text was published in the number ofthe "North American Review" for March, 1878, under the title of"Stonewall Jackson and the Valley Campaign. " In a kind and friendlyletter, dated New York, March 21, General Shields corrects somemisapprehensions into which I had fallen, more especially concerning his_personal_ connection with the events described. I had been unable toprocure a copy of General Shields's report, which, he informs me in thesame letter, was suppressed by Secretary Stanton. ]

The Louisiana brigade marched from its camp near Conrad's store, tojoin Jackson at Newmarket, on the 21st of May. In twenty days it marchedover two hundred miles, fought in five actions, of which three weresevere, and several skirmishes, and, though it had suffered heavy lossin officers and men, was yet strong, hard as nails, and full ofconfidence. I have felt it a duty to set forth the achievements of thebrigade, than which no man ever led braver into action, in their properlight, because such reputation as I gained in this campaign is to beascribed to its excellence. 

For the first time since several weeks, friend Ewell and I had a chanceto renew our talks; but events soon parted us again. Subsequently he waswounded in the knee at the second battle of Manassas, and sufferedamputation of the leg in consequence. His absence of mind nearly provedfatal. Forgetting his condition, he suddenly started to walk, came downon the stump, imperfectly healed, and produced violent hæmorrhage. 

About the close of the war he married Mrs. Brown, a widow, and daughterof Judge Campbell, a distinguished citizen of Tennessee, who hadrepresented the United States at the court of St. Petersburg, where thislady was born. She was a kinswoman of Ewell, and said to have been hisearly love. He brought her to New Orleans in 1866, where I hastened tosee him. He took me by the hand and presented me to "my wife, Mrs. Brown. " How well I remember our chat! How he talked of his plans andhopes and happiness, and of his great lot of books, which he was afraidhe would never be able to read through. The while "my wife, Mrs. Brown, "sat by, handsome as a picture, smiling on her General, as well shemight, so noble a gentleman. A few short years, and both he and his wifepassed away within an hour of each other; but his last years were madehappy by her companionship, and comfortable by the wealth she hadbrought him. Dear Dick Ewell! Virginia never bred a truer gentleman, abraver soldier, nor an odder, more lovable fellow. 

On the second day in this camp General Winder came to me and said thathe had asked leave to go to Richmond, been refused, and resigned. Hecommanded Jackson's old brigade, and was aggrieved by some unjustinterference. Holding Winder in high esteem, I hoped to save him to thearmy, and went to Jackson, to whose magnanimity I appealed, and toarouse this dwelt on the rich harvest of glory he had reaped in hisbrilliant campaign. Observing him closely, I caught a glimpse of theman's inner nature. It was but a glimpse. The curtain closed, and he wasabsorbed in prayer. Yet in that moment I saw an ambition boundless asCromwell's, and as merciless. This latter quality was exhibited in histreatment of General Richard Garnett, cousin to Robert Garnett, beforementioned, and his codisciple at West Point. I have never met officer orsoldier, present at Kernstown, who failed to condemn the harsh treatmentof Garnett after that action. Richard Garnett was subsequently restoredto command at my instance near Jackson, and fell on the field ofGettysburg. 

No reply was made to my effort for Winder, and I rose to take my leave, when Jackson said he would ride with me. We passed silently along theway to my camp, where he left me. That night a few lines came fromWinder, to inform me that Jackson had called on him, and his resignationwas withdrawn. 

Charles Winder was born in Maryland, graduated at West Point in 1850, embarked soon thereafter for California in charge of a detachment ofrecruits, was wrecked on the coast, and saved his men by his coolnessand energy. He left the United States army to join the Confederacy, andwas killed at Cedar Run some weeks after this period. Had he lived, hewould have reached and adorned high position. 

And now a great weariness and depression fell upon me. I was threatenedwith a return of the illness experienced the previous autumn. For manyweeks I had received no intelligence from my family. New Orleans hadfallen, and my wife and children resided there or on an estate near thecity. I hoped to learn of them at Richmond; change might benefit health, and matters were quiet in the Valley. Accordingly, a short leave wasasked for and granted; and although I returned within three days to joinmy command on the march to Cold Harbor, we were absorbed in the largerarmy operating against McClellan, and I saw but little of Jackson. 

I have written that he was ambitious; and his ambition was vast, all-absorbing. Like the unhappy wretch from whose shoulders sprang thefoul serpent, he loathed it, perhaps feared it; but he could not escapeit--it was himself--nor rend it--it was his own flesh. He fought it withprayer, constant and earnest--Apollyon and Christian in ceaselesscombat. What limit to set to his ability I know not, for he was eversuperior to occasion. Under ordinary circumstances it was difficult toestimate him because of his peculiarities--peculiarities that would havemade a lesser man absurd, but that served to enhance his martial fame, as those of Samuel Johnson did his literary eminence. He once observed, in reply to an allusion to his severe marching, that it was better tolose one man in marching than five in fighting; and, acting on this, heinvariably surprised the enemy--Milroy at McDowell, Banks and Fremont inthe Valley, McClellan's right at Cold Harbor, Pope at second Manassas. 

Fortunate in his death, he fell at the summit of glory, before the sunof the Confederacy had set, ere defeat, and suffering, and selfishnesscould turn their fangs upon him. As one man, the South wept for him;foreign nations shared the grief; even Federals praised him. With Wolfeand Nelson and Havelock, he took his place in the hearts ofEnglish-speaking peoples. 

In the first years of this century, a great battle was fought on theplains of the Danube. A determined charge on the Austrian center gainedthe victory for France. The courage and example of a private soldier, who there fell, contributed much to the success of the charge. Everafter, at the parades of his battalion, the name of Latour d'Auvergnewas first called, when the oldest sergeant stepped to the front andanswered, "Died on the field of honor. " In Valhalla, beyond the grave, where spirits of warriors assemble, when on the roll of heroes the nameof Jackson is reached, it will be for the majestic shade of Lee topronounce the highest eulogy known to our race--"Died on the field ofduty. "

I reached Richmond, by Charlottesville and Lynchburg, the day afterleaving camp, and went to the war office, where I found letters from myfamily. My wife and children had left New Orleans on a steamer just asFarragut's fleet arrived, and were on the Atchafalaya River withfriends, all well. While reading my letters, an acquaintance in highposition in the office greeted me, but went on to say, if I knew whatwas afoot, my stay in Richmond would be short. Taking the hint, andfeeling improved in health in consequence of relief from anxiety aboutmy family, I returned to the station at once, and took rail toCharlottesville. Arrived there, I met the Valley army in march to thesoutheast, and joined my command. 

That night we camped between Charlottesville and Gordonsville, in OrangeCounty, the birthplace of my father. A distant kinsman, whom I had nevermet, came to invite me to his house in the neighborhood. Learning that Ialways slept in camp, he seemed so much distressed as to get my consentto breakfast with him, if he would engage to have breakfast at thebarbarous hour of sunrise. His house was a little distant from the road;so, the following morning, he sent a mounted groom to show the way. Myaide, young Hamilton, accompanied me, and Tom of course followed. It wasa fine old mansion, surrounded by well-kept grounds. This immediateregion had not yet been touched by war. Flowering plants and rose trees, in full bloom, attested the glorious wealth of June. On the broadportico, to welcome us, stood the host, with his fresh, charming wife, and, a little retired, a white-headed butler. Greetings over with hostand lady, this delightful creature, with ebon face beaming hospitality, advanced, holding a salver, on which rested a huge silver goblet filledwith Virginia's nectar, mint julep. Quantities of cracked ice rattledrefreshingly in the goblet; sprigs of fragrant mint peered above itsbroad rim; a mass of white sugar, too sweetly indolent to melt, restedon the mint; and, like rose buds on a snow bank, luscious strawberriescrowned the sugar. Ah! that julep! Mars ne'er received such tipple fromthe hands of Ganymede. Breakfast was announced, and what a breakfast! Abeautiful service, snowy table cloth, damask napkins, long unknown;above all, a lovely woman in crisp gown, with more and handsomer roseson her cheek than in her garden. 'Twas an idyl in the midst of the sternrealities of war! The table groaned beneath its viands. Sable servitorsbrought in, hot and hot from the kitchen, cakes of wondrous forms, inventions of the tropical imagination of Africa, inflamed by Virginianhospitality. I was rather a moderate trencherman, but the performance ofHamilton was Gargantuan, alarming. Duty dragged us from this Eden; yetin hurried adieus I did not forget to claim of the fair hostess theprivilege of a cousin. I watched Hamilton narrowly for a time. The youthwore a sodden, apoplectic look, quite out of his usual brisk form. Agallop of some miles put him right, but for many days he dilated on thebreakfast with the gusto of one of Hannibal's veterans on the delightsof Capua. 

CHAPTER VI. 

"THE SEVEN DAYS AROUND RICHMOND. "

Leaving Gordonsville, we proceeded in a southeasterly direction, passingLouisa Court House and Frederickshall, and camped at Ashland on theFredericksburg Railway, twelve miles north of Richmond, on the eveningof the 25th of June. To deceive the enemy, General Lee had sent to theValley a considerable force under Generals Whiting, Hood, and Lawton. The movement was openly made and speedily known at Washington, where itproduced the desired impression, that Jackson would invade Maryland fromthe Valley. These troops reached Staunton by rail on the 17th, and, without leaving the train, turned back to Gordonsville, where theyunited with Jackson. The line from Gordonsville to Frederickshall, southof which point it had been interrupted, was used to facilitate ourmovement, but this was slow and uncertain. The advance frequently haltedor changed direction. We were pushing between McDowell and McClellan'sright, over ground recently occupied by the enemy. Bridges had beendestroyed, and, to conceal the movement, no guides were trusted--anover-caution occasioning delay. 

During the day and night of the 25th I suffered from severe pains in thehead and loins, and on the morning of the 26th found it impossible tomount my horse; so the brigade marched under the senior colonel, Seymour, 6th regiment. A small ambulance was left with me, and my staffwas directed to accompany Seymour and send back word if an engagementwas imminent. Several messages came during the day, the last afternightfall, reporting the command to be camped near Pole Green Church, beyond the Chickahominy; so far, no fighting. Lying on the floor of avacant house at Ashland, I had scarce consciousness to comprehend thesemessages. Pains in head and back continued, with loss of power to movemy limbs. 

Toward daylight of the 27th sleep came from exhaustion, and lasted somehours. From this I was aroused by sounds of artillery, loud andconstant, brought by the easterly wind. Tom raised me into a sittingposture, and administered a cup of strong coffee. The sound of battlecontinued until it became unendurable, and I was put into the ambulanceby Tom and the driver, the former following with the horses. We took theroute by which the troops had marched, the din of conflict increasingwith every mile, the rattle of small arms mingling with the thud ofguns. After weary hours of rough road, every jolt on which threatened todestroy my remaining vitality, we approached Cold Harbor and met numbersof wounded. Among these was General Elzey, with a dreadful wound in thehead and face. His aide was taking him to the rear in an ambulance, and, recognizing Tom, stopped a moment to tell of the fight. Ewell'sdivision, to which Elzey and I belonged, had just been engaged withheavy loss. This was too much for any illness, and I managed somehow tostruggle on to my horse and get into the action. 

It was a wild scene. Battle was raging furiously. Shot, shell, and ballexploded and whistled. Hundreds of wounded were being carried off, whilethe ground was strewn with dead. Dense thickets of small pines coveredmuch of the field, further obscured by clouds of smoke. The first troopsencountered were D. H. Hill's, and, making way through these, I came uponWinder's, moving across the front from right to left. Then succeededElzey's of Ewell's division, and, across the road leading to Gaines'sMill, my own. Mangled and bleeding, as were all of Ewell's, it washolding the ground it had won close to the enemy's line, but unable toadvance. The sun was setting as I joined, and at the moment cheers cameup from our left, raised by Winder's command, which had turned and wassweeping the Federal right, while Lawton's Georgians, fresh and eager, attacked in our front. The enemy gave way, and, under cover of thenight, retired over the Chickahominy. Firing continued for two hours, though darkness concealed everything. 

The loss in my command was distressing. Wheat, of whom I have written, was gone, and Seymour, and many others. I had a wretched feeling ofguilt, especially about Seymour, who led the brigade and died in myplace. Colonel Seymour was born in Georgia, but had long resided in NewOrleans, where he edited the leading commercial paper--a man of culture, respected of all. In early life he had served in Indian and Mexicanwars, and his high spirit brought him to this, though past middle age. Brave old Seymour! I can see him now, mounting the hill at Winchester, on foot, with sword and cap in hand, his thin gray locks streaming, turning to his sturdy Irishmen with "Steady, men! dress to the right!"Georgia has been fertile of worthies, but will produce none moredeserving than Colonel Seymour. 

The following morning, while looking to the burial of the dead and careof the wounded, I had an opportunity of examining the field of battle. The campaign around Richmond is too well known to justify me in enteringinto details, and I shall confine myself to events within my ownexperience, only enlarging on such general features as are necessary toexplain criticism. 

The Chickahominy, a sluggish stream and subject to floods, flows througha low, marshy bottom, draining the country between the Pamunky or Yorkand James Rivers, into which last it discharges many miles belowRichmond. The upper portion of its course from the crossing of theCentral Railroad, six miles north of Richmond, to Long Bridge, somethree times that distance to the southeast, is parallel with both theabove-mentioned rivers. The bridges with which we were concerned at andafter Cold Harbor were the Federal military bridges, Grapevine, YorkRiver Railroad, Bottom's, and Long, the lowermost; after which thestream, affected by tide, spread over a marshy country. The upper orGrapevine Bridge was on the road leading due south from Cold Harbor, and, passing Savage's Station on York River Railroad, united with theWilliamsburg road, which ran east from Richmond to Bottom's Bridge. Abranch from this Williamsburg road continued on the south bank of theChickahominy to Long Bridge, where it joined the Charles City, Darbytown, and Newmarket roads coming south-southeast from Richmond. Many other roads, with no names or confusing ones, crossed this region, which was densely wooded and intersected by sluggish streams, drainingthe marshes into both the Chickahominy and James. We came upon two ofthese country roads leading in quite different directions, but bearingthe same name, Grapevine; and it will astound advocates of phonics tolearn that the name of _Darby_ (whence Darbytown) was thus pronounced, while it was spelt and written _Enroughty_. A German philologist mighthave discovered, unaided, the connection between the sound and theletters; but it would hardly have occurred to mortals of less erudition. 

At the beginning of operations in this Richmond campaign, Lee hadseventy-five thousand men, McClellan one hundred thousand. Round numbersare here given, but they are taken from official sources. A high opinionhas been expressed of the strategy of Lee, by which Jackson's forcesfrom the Valley were suddenly thrust between McDowell and McClellan'sright, and it deserves all praise; but the tactics on the field werevastly inferior to the strategy. Indeed, it may be confidently assertedthat from Cold Harbor to Malvern Hill, inclusive, there was nothing buta series of blunders, one after another, and all huge. The Confederatecommanders knew no more about the topography of the country than theydid about Central Africa. Here was a limited district, the whole of itwithin a day's march of the city of Richmond, capital of Virginia andthe Confederacy, almost the first spot on the continent occupied by theBritish race, the Chickahominy itself classic by legends of Captain JohnSmith and Pocahontas; and yet we were profoundly ignorant of thecountry, were without maps, sketches, or proper guides, and nearly ashelpless as if we had been suddenly transferred to the banks of theLualaba. The day before the battle of Malvern Hill, President Daviscould not find a guide with intelligence enough to show him the wayfrom one of our columns to another; and this fact I have from him. People find a small cable in the middle of the ocean, a thousand fathomsbelow the surface. For two days we lost McClellan's great army in a fewmiles of woodland, and never had any definite knowledge of itsmovements. Let it be remembered, too, that McClellan had opened thepeninsular campaign weeks before, indicating this very region to be thenecessary theatre of conflict; that the Confederate commander (up to thetime of his wound at Fair Oaks), General Johnston, had been atopographical engineer in the United States army; while his successor, General Lee--another engineer--had been on duty at the war office inRichmond and in constant intercourse with President Davis, who waseducated at West Point and served seven years; and then think of ourignorance in a military sense of the ground over which we were called tofight. Every one must agree that it was amazing. Even now, I canscarcely realize it. McClellan was as superior to us in knowledge of ourown land as were the Germans to the French in their late war, and owedthe success of his retreat to it, although credit must be given to hisability. We had much praying at various headquarters, and large relianceon special providences; but none were vouchsafed, by pillar of cloud orfire, to supplement our ignorance; so we blundered on like people tryingto read without knowledge of their letters. 

To return to the field of Cold Harbor, the morning (Saturday) after thebattle. McClellan had chosen an excellent position, covering hismilitary bridges over the Chickahominy. His left, resting on the river, and his center were covered by a small stream, one of its affluents, boggy and of difficult passage. His right was on high ground, near ColdHarbor, in a dense thicket of pine-scrub, with artillery massed. Thisposition, three miles in extent, and enfiladed in front by heavy guns onthe south bank of the Chickahominy, was held by three lines of infantry, one above the other on the rising ground, which was crowned withnumerous batteries, concealed by timber. McClellan reported thirty-sixthousand men present, including Sykes's and Porter's regulars; butreënforcements brought over during the action probably increased thisnumber to fifty thousand. Lee had forty thousand on the field. 

Longstreet attacked on our right, near the river, A. P. Hill on his left. Jackson approached Cold Harbor from the north, his divisions in columnon one road as follows: Ewell's, Whiting's, Lawton's (Georgians), andWinder's. At Cold Harbor Jackson united with the division of D. H. Hill, in advance of him, and directed it to _find_ and attack the enemy'sright. His own divisions, in the order above named, were to come up onD. H. Hill's right and connect it with A. P. Hill's left. Artillery wasonly employed by the Confederates late in the day, and on their extremeleft. 

D. H. Hill and Ewell were speedily engaged, and suffered heavily, as didA. P. Hill and Longstreet, all attacking in front. Ignorance of theground, densely wooded, and want of guides occasioned confusion anddelay in the divisions to Ewell's rear. Lawton came to Ewell's support, Whiting to A. P. Hill's; while of the three brigades of the lastdivision, the second went to Longstreet's right, the third to A. P. Hill's center, and the first was taken by Winder, with a fine soldierlyinstinct, from right to left, across the battle, to reënforce D. H. Hilland turn the Federal position. This movement was decisive, and ifexecuted earlier would have saved loss of men and time. So much forfighting on unknown ground. 

During the day of Saturday, McClellan remained on the south bank of theChickahominy with guns in position guarding his bridges; and the onlymovement made by Lee was to send Stuart's cavalry east to the riverterminus of the York Railway, and Ewell's division to the bridge of thatline over the Chickahominy and to Bottom's, a short distance below. Latein the evening General Lee informed me that I would remain the followingday to guard Bottom's and the railway bridges, while Stuart's cavalrywatched the river below to Long Bridge and beyond. From all indications, he thought that McClellan would withdraw during the night, and expectedto cross the river in the morning to unite with Magruder and Huger inpursuit. Holmes's division was to be brought from the south side of theJames to bar the enemy's road; and he expressed some confidence that hisdispositions would inflict serious loss on McClellan's army, if he couldreceive prompt and accurate information of that General's movements. Meantime, I would remain until the following (Sunday) evening, unlesssooner convinced of the enemy's designs, when I would cross GrapevineBridge and follow Jackson. It is to be presumed that General Leedisclosed so much of his plans to his subordinates as he deemednecessary to insure their intelligent execution. 

The morning light showed that the Federals had destroyed a part of therailway bridge near the center of the stream. We were opposite toSavage's Station (on the line toward Richmond), from which distinctsounds reached us, but dense forest limited vision to the margin of theriver. Smoke rising above the trees, and explosions, indicated thedestruction of stores. In the afternoon, a great noise of battlecame--artillery, small arms, shouts. This, as we afterward learned, wasMagruder's engagement at Savage's Station, but this din of combat wassilenced to our ears by the following incident: A train was heardapproaching from Savage's. Gathering speed, it came rushing on, andquickly emerged from the forest, two engines drawing a long string ofcarriages. Reaching the bridge, the engines exploded with terrificnoise, followed in succession by explosions of the carriages, laden withammunition. Shells burst in all directions, the river was lashed intofoam, trees were torn for acres around, and several of my men werewounded. The enemy had taken this means of destroying surplusammunition. 

After this queer action had ceased, as sunset was approaching, and allquiet at Bottom's Bridge, we moved up stream and crossed GrapevineBridge, repaired by Jackson earlier in the day. Darkness fell as webivouacked on the low ground south of the river. A heavy rain came down, converting the ground into a lake, in the midst of which a half-drownedcourier, with a dispatch, was brought to me. With difficulty, underneathan ambulance, a light was struck to read the dispatch, which proved tobe from Magruder, asking for reënforcements in front of Savage'sStation, where he was then engaged. Several hours had elapsed since thecourier left Magruder, and he could tell nothing beyond the fact of theengagement, the noise of which we had heard. It must be borne in mindthat, during the operations north of the Chickahominy, the divisions ofMagruder and Huger had remained in position between McClellan's left andRichmond. 

In the night the enemy disappeared from Savage's, near which we passedthe following (Monday) morning, in march to rejoin Jackson. Weencountered troops of Magruder's, Huger's, and other divisions, seekingto find their proper routes. Countless questions about roads were askedin vain. At length, we discovered that Jackson had followed the onenearest the Chickahominy, and about noon overtook the rear of hiscolumn, halted in the road. Artillery could be heard in front, and astaff officer was sent to find out the meaning of it. 

Enfeebled by pain, I used an ambulance to husband my little strength foremergencies; and I think it was here that General Wade Hampton, accompanied by Senator Wigfall, came up to me. Hampton had been promotedto brigadier for gallantry at Manassas, where he was wounded, but notyet assigned to a command. Wigfall had left the army to take a seat inthe Confederate Congress as Senator from Texas, and from him I learnedthat he was in hopes some brigadier would be killed to make a place forHampton, to whom, as volunteer aide, he proposed to attach himself andsee the fun. Finding me extended in an ambulance, he doubtless thoughthe had met his opportunity, and felt aggrieved that I was not _inextremis_. Hampton took command of a brigade in Jackson's old divisionthe next day, and perhaps his friend Wigfall enjoyed himself at MalvernHill. 

The staff officer returned from the front and reported the situation. D. H. Hill's division was at White Oak Swamp Creek, a slough, and one of"despond" to us, draining to the Chickahominy. The enemy held the highground beyond, and artillery fire was continuous, but no infantry wasengaged. There was no change until nightfall, when we bivouacked wherewe were. Our loss, _one_ artilleryman mortally wounded, proved that noserious effort to pass the slough was made; yet a prize was in reachworth the loss of thousands. While we were idly shelling the wood, behind which lay Franklin's corps--the right of McClellan's army--scarcea rifle shot to the southwest, but concealed by intervening forest, Longstreet and A. P. Hill were fighting the bloody engagement ofFrazier's Farm with Heintzelman and McCall, the Federal center and left. Again, fractions against masses; for of the two divisions expected tosupport them, Magruder's and Huger's, the latter did not get up, and theformer was taken off by a misleading message from Holmes, who, from thesouth bank of the James, had reached the Newmarket road a day later thanwas intended. Longstreet and Hill fought into the night, held a largepart of the field, and captured many prisoners (including GeneralMcCall) and guns, but their own loss was severe. After the action, Franklin quietly passed within a few yards of them, joined Heintzelman, and with him gained Malvern Hill, which McClellan had fortified duringthe day, employing for the purpose the commands of Keyes and Porter. 

On the succeeding morning (July 1), Jackson followed the enemy's trackfrom White Oak Swamp Creek toward Malvern Hill, passing the field ofFrazier's Farm, and Magruder's division, which had arrived in the nightand relieved the exhausted commands of Longstreet and Hill. 

Malvern Hill was a desperate position to attack in front, though, likeCold Harbor, it could be turned on the right. Here McClellan was postedwith his whole force. His right was covered by Turkey Creek, an affluentof the James; his left was near that river and protected by gunboats, which, though hidden by timber, threw shells across his entire front. Distance and uncertainty of aim saved us from much loss by theseprojectiles, but their shriek and elongated form astonished our landwardmen, who called them lamp posts. By its height, Malvern Hill dominatedthe ground to the north, the James River, and the Newmarket road onwhich we approached, and was crowned with a numerous and heavyartillery. On our side, from inferior elevation, artillery labored undera great disadvantage, and was brought into action in detail to beoverpowered. 

The left attack was assigned to Jackson, the right to Magruder, supported by Huger and Holmes--Longstreet and A. P. Hill in reserve. Jackson's dispositions were as follows: On the extreme left, thedivision of Whiting, then artillery supported by a brigade under WadeHampton, my brigade, and on my right the division of D. H. Hill. Inreserve were the remainder of Ewell's division and the brigades ofWinder, Lawton, and Cunningham. It was perhaps 3 o'clock of theafternoon before these dispositions were completed. 

As it was General Lee's intention to open from his right, Magruder waswaited for, who, following Jackson on the road, was necessarily later ingetting into position. Orders were for Hill to attack with the bayonetas soon as he heard the cheers of Magruder's charge. To be ready, Hilladvanced over open ground to some timber within four hundred yards ofthe enemy's line, but suffered in doing so. Artillery sent to hissupport was crippled and driven off. It was 5 o'clock or after when aloud shout and some firing were heard on the right, and, supposing thisto be Magruder's attack, Hill led his men to the charge. He carried thefirst line of the enemy, who, unoccupied elsewhere, reënforced at once, and Hill was beaten off with severe loss. The brigades of Trimble, Lawton, Winder, and Cunningham were sent to his assistance, but couldaccomplish nothing beyond holding the ground. About sunset, after Hill'sattack had failed, Magruder got into position and led on his men withsimilar fortune. Like Hill, he and his troops displayed superb courageand suffered enormously; but it was not to be; such partial attacks werewithout the first element of success. My brigade was not moved from itsposition, but experienced some loss by artillery. 

After the action, Stuart arrived from the north side of theChickahominy, where he had been since Cold Harbor. Had he been broughtover the Long Bridge two days earlier, McClellan's huge trains on theCharles City road would have fallen an easy prey to his cavalry, and hecould have blocked the roads through the forest. 

McClellan's guns continued firing long after nightfall, but the ensuingmorning found him and his army at Harrison's Landing, in an impregnableposition. Here ended the campaign around Richmond. 

The strategy displayed on the Confederate side was magnificent, and gaveopportunity for resplendent success; but this opportunity was lost bytactical mistakes, occasioned by want of knowledge of the theatre ofaction, and it is to be feared that Time, when he renders his verdict, will declare the gallant dead who fell at Gaines's Mill, Cold Harbor, Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill, to have been sacrificed on the altarof the bloodiest of all Molochs--Ignorance. 

The crisis of my illness now came in a paralysis of the lower limbs, andI was taken to Richmond, where I learned of my promotion tomajor-general, on the recommendation of Jackson, for services in theValley, and assignment to a distant field. 

 * * * * *

Having expressed an opinion of McClellan as an organizer of armies, Iwill now treat of his conduct as a commander in this and his subsequentcampaign. His first operations on the peninsula were marked by aslowness and hesitancy to be expected of an engineer, with smallexperience in handling troops. His opponent, General Magruder, was a manof singular versatility. Of a boiling, headlong courage, he was tooexcitable for high command. Widely known for social attractions, he hada histrionic vein, and indeed was fond of private theatricals. Fewmanagers could have surpassed him in imposing on an audience a score ofsupernumeraries for a grand army. Accordingly, with scarce a tenth theforce, he made McClellan reconnoiter and deploy with all the caution ofold Melas, till Johnston came up. It is true that McClellan steadilyimproved, and gained confidence in himself and his army; yet he seemedto regard the latter as a parent does a child, and, like the firstFrederick William's gigantic grenadiers, too precious for gunpowder. 

His position in front of Richmond, necessitated by the establishment ofhis base on York River, was vicious, because his army was separated bythe Chickahominy, a stream subject to heavy floods, which swept awaybridges and made the adjacent lowlands impassable. Attacked at Fair Oakswhile the river was in flood, he displayed energy, but owed the escapeof his two exposed corps to Johnston's wound and the subsequent blundersof the Confederates. To operate against Richmond on the north bank ofthe James, his proper plan was to clear that river and rest his leftupon it, or to make the Potomac and Rappahannock his base, as the lineof rail from Aquia and Fredericksburg was but little longer than theYork River line. This, keeping him more directly between the Confederatearmy and Washington, would have given him McDowell's corps, thewithdrawal of which from his direction he earnestly objected to. Thetrue line of attack was on the south of the James, where Grant wassubsequently forced by the ability of Lee; but it should be observedthat after he took the field, McClellan had not the liberty of actionaccorded to Grant. That Lee caught his right "in the air" at Hanover andCold Harbor, McClellan ascribes to his Government's interference withand withdrawal of McDowell's corps. Reserving this, he fought well atGaines's Mill, Cold Harbor, and Frazier's Farm. Always protecting hisselected line of retreat, bringing off his movable stores, andpreserving the organization of his army, he restored its spirit and_morale_ by turning at Malvern Hill to inflict a bloody repulse on hisenemy. In his official report he speaks of his movement from theChickahominy to Harrison's Landing on the James as a change of base, previously determined. This his detractors sneer at as an afterthought, thereby unwittingly enhancing his merit. Regarded as a change of base, carefully considered and provided for, it was most creditable; but ifsuddenly and unexpectedly forced upon him, he exhibited a courage, vigor, and presence of mind worthy of the greatest commanders. 

Safe at Harrison's Landing, in communication with the fleet, the armywas transferred from McClellan to the command of General Pope; and theinfluence of McClellan on his troops can not be correctly estimatedwithout some allusion to this officer, under whose command the FederalArmy of the Potomac suffered such mortifying defeat. Of an effronterywhile danger was remote equaled by helplessness when it was present, andmendacity after it had passed, the annals of despotism scarce afford anexample of the elevation of such a favorite. It has been said that histalent for the relation of obscene stories engaged the attention andconfidence of President Lincoln. However this may be, great was theconsternation at Washington produced by his incapacity. The bitternessof official rancor was sweetened, and in honeyed phrase McClellan wasimplored to save the capital. He displayed an unselfish patriotism byaccepting the task without conditions for himself, but it may be doubtedif he was right in leaving devoted friends under the scalping-knife, speedily applied, as might have been foreseen. 

With vigor he restored order and spirit to the army, and led it, throughthe passes of South Mountain, to face Lee, who was stretched fromChambersburg to Harper's Ferry. Having unaccountably permitted hiscavalry to separate from him, and deprived himself of adequate means ofinformation, Lee was to some extent taken unawares. His thin lines atAntietam, slowly fed with men jaded by heavy marching, were sorelypressed. There was a moment, as Hooker's advance was stayed by the woundof its leader, when McClellan, with _storgé_ of battle, might have ledon his reserves and swept the field. Hard would it have been for theConfederates, with the river in rear; but this seemed beyond McClellanor outside of his nature. Antietam was a drawn battle, and Lee recrossedinto Virginia at his leisure. 

While it may be confidently believed that McClellan would have continuedto improve by experience in the field, it is doubtful if he possessedthat divine spark which impels a commander, at the accepted moment, tothrow every man on the enemy and grasp complete victory. But hisGovernment gave him no further opportunity. He disappeared from the war, to be succeeded by mediocrity, too well recognized to disturb thesusceptibility of a War Secretary who, like Louvois, was able, butjealous of merit and lustful of power. 

 * * * * *

Although in the last months of the war, after he had assumed command ofthe armies of the Confederacy, I had some correspondence with GeneralLee, I never met him again, and indeed was widely separated from him, and it now behooves me to set forth an opinion of his place in Southernhistory. Of all the men I have seen, he was best entitled to the epithetof distinguished; and so marked was his appearance in this particular, that he would not have passed unnoticed through the streets of anycapital. Reserved almost to coldness, his calm dignity repelledfamiliarity: not that he seemed without sympathies, but that he had soconquered his own weaknesses as to prevent the confession of othersbefore him. At the outbreak of the war his reputation was exclusivelythat of an engineer, in which branch of the military service of theUnited States he had, with a short exception, passed his career. He wasearly sent to Western Virginia on a forlorn hope against Rosecrans, where he had no success; for success was impossible. Yet his loftycharacter was respected of all and compelled public confidence. Indeed, his character seemed perfect, his bath in Stygian waters complete; not avulnerable spot remained: _totus teres atque rotundus_. His soldiersreverenced him and had unbounded confidence in him, for he shared alltheir privations, and they saw him ever unshaken of fortune. Tender andprotecting love he did not inspire: such love is given to weakness, notto strength. Not only was he destitute of a vulgar greed for fame, hewould not extend a hand to welcome it when it came unbidden. He waswithout ambition, and, like Washington, into whose family connection hehad married, kept duty as his guide. 

The strategy by which he openly, to attract attention, reënforcedJackson in the Valley, to thrust him between McDowell and McClellan atCold Harbor, deserves to rank with Marlborough's cross march in Germanyand Napoleon's rapid concentration around Ulm; though his tacticalmanoeuvres on the field were inferior to the strategy. His wonderfuldefensive campaign in 1864 stands with that of Napoleon in 1813; and thecomparison only fails by an absence of sharp returns to the offensive. The historian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states (and, as far asI have seen, uncontradicted) that Grant's army, at second Cold Harbor, refused to obey the order to attack, so distressed was it by constantbutchery. In such a condition of _morale_ an advance upon it might havechanged history. In truth, the genius of Lee for offensive war hadsuffered by a too long service as an engineer. Like Erskine in the Houseof Commons, it was not his forte. In both the Antietam and Gettysburgcampaigns he allowed his cavalry to separate from him, and was leftwithout intelligence of the enemy's movements until he was upon him. Inboth, too, his army was widely scattered, and had to be brought intoaction by piecemeal. There was an abundance of supplies in the countryimmediately around Harper's Ferry, and had he remained concentratedthere, the surrender of Miles would have been advanced, and McClellanmet under favorable conditions. His own report of Gettysburg confesseshis mistakes; for he was of too lofty a nature to seek scapegoats, andall the rambling accounts of that action I have seen published add butlittle to his report. These criticisms are written with unaffecteddiffidence; but it is only by studying the campaigns of great commandersthat the art of war can be illustrated. 

Nevertheless, from the moment Lee succeeded to the command of the armyin Virginia, he was _facile princeps_ in the war, towering above all onboth sides, as the pyramid of Ghizeh above the desert. Steadfast to theend, he upheld the waning fortunes of the Confederacy as did Hectorthose of Troy. Last scene of all, at his surrender, his greatness anddignity made of his adversary but a humble accessory; and if departedintelligences be permitted to take ken of the affairs of this world, thesoul of Light Horse Harry rejoices that his own eulogy of Washington, "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen, "is now, by the united voice of the South, applied to his noble son. 

Foregoing criticisms have indicated the tendency of engineer service tounfit men for command. It was once said of a certain colonel that he wasan admirable officer when absent from soldiers. No amount of theoreticaltraining can supply the knowledge gained by direct and immediateassociation with troops. The ablest and most promising graduates fromWest Point are annually assigned to the engineer and ordnance corps. After some years they become scientists, perhaps pedants, but notsoldiers. Whatever may be the ultimate destination of such young men, they should be placed on duty for at least one year with each arm of theservice, and all officers of the general staff below the highest gradesshould be returned to the line for limited periods. In no other way cana healthy connection between line and staff be preserved. The UnitedStates will doubtless continue to maintain an army, however small, as amodel, if for no other purpose, for volunteers, the reliance of thecountry in the event of a serious war. It ought to have the bestpossible article for the money, and, to secure this, should establish acamp of instruction, composed of all arms, where officers could studythe actual movements of troops. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA. 

A month of rest at Richmond restored my health, which subsequentlyremained good; but in leaving Virginia I was separated from my brigade, endeared by so many memories. It remained with Lee's army, and gaineddistinction in many battles. As the last preserved of Benjamin on therock of Rimmon, scarce a handful survived the war; but its story wouldcomprise much of that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and I hope somesurvivor, who endured till the end, will relate it. A braver commandnever formed line of battle. 

And now I turned my steps toward the West, where, beyond the "father ofwaters, " two years of hard work and much fighting awaited me. The mostdirect route to the Southwest was by Chattanooga, where General Braggwas concentrating the Army of Tennessee. This officer had requested theWar Department to assign me to duty with his army as chief of staff, andit was suggested to me to call on him _en route_. He had reachedChattanooga in advance of his troops, then moving from Tupelo innorthern Mississippi. In the two days passed at Chattanooga, GeneralBragg communicated to me his plan of campaign into Kentucky, which wasexcellent, giving promise of large results if vigorously executed; and Ithink its failure may be ascribed to the infirmities of the commander. 

Born in North Carolina, graduated from West Point in 1837, Bragg servedlong and creditably in the United States artillery. In the war withMexico he gained much celebrity, especially at Buena Vista, to thesuccess of which action, under the immediate eye of General ZacharyTaylor, he largely contributed. Resigning the service, he married alady of Louisiana and purchased an estate on the Bayou Lafourche, wherehe resided at the outbreak of civil war. Promoted to the rank of generalafter the death of Albert Sidney Johnston, he succeeded Beauregard, retired by ill health, in command of the Army of Tennessee. Possessingexperience in and talent for war, he was the most laborious ofcommanders, devoting every moment to the discharge of his duties. As adisciplinarian he far surpassed any of the senior Confederate generals;but his method and manner were harsh, and he could have won theaffections of his troops only by leading them to victory. He furnished astriking illustration of the necessity of a healthy body for a soundintellect. Many years of dyspepsia had made his temper sour andpetulant; and he was intolerant to a degree of neglect of duty, or whathe esteemed to be such, by his officers. A striking instance of thisoccurred during my visit. At dinner, surrounded by his numerous staff, Iinquired for one of his division commanders, a man widely known andrespected, and received this answer: "General ---- is an old woman, utterly worthless. " Such a declaration, privately made, would have beenserious; but publicly, and certain to be repeated, it was astonishing. 

As soon as we had withdrawn to his private room, I asked by whom heintended to relieve General ----. "Oh! by no one. I have but one or twofitted for high command, and have in vain asked the War Department forcapable people. " To my suggestion that he could hardly expect heartycoöperation from officers of whom he permitted himself to speakcontemptuously, he replied: "I speak the truth. The Government is toblame for placing such men in high position. " From that hour I hadmisgivings as to General Bragg's success, and felt no regret at therefusal of the authorities to assign me to duty with him. It may be saidof his subordinate commanders that they supported him wonderfully, indespite of his temper, though that ultimately produced dissatisfactionand wrangling. Feeble health, too, unfitted him to sustainlong-continued pressure of responsibility, and he failed in theexecution of his own plan. 

The movement into Kentucky was made by two lines. General Kirby Smithled a subordinate force from Knoxville, East Tennessee, throughCumberland Gap, and, defeating the Federals in a spirited action atRichmond, Kentucky, reached Lexington, in the center of the State, andthreatened Cincinnati. Bragg moved on a line west of the Cumberlandrange toward Louisville, on the Ohio River; and this movement forced theFederal commander, Buell, to march north to the same point by a parallelroad, farther west. Buell left garrisons at Nashville and otherimportant places, and sought to preserve his communications withLouisville, his base. Weakened by detachments, as well as by thenecessity of a retrograde movement, Bragg should have brought him toaction before he reached Louisville. Defeated, the Federals would havebeen driven north of the Ohio to reorganize, and Bragg could havewintered his army in the fertile and powerful State of Kentucky, isolating the garrisons in his rear; or, if this was impossible, whichdoes not appear, he should have concentrated against Buell when thelatter, heavily reënforced, marched south from Louisville to regainNashville. But he fought a severe action at Perryville with a fractionof his army, and retired to Central Tennessee. The ensuing winter, atMurfreesboro, he contested the field with Rosecrans, Buell's successor, for three days; and though he won a victory, it was not complete, andthe summer of 1863 found him again at Chattanooga. In the mean time, aFederal force under General Burnside passed through Cumberland Gap, andoccupied Knoxville and much of East Tennessee, severing the direct lineof rail communication from Richmond to the Southwest. 

This condensed account of the Kentucky campaign, extending over manymonths, is given because of my personal intimacy with the commander, whoapprised me of his plans. General Bragg died recently in Texas. I haverarely known a more conscientious, laborious man. Exacting of others, henever spared himself, but, conquering disease, showed a constantdevotion to duty; and distinguished as were his services in the cause heespoused, they would have been far greater had he enjoyed the blessingof health. 

Leaving Chattanooga, I proceeded to my destination, western Louisiana, and crossed the Mississippi at the entrance of Red River. Some milesbelow, in the Atchafalaya, I found a steamer, and learned that theGovernor of the State was at Opelousas, which could be reached bydescending the last river to the junction of the Bayou Courtableau, navigable at high water to the village of Washington, six miles north ofOpelousas. Embarking on the steamer, I reached the junction at sunset, but the water in Courtableau was too low for steam navigation. As myfamily had sought refuge with friends in the vicinity of Washington, Iwas anxious to get on, and hired a boat, with four negro oarsmen, totake me up the bayou, twenty miles. The narrow stream was overarched bytrees shrouded with Spanish moss, the universal parasite of Southernforests. Heavy rain fell, accompanied by vivid lightning, the flashes ofwhich enabled us to find our way; and before dawn I had the happiness toembrace wife and children after a separation of fourteen months. Somehours later I reached Opelousas, and met the Governor, Thomas O. Moore, with whom I had served in our State Assembly. This worthy gentleman, asuccessful and opulent planter, had been elected Governor in 1860. Hewas a man of moderate temper and opinions, but zealously aided theConfederate cause after his State had joined it. Forced to leave NewOrleans by the approach of Farragut's fleet, he brought my family withhim, and was unwearied in kind attentions. 

Melancholy indeed was the condition of the "District of Louisiana, " tothe command of which I was assigned. 

Confederate authority had virtually ceased with the fall of New Orleansin the previous April. Fortifications at Barataria, Berwick's Bay, andother Gulf-coast points had been abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn, works dismantled, and guns thrown into the water. The ConfederateGovernment had no soldiers, no arms or munitions, and no money, withinthe limits of the district. Governor Moore was willing to aid me to theextent of his ability, but, deprived by the loss of New Orleans and thelower river parishes of half the population and three fourths of theresources of his State, he could do little. 

General Magruder had recently been assigned to command in Texas, andGeneral Holmes, the senior officer west of the Mississippi, was far tothe north in Arkansas. To him I at once reported my arrival andnecessities. Many days elapsed before his reply was received, to theeffect that he could give me no assistance, as he meditated a movementagainst Helena on the Mississippi River. Without hope of aid fromabroad, I addressed myself to the heavy task of arousing publicsentiment, apathetic if not hostile from disaster and neglect, and thecreation of some means of defense. Such was the military destitutionthat a regiment of cavalry could have ridden over the State, whileinnumerable rivers and bayous, navigable a large part of the year, wouldadmit Federal gunboats to the heart of every parish. 

To understand subsequent operations in this region, one must have someidea of its topography and river systems. 

Washed on the east, from the Arkansas line to the Gulf of Mexico, by theMississippi, western Louisiana is divided into two not very unequalparts by the Red River, which, entering the State at its northwesternangle, near the boundaries of Texas and Arkansas, flows southeast to theMississippi through a broad, fertile valley, then occupied by apopulation of large slave-owners engaged in the culture of cotton. Fromthe southern slopes of the Ozark Mountains in Central Arkansas comes theWashita River to unite with the Red, a few miles above the junction ofthe latter with the Mississippi. Preserving a southerly course, alongthe eastern foot of the hills, the Washita enters the State nearly ahundred miles west of the Mississippi, but the westerly trend of thegreat river reduces this distance until the waters meet. The alluvionbetween these rivers, protected from inundation by levees along thestreams, is divided by many bayous, of which the Tensas, with its branchthe Macon, is the most important. These bayous drain the vast swampsinto the Washita, and, like this river, are in the season of floods opento steam navigation. Here was one of the great cotton-producing regionsof the South. Estates of 5, 000 acres and more abounded, and, with thenumerous slaves necessary to their cultivation, were largely under thecharge of overseers, while the proprietors resided in distant and morehealthy localities. Abundant facilities for navigation afforded bycountless streams superseded the necessity for railways, and but oneline of some eighty miles existed. This extended from Monroe on theWashita to a point opposite Vicksburg on the Mississippi; but the greatflood of 1862 had broken the eastern half of the line. Finally, thelower Washita, at Trinity, where it receives the Tensas from the eastand Little River from the west, takes the name of Black River. And itmay be well to add that in Louisiana counties are called parishes, dikeslevees, and streams bayous. 

South of the Red River, population and industries change. The first islargely composed of descendants of French colonists, termed creoles, with some Spanish intermixed, and the sugar cane is the staple crop, changing as the Gulf is approached to rice. At the point where theunited Red and Washita Rivers join the Mississippi, which here changesdirection to the east, the Atchafalaya leaves it, and, flowing due souththrough Grand Lake and Berwick's Bay, reaches the Gulf at AtchafalayaBay, two degrees west of its parent stream, and by a more direct course. Continuing the line of the Red and Washita, it not only discharges muchof their waters, but draws largely from the Mississippi when this lastis in flood. Midway between the Atchafalaya and the city of New Orleans, some eighty miles from either point, another outlet of the great river, the Bayou Lafourche, discharges into the Gulf after passing through adensely populated district, devoted to the culture of sugar cane andrice. A large lake, Des Allemands, collects the waters from the higherlands on the river and bayou, and by an outlet of the same name carriesthem to Barataria Bay. Lying many feet below the flood level of thestreams, protected by heavy dikes, with numerous steam-engines forcrushing canes and pumping water, and canals and ditches in everydirection, this region resembles a tropical Holland. At the lower end ofLake Des Allemands passed the only line of railway in southernLouisiana, from a point on the west bank of the river opposite NewOrleans to Berwick's Bay, eighty miles. Berwick's Bay, which is but theAtchafalaya after it issues from Grand Lake, is eight hundred yardswide, with great depth of water, and soon meets the Gulf in AtchafalayaBay. A few miles above the railway terminus at Berwick's there entersfrom the west the Teche, loveliest of Southern streams. Navigable formore than a hundred miles, preserving at all seasons an equal breadthand depth, so gentle is its flow that it might be taken for a canal, didnot the charming and graceful curves, by which it separates theundulating prairies of Attakapas from the alluvion of the Atchafalaya, mark it as the handiwork of Nature. Before the war, the Teche for fiftymiles, from Berwick's Bay to New Iberia, passed through one field ofsugar canes, the fertile and well-cultivated estates succeeding eachother. The mansions of the opulent planters, as well as the villages oftheir slaves, were situated on the west bank of the bayou overlookingthe broad, verdant prairie, where countless herds roamed. On the eastbank, the dense forest had given way to fields of luxuriant canes; andto connect the two parts of estates, floating bridges were constructed, with openings in the center for the passage of steamers. Stately liveoaks, the growth of centuries, orange groves, and flowers of every hueand fragrance surrounded the abodes of the _seigneurs_; while within, one found the grace of the _salon_ combined with the healthy cheerinessof country life. Abundance and variety of game encouraged field sports, and the waters, fresh and salt, swarmed with fish. With the sky andtemperature of Sicily, the breezes from prairie and Gulf were ashealth-giving as those that ripple the heather on Scotch moors. In allmy wanderings, and they have been many and wide, I can not recall sofair, so bountiful, and so happy a land. 

The upper or northern Teche waters the parishes of St. Landry, Lafayette, and St. Martin's--the Attakapas, home of the "Acadians. " Whatthe gentle, contented creole was to the restless, pushing American, thatand more was the Acadian to the creole. In the middle of the pastcentury, when the victories of Wolfe and Amherst deprived France of herNorthern possessions, the inhabitants of Nouvelle Acadie, the presentNova Scotia, migrated to the genial clime of the Attakapas, wherebeneath the flag of the lilies they could preserve their allegiance, their traditions, and their faith. Isolated up to the time of the war, they spoke no language but their own _patois_; and, reading and writingnot having come to them by nature, they were dependent for news on theircurés and occasional peddlers, who tempted the women with _chiffons_ andtrinkets. The few slaves owned were humble members of the household, assisting in the cultivation of small patches of maize, sweet potatoes, and cotton, from which last the women manufactured the wonderfulAttakapas _cotonnade_, the ordinary clothing of both sexes. Their little_cabanes_ dotted the broad prairie in all directions, and it waspleasant to see the smoke curling from their chimneys, while herds ofcattle and ponies grazed at will. Here, unchanged, was the Frenchpeasant of Fénelon and Bossuet, of Louis le Grand and his successor leBien-Aimé. Tender and true were his traditions of la belle France, butof France before Voltaire and the encyclopædists, the Convention and theJacobins--ere she had lost faith in all things, divine and human, savethe _bourgeoisie_ and _avocats_. Mounted on his pony, with lariat inhand, he herded his cattle, or shot and fished; but so gentle was hisnature, that lariat and rifle seemed transformed into pipe and crook ofshepherd. Light wines from the Médoc, native oranges, and home-madesweet cakes filled his largest conceptions of feasts; and violin andclarionet made high carnival in his heart. 

On an occasion, passing the little hamlet of Grand Coteau, I stopped toget some food for man and horse. A pretty maiden of fifteen springs, whose parents were absent, welcomed me. Her lustrous eyes and longlashes might have excited the envy of "the dark-eyed girl of Cadiz. "Finding her alone, I was about to retire and try my fortune in anotherhouse; but she insisted that she could prepare "monsieur un dîner dansun tour de main, " and she did. Seated by the window, looking modestly onthe road, while I was enjoying her repast, she sprang to her feet, clapped her hands joyously, and exclaimed: "V'là le gros Jean Baptistequi passe sur son mulet avec _deux_ bocals. Ah! nous aurons grand bal cesoir. " It appeared that _one_ jug of claret meant a dance, but _two_very high jinks indeed. As my hostess declined any remuneration for hertrouble, I begged her to accept a pair of plain gold sleeve buttons, myonly ornaments. Wonder, delight, and gratitude chased each other acrossthe pleasant face, and the confiding little creature put up her rose-budmouth. In an instant the homely room became as the bower of Titania, andI accepted the chaste salute with all the reverence of a subject for hisQueen, then rode away with uncovered head so long as she remained insight. Hospitable little maiden of Grand Coteau, may you never havegraver fault to confess than the innocent caress you bestowed on thestranger!

It was to this earthly paradise, and upon this simple race, that the warcame, like the tree of the knowledge of evil to our early parents. 

Some weeks before I reached my new field, General Van Dorn, whocommanded the Confederate forces east of the Mississippi, hadsuccessfully resisted a bombardment of Vicksburg by Federal gunboats, during which the Confederate ram Arkansas, descending the Yazoo River, passed through the enemy's fleet, inflicting some damage and causingmuch alarm, and anchored under the guns of Vicksburg. To follow up thissuccess, Van Dorn sent General Breckenridge with a division againstBaton Rouge, the highest point on the river above New Orleans then heldby the Federals, and the Arkansas was to descend to coöperate in theattack. Breckenridge reached Baton Rouge at the appointed time, assaulted, and was repulsed after a severe action; but the Arkansas, disabled by an accident to her machinery, was delayed, and, learning ofBreckenridge's failure, her commander ran her ashore on the west bank ofthe river a few miles above Baton Rouge, and destroyed her. Strengthening their garrison in this town, the Federals employed manysteamers on the river between it and New Orleans, a hundred and twentymiles, armed vessels of Farragut's fleet guarding the stream. From timeto time parties of infantry were landed to plunder and worry thepeaceful inhabitants, though after the fall of New Orleans noConfederate forces had been on that part of the river, and no resistancewas made by the people. 

Two days were passed at Opelousas in consultation with Governor Moore, who transferred to me several small bodies of State troops which he hadorganized. Alexandria on the Red River, some seventy-five miles north ofOpelousas, was the geographical center of the State and of steamnavigation, and the proper place for the headquarters of the district. To escape the intense heat, I rode the distance in a night, and remainedsome days at Alexandria, engaged in the organization of necessary staffdepartments and in providing means of communication with different partsof the State. Great distances and the want of railway and telegraphlines made this last a heavy burden. Without trained officers, mypresence was required at every threatened point, and I was seldomenabled to pass twenty-four consecutive hours at headquarters; butAdjutant Surget, of whom mention has been made, conducted the businessof the district with vigor and discretion during my absence. Subsequently, by using an ambulance in which one could sleep, and withrelays of mules, long distances were rapidly accomplished; and, like theIrishman's bird, I almost succeeded in being in two places at the sametime. 

Leaving Alexandria, I went south to visit the Lafourche and interveningregions. At Vermilionville, in the parish of Lafayette, thirty milessouth of Opelousas, resided ex-Governor Mouton, a man of much influenceover the creole and Acadian populations, and an old acquaintance. Desiring his aid to arouse public sentiment, depressed since the fall ofNew Orleans, I stopped to see him. Past middle age, he had sent his sonsand kindred to the war, and was eager to assist the cause in allpossible ways. His eldest son and many of his kinsmen fell in battle, his estate was diminished by voluntary contributions and wasted byplunder, and he was taken to New Orleans and confined for many weeks;yet he never faltered in his devotion, and preserved his dignity andfortitude. 

In camp near New Iberia, seven and twenty miles south of Vermilionville, was Colonel Fournet, with a battalion of five companies raised in theparish, St. Martin's. The men were without instruction, and inadequatelyarmed and equipped. Impressing on Fournet and his officers theimportance of discipline and instruction, and promising to supply themwith arms, I proceeded to the residence of Leclerc Fusilier, in theparish of St. Mary's, twenty miles below New Iberia. Possessor of greatestates, and of a hospitable, generous nature, this gentleman had muchweight in his country. His sons were in the army, and sixty years hadnot diminished his energy nor his enthusiasm. He desired to serve on mystaff as volunteer aide, promising to join me whenever fighting was tobe done; and he kept his promise. In subsequent actions on the Teche andRed River, the first gun seemed the signal for the appearance of CaptainFusilier, who, on his white pony, could be seen where the fight was thethickest, leading on or encouraging his neighbors. His corn bins, hisflocks and herds, were given to the public service without stint; and nohungry, destitute Confederate was permitted to pass his door. Fusilierwas twice captured, and on the first occasion was sent to FortressMonroe, where he, with fifty other prisoners from my command, wasembarked on the transport Maple Leaf for Fort Delaware. Reaching thecapes of Chesapeake at nightfall, the prisoners suddenly attacked andoverpowered the guard, ran the transport near to the beach in PrincessAnne County, Virginia, landed, and made their way to Richmond, whencethey rejoined me in Louisiana. Again taken, Fusilier escaped, whiledescending the Teche on a steamer, by springing from the deck to seizethe overhanging branch of a live oak. The guard fired on him, butdarkness and the rapid movement of the steamer were in his favor, and hegot off unhurt. 

I have dwelt somewhat on the characters of Mouton and Fusilier, not onlybecause of their great devotion to the Confederacy, but because thereexists a wide-spread belief that the creole race has become effete andnerveless. In the annals of time no breed has produced nobler specimensof manhood than these two; and while descendants of the French colonistsremain on the soil of Louisiana, their names and characters should bereverenced as are those of Hampden and Sidney in England. 

To Berwick's Bay, a hundred and seventy-five miles from Alexandria. Here, on the eastern shore, was the terminus of the New Orleans andOpelousas railroad. A deep, navigable arm of the bay, called BayouBoeuf, flows east of the station, which is on the island fronting thebay proper. Some engines and plant had been saved from the general wreckat New Orleans, and the line was operated from the bay to Lafourchecrossing, thirty miles. The intervening territory constitutes the parishof Terrebonne, with fertile, cultivated lands along the many bayous, andlow swamps between. From Lafourche crossing to Algiers, opposite NewOrleans, is fifty miles; and, after leaving the higher ground adjacentto the Lafourche, the line plunges into swamps and marshes, impassableexcept on the embankment of the line itself. Midway of the above points, the Bayou des Allemands, outlet of the large lake of the same name, iscrossed; and here was a Federal post of some two hundred men with twofield guns. On the west bank of the Lafourche, a mile or two above therailway crossing, and thirty-two miles below Donaldsonville, where thebayou leaves the Mississippi, lies the town of Thibodeaux, the mostconsiderable place of this region. Navigable for steamers, whenever thewaters of its parent river are high, restrained from inundation bylevees on both banks, the Lafourche flows through the fertile andpopulous parishes of Assumption and Lafourche, and, after a sinuouscourse of some ninety miles, reaches the Gulf to the west of BaratariaBay. Above Thibodeaux there were no bridges, and communication betweenthe opposite banks was kept up by ferries. 

One or two companies of mounted men, armed with fowling pieces, had beenorganized under authority from Governor Moore, and Colonel Waller'sbattalion of mounted riflemen had recently arrived from Texas. Theseconstituted the Confederate army in this quarter. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Mention has been made of the plundering expeditions of the Federals, andthe post at Bayou des Allemands was reported as the especial center fromwhich raids on the helpless inhabitants were undertaken. I determined toattempt the surprise and capture of this post, which could be reachedfrom the river at a point fifty miles below Donaldsonville. My estatewas in the immediate vicinity of this point, and the roads and pathsthrough plantations and swamps were well known to me. Colonel Waller wasassigned to the duty, with minute instructions concerning roads andmovements, and competent guides were furnished him. Moving rapidly bynight, and, to escape observation, avoiding the road near the river, Waller with his Texans gained the enemy's rear, advanced on his camp, and, after a slight resistance, captured two companies of infantry andthe guns. The captured arms and accouterments served to equip Waller'smen, whose rifles were altered flintlocks and worthless, and theprisoners were sent to the Teche to be guarded by Fournet's Acadians. This trifling success, the first in the State since the loss of NewOrleans, attracted attention, and the people rejoiced at the capture ofthe Des Allemands garrison as might those of Greece at the unearthing ofthe accomplished and classic thief Cacus. Indeed, the den of that worthynever contained such multifarious "loot" as did this Federal camp. Books, pictures, household furniture, finger rings, ear rings, breastpins and other articles of feminine adornment and wear, attestedthe catholic taste and temper of these patriots. 

Persuaded that the Federal commander at New Orleans, General BenjaminF. Butler, was ignorant of the practices of his outlying detachments, Irequested ex-Governor Wickliffe of Louisiana, a non-combatant, to visitthat officer under a flag of truce and call his attention to thesubject. Duty to the suffering population would force me to deal withperpetrators of such misdeeds as robbers rather than as soldiers. General Butler received Governor Wickliffe politely, invited him todine, and listened attentively to his statements, then dismissed himwithout committing himself to a definite reply. However, the conductcomplained of was speedily stopped, and, as I was informed, by ordersfrom General Butler. This was the only intercourse I had with thisofficer during the war. Some months later he was relieved from commandat New Orleans by General Banks, whose blunders served to endear him toPresident Lincoln, as did those of Villeroy to his master, thefourteenth Louis. When the good Scotch parson finished praying for allcreated beings and things, he requested his congregation to unite inasking a blessing for the "puir deil, " who had no friends; and GeneralButler has been so universally abused as to make it pleasant to say aword in his favor. Not that he needs assistance to defend himself; forin the war of epithets he has proved his ability to hold his groundagainst all comers as successfully as did Count Robert of Paris withsword and lance. 

Preservation of the abundant supplies of the Lafourche country, andprotection of the dense population from which recruits could be drawn, were objects of such importance as to justify the attempt to secure themwith inadequate means. 

A few days after the Des Allemands affair, I was called to the north, and will for convenience anticipate events in this quarter during myabsence. Minute instructions for his guidance were given to ColonelWaller. The danger to be guarded against while operating on the riverwas pointed out, viz. : that the enemy might, from transports, throwforces ashore above and below him, at points where the swamps in therear were impassable; and this trap Waller fell into. Most of his menescaped by abandoning arms, horses, etc. Immunity from attack for somedays had made them careless. Nothing compensates for absence ofdiscipline; and the constant watchfulness, even when danger seemsremote, that is necessary in war, can only be secured by disciplinewhich makes of duty a habit. 

Meanwhile, two skeleton regiments, the 18th Louisiana and Crescent, anda small battalion (Clack's) of infantry, with Semmes's and Ralston'sbatteries, reached me from east of the Mississippi, and were directed tothe Lafourche. There also reported to me Brigadier Alfred Mouton, son ofGovernor Mouton, and a West Pointer. This officer had been wounded atShiloh, and was now ordered to command on the Lafourche. Hisinstructions were to make Thibodeaux his centre of concentration, topicket Bayou Des Allemands and Donaldsonville, thirty miles distanteach, to secure early information of the enemy's movements, and toprovide a movable floating bridge by which troops could cross the bayou, as the water was too low to admit steamers from the river. These sameinstructions had been given to the senior officer present beforeMouton's arrival, but had been imperfectly executed. A feint on DesAllemands had induced the movement of nearly half the little force inthat direction, and Mouton had scant time after he reached Thibodeaux tocorrect errors before the enemy was upon him. 

In the last days of October the Federal General, Weitzel, brought up aforce of some 4, 000 from New Orleans, landed at Donaldsonville, andadvanced down the Lafourche, on the west bank. There were Confederateson both sides of the bayou, but, having neglected their floating bridge, they could not unite. With his own, the 18th, the Crescent, ColonelMcPheeters, and the four-gun battery of Captain Ralston--in all 500men--Colonel Armand resisted Weitzel's advance at Labadieville, eightmiles above Thibodeaux. The fighting was severe, and Armand only retiredafter his ammunition was exhausted; but he lost many killed and wounded, and some few prisoners. Colonel McPheeters was among the former, andCaptains Ralston and Story among the latter. The loss of the Federalsprevented Weitzel from attempting a pursuit; and Mouton, who deemed itnecessary to retire across Berwick's Bay, was not interrupted in hismovement. With his forces well in hand, Mouton would have defeatedWeitzel and retained possession of the Lafourche country. The causes ofhis failure to concentrate have been pointed out. Information of theseuntoward events reached me on the road from the north, and I arrived atBerwick's Bay as Mouton was crossing. 

To return to the time of departure from the Lafourche. Several days werepassed at New Iberia in attention to a matter of much interest. Someeight miles to the southwest of the village there rises from the lowprairie and salt marsh, at the head of Vermilion Bay, an island of highland, near a thousand acres in extent. Connected with the mainland by acauseway of some length, the island was the property and residence ofJudge Avery. A small bayou, Petit Anse, navigable for light craft, approached the western side and wound through the marsh to VermilionBay. Salt wells had long been known to exist on the island, and somesalt had been boiled there. The want of salt was severely felt in theConfederacy, our only considerable source of supply being insouthwestern Virginia, whence there were limited facilities fordistribution. Judge Avery began to boil salt for neighbors, and, desiring to increase the flow of brine by deepening his wells, cameunexpectedly upon a bed of pure rock salt, which proved to be of immenseextent. Intelligence of this reached me at New Iberia, and induced me tovisit the island. The salt was from fifteen to twenty feet below thesurface, and the overlying soil was soft and friable. Devoted to ourcause, Judge Avery placed his mine at my disposition for the use of theGovernment. Many negroes were assembled to get out salt, and a packingestablishment was organized at New Iberia to cure beef. Duringsucceeding months large quantities of salt, salt beef, sugar, andmolasses were transported by steamers to Vicksburg, Port Hudson, andother points east of the Mississippi. Two companies of infantry and asection of artillery were posted on the island to preserve order amongthe workmen, and secure it against a sudden raid of the enemy, who latersent a gunboat up the Petit Anse to shell the mine, but the gunboatbecame entangled in the marsh and was impotent. 

At Alexandria, where every effort was made to collect material, butwithout funds and among a depressed people, progress was slow. It wasnecessary to visit Monroe, the chief place of the important Washitacountry; and I was further impelled thereto by dispatches from Richmondadvising me that Lieutenant-General Pemberton had been assigned tocommand of the country east of the Mississippi, and that it wasimportant for me to meet him, in order to secure coöperation on theriver. I rode the distance, _via_ Monroe, to a point opposite Vicksburg, over two hundred miles, excepting forty miles east of Monroe, where therailway was in operation. The eastern half of the line, from Bayou Maconto the Mississippi, had been broken up by the great flood of theprevious spring. 

Near Bayou Macon was encamped Colonel Henry Grey with his recentlyorganized regiment, the 28th infantry. Without much instruction andbadly equipped, its material was excellent, and there were severalofficers of some experience, notably Adjutant Blackman, who hadaccompanied my old regiment, the 9th, to Virginia, where he had seenservice. The men were suffering from camp diseases incident to newtroops, and Colonel Grey was directed to move by easy marches to theTeche. In the low country between the Macon and the Mississippi weresome mounted men under Captain Harrison. Residents of this region, theyunderstood the intricate system of swamps and bayous by which it ischaracterized, and furnished me guides to Vicksburg. 

Vicksburg lies on the hills where the river forms a deep reenteringangle. The peninsula on the opposite or western bank is several miles inlength, narrow, and, when the waters are up, impassable except along theriver's bank. It was through this peninsula that the Federals attempted, by digging a canal, to pass their gunboats and turn the Vicksburgbatteries. The position of the town with reference to approach from thewest was marked by me at the time, and should be borne in mind. 

General Pemberton, who was at Jackson, came to Vicksburg to meet me, andwe discussed methods of coöperation. It was of vital importance tocontrol the section of the Mississippi receiving the Red and WashitaRivers. By so doing connection would be preserved between the two partsof the Confederacy, and troops and supplies crossed at will. PortHudson, some forty miles below the entrance of Red River, was asfavorably situated as Vicksburg above: for there again the hills touchedthe river and commanded it. My operations on the Lafourche had inducedthe enemy to withdraw from Baton Rouge, fifteen miles below, and one ortwo heavy guns were already mounted at Port Hudson. Pemberton engaged tostrengthen the position at once. As there were many steamers in the Redand Washita, I undertook to supply Vicksburg and Port Hudson with corn, forage, sugar, molasses, cattle, and salt; and this was done beyond theability of the garrisons to store or remove them. Quantities of thesesupplies were lying on the river's bank when the surrenders of the twoplaces occurred. 

A Pennsylvanian by birth, Pemberton graduated from West Point in 1837, and was assigned to an artillery regiment. His first station was inSouth Carolina, and he there formed his early friendships. The storm of"nullification" had not yet subsided, and Pemberton imbibed the tenetsof the Calhoun school. In 1843 or 1844 I met him for the first time onthe Niagara frontier, and quite remember my surprise at his State-rightsutterances, unusual among military men at that period. During the warwith Mexico he was twice brevetted for gallantry in action. Later, hemarried a lady of Virginia, which may have tended to confirm hispolitical opinions. At the beginning of civil strife he was inMinnesota, commanding a battalion of artillery, and was ordered toWashington. Arrived there with his command, he resigned his commissionin the United States army, went to Richmond, and offered his sword tothe Confederacy without asking for rank. Certainly he must have beenactuated by principle alone; for he had everything to gain by remainingon the Northern side. 

In the summer of 1862 General Van Dorn, commanding east of theMississippi, proclaimed martial law, which he explained to the people tobe the will of the commander. Though a Mississippian by birth, such astorm was excited against Van Dorn in that State that President Davisfound it necessary to supersede him, and Pemberton was created alieutenant-general for the purpose. Davis could have known nothing ofPemberton except that his military record was good, and it is difficultto foresee that a distinguished subordinate will prove incompetent incommand. Errors can only be avoided by confining the selection ofgenerals to tradespeople, politicians, and newspaper men withoutmilitary training or experience. These are all great commanders_d'état_, and universally succeed. The incapacity of Pemberton forindependent command, manifested in the ensuing campaign, was a greatmisfortune to the Confederacy, but did not justify aspersions on hischaracter and motives. The public howled, gnashed its teeth, and lasheditself into a beautiful rage. He had joined the South for the expresspurpose of betraying it, and this was clearly proven by the fact that hesurrendered on the 4th of July, a day sacred to the Yankees. Had hechosen any other day, his guilt would not have been so well established;but this particular day lacerated the tenderest sensibilities ofSouthern hearts. President Davis should have known all about it; and yethe made a pet of Pemberton. "Vox populi, vox diaboli. "

Returned to Alexandria, I met my chief of artillery and ordnance, MajorJ. L. Brent, just arrived from the east with some arms and munitions, which he had remained to bring with him. This officer had served on thestaff of General Magruder in the Peninsular and Richmond campaigns, after which, learning that I was ordered to Louisiana, where he hadfamily connections, he applied to serve with me. Before leaving RichmondI had several interviews with him, and was favorably impressed. 

A lawyer by profession, Major Brent knew nothing of military affairs atthe outbreak of the war, but speedily acquainted himself with thetechnicalities of his new duties. Devoted to work, his energy andadministrative ability were felt in every direction. Batteries wereequipped, disciplined, and drilled. Leather was tanned, harness made, wagons built, and a little Workshop, established at New Iberia byGovernor Moore, became important as an arsenal of construction. The lackof paper for cartridges was embarrassing, and most of the countrynewspapers were stopped for want of material. Brent discovered aquantity of wall paper in the shops at Franklin, New Iberia, etc. , andused it for cartridges; and a journal published at Franklin was printedon this paper. A copy of it would be "a sight" to Mr. Walter and thestaff of the "Thunderer. " The _esprit de corps_ of Brent's artillery wasadmirable, and its conduct and efficiency in action unsurpassed. Servingwith wild horsemen, unsteady and unreliable for want of discipline, officers and men learned to fight their guns without supports. True, Brent had under his command many brilliant young officers, whose nameswill appear in this narrative; but his impress was upon all, and he owesit to his command to publish an account of the services of the artilleryin western Louisiana. 

_En route_ to Lafourche, I learned of the action at Labadieville, andhurried on to Berwick's Bay, which Mouton had just crossed, and in goodtime; for Federal gunboats entered from the Gulf immediately after. Their presence some hours earlier would have been uncomfortable forMouton. It is curious to recall the ideas prevailing in the first yearsof the war about gunboats. To the wide-spread terror inspired by themmay be ascribed the loss of Fort Donelson and New Orleans. _Omne ignotumpro magnifico_; and it was popularly believed that the destructivepowers of these monsters were not to be resisted. Time proved that thelighter class of boats, called "tin-clads, " were helpless against fieldguns, while heavy iron-clads could be driven off by riflemen protectedby the timber and levees along streams. To fire ten-inch guns atskirmishers, widely disposed and under cover, was very likesnipe-shooting with twelve-pounders; and in narrow waters gunboatsrequired troops on shore for their protection. 

Penetrated in all directions by watercourses navigable when theMississippi was at flood, my "district" was especially exposed, andevery little bayou capable of floating a cock-boat called loudly forforts and heavy guns. Ten guns, thirty-two and twenty-four-pounders, ofthose thrown into the water at Barataria and Berwick's Bays after thesurrender of New Orleans, had been recovered, and were mounted fordefense. To protect Red River against anything that might chance to runthe batteries of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, two thirty-twos were placedin position on the south bank, thirty odd miles below Alexandria, wherethe high ground of Avoyelles Prairie touches the river; and for the samepurpose two guns were mounted at Harrisonburg on the west bank of theWashita. An abrupt hill approached the river at this point, andcommanded it. 

The presence of gunboats in Berwick's Bay made it necessary to protectthe Atchafalaya also; for access to the Red and Washita could be had byit. As yet, the waters were too low to navigate Grand Lake; but it wasnow November, and the winter flood must be expected. Some twelve milesfrom St. Martinsville on the Teche was a large mound on the west bank ofthe Atchafalaya, called "Butte à la Rose. " A short distance above thepoint, where the river expands into Grand Lake, this "Butte" was theonly place for many miles not submerged when the waters were up. Thecountry between it and the Teche was almost impassable even in the dryseason--a region of lakes, bayous, jungle, and bog. I succeeded inmaking my way through to inspect the position, the only favorable one onthe river, and with much labor two twenty-fours were taken there andmounted. Forts Beauregard on the Washita, De Russy on the Red, andBurton on the Atchafalaya, were mere water batteries to prevent thepassage of gunboats, and served that purpose. It was not supposed thatthey could be held against serious land attacks, and but fifty to ahundred riflemen were posted at each to protect the gunners from boats'crews. 

During the floods of the previous spring many steamers had been broughtaway from New Orleans, and with others a powerful tow-boat, the Webb, now lying at Alexandria, and the Cotton. This last, a large riversteamer, was in the lower Teche in charge of Captain Fuller, a westernsteamboat man, and one of the bravest of a bold, daring class. Hedesired to convert the Cotton into a gunboat, and was assisted to theextent of his means by Major Brent, who furnished two twenty-fours and afield piece for armament. An attempt was made to protect the boilersand machinery with cotton bales and railway iron, of which we had asmall quantity, and a volunteer crew was put on board, Fuller incommand. 

Midway between Berwick's Bay and Franklin, or some thirteen miles fromeach, near the Bisland estate, the high ground from Grand Lake on theeast to Vermilion Bay on the west is reduced to a narrow strip of sometwo thousand yards, divided by the Teche. Here was the best position inthis quarter for a small force; and Mouton, who had now ten guns andabout thirteen hundred men, was directed to hold it, with scouts andpickets toward Berwick's. A floating bridge, of the kind described, wasjust above the position, and two others farther up stream afforded readycommunication across the bayou. A light earthwork was thrown up fromGrand Lake Marsh to the Teche, and continued west to the embankment ofthe uncompleted Opelousas Railway, which skirted the edge of VermilionMarsh. The objection to this position was the facility of turning it bya force embarking at Berwick's, entering Grand Lake immediately above, and landing at Hutchin's, not far from Franklin, through which lastpassed the only line of retreat from Bisland. This danger was obvious, but the people were so depressed by our retreat from Lafourche that itwas necessary to fight even with this risk. 

Weitzel had followed slowly after Mouton, and now, in connection withgunboats, made little attacks on our pickets below Bisland; but I knewhis force to be too small to attempt anything serious. In these affairsFuller was always forward with the Cotton, though her boilers wereinadequately protected, and she was too large and unwieldy to be handledin the narrow Teche. Meanwhile, I was much occupied in placing guns onthe rivers at the points mentioned, getting out recruits for the twoskeleton infantry regiments, consolidating independent companies, andother work of administration. 

In the first days of January, 1863, Weitzel's force was increased toforty-five hundred men (see "Report on the Conduct of the War, " vol. Ii. , p. 307); and on the 11th of the month, accompanied by gunboats, headvanced up the Teche and drove in Mouton's pickets. Left unprotectedby the retreat of the pickets, the Cotton was assailed on all sides. Fuller fought manfully, responding to the fire of the enemy's boats withhis twenty-fours, and repulsing the riflemen on either bank with hisfield piece. His pilots were killed and he had an arm broken, but heworked the wheel with his feet, backing up the bayou, as from her greatlength the boat could not be turned in the narrow channel. Night stoppedthe enemy's advance, and Mouton, deeming his force too weak to cope withWeitzel, turned the Cotton across the bayou, and scuttled and burned herto arrest the further progress of the Federal boats. Weitzel returned toBerwick's, having accomplished his object, the destruction of theCotton, supposed by the Federals to be a formidable iron-clad. 

Much disturbed by the intelligence of these events, as they tended stillfurther to depress public sentiment and increase the dread of gunboats, I went to Bisland and tried to convince officers and men that thesetin-clads could not resist the rapid fire of field guns, when withinrange. At distances the thirty-pound Parrotts of the boats had everyadvantage, but this would be lost by bringing them to close quarters. During my stay several movements from Berwick's were reported, andMouton and I went down with a battery to meet them, hoping to illustratemy theory of the proper method of fighting gunboats; but the enemy, whointended nothing beyond annoyance, always retired before we could reachhim. Yet this gave confidence to our men. 

The two twenty-fours removed from the wreck of the Cotton were mountedin a work on the west bank of the Teche, to command the bayou and road, and the line of breastworks was strengthened. Some recruits joined, andMouton felt able to hold the lines at Bisland against the force in hisfront. 

In the last days of January, 1863, General Grant, with a large army, landed on the west bank of the Mississippi and began operations againstVicksburg, a fleet of gunboats under Admiral Porter coöperating withhim. The river was now in flood, and the Federals sought, by digging acanal through the narrow peninsula opposite Vicksburg, to pass theirfleet below the place without exposing it to fire from the batteries. Many weeks were devoted to this work, which in the end was abandoned. InFebruary the Federal gunboat Queen of the West, armed with athirty-pound Parrott and five field guns, ran the batteries at Vicksburgand caused much alarm on the river below. The tow-boat Webb, beforementioned, had powerful machinery and was very fast, and I determined touse her as a ram and attempt the destruction of the Queen. Athirty-two-pounder, rifled and banded, was mounted forward, some cottonbales stuffed around her boilers, and a volunteer crew organized. Pending these preparations I took steamer at Alexandria and went down toFort De Russy, and thence to Butte à la Rose, which at this season couldonly be reached by river. The little garrison of sixty men, with theirtwo twenty-fours, had just before driven off some gunboats, attemptingto ascend the Atchafalaya from Berwick's Bay. Complimenting them ontheir success and warning them of the presence of the Queen in ourwaters, I turned back, hoping to reach De Russy; but at Simmsport, onthe west bank of the Atchafalaya, a mile or two below the point at whichit leaves the Red, I learned that the Federal boat had passed up thelatter river, followed by one of our small steamers captured on theMississippi. Accompanied by Major Levy, an officer of capacity andexperience, I took horse and rode across country to De Russy, thirtymiles. 

It was the 14th of February, a cold, rainy day; and as we emerged fromthe swamps of Deglaize on to the prairie of Avoyelles, the rain changedto sleet and hail, with a fierce north wind. Occasional gusts were sosharp that our cattle refused to face them and compelled us to halt. Suddenly, reports of heavy guns came from the direction of De Russy, five miles away. Spurring our unwilling horses through the storm, wereached the river as night fell, and saw the Queen of the West lyingagainst the opposite shore, enveloped in steam. A boat was manned andsent over to take possession. A wounded officer, with a surgeon incharge, and four men, were found on board. The remainder of the crew hadpassed through the forest to the captured steamer below, embarked, andmade off down river. A shot from De Russy had cut a steam pipe and thetiller rope, but in other respects the Queen was not materially injured. She was an ordinary river steamer, with her bow strengthened forramming. A heavy bulwark for protection against sharp-shooters, and withembrasures for field guns, surrounded her upper deck. 

Pushing on to Alexandria, I found the wildest alarm and confusion. Thearrival of the Federal gunboat was momentarily expected, and theintelligence of her capture was hardly credited. The Webb was dispatchedto overtake the escaped crew of the Queen, and the latter towed up toAlexandria for repairs. Entering the Mississippi, the Webb went upriver, sighted the escaped steamer, and was rapidly overhauling her, when there appeared, coming down, a heavy iron-clad that had passed theVicksburg batteries. This proved to be the Indianola, armed with twoeleven-inch guns forward and two nine-inch aft, all in iron casemates. The Webb returned to De Russy with this information, which was forwardedto Alexandria. We had barely time to congratulate ourselves on thecapture of the Queen before the appearance of the Indianola deprived usagain of the navigation of the great river, so vital to our cause. Toattempt the destruction of such a vessel as the Indianola with ourlimited means seemed madness; yet volunteers for the work promptlyoffered themselves. 

Major Brent took command of the expedition, with Captain McCloskey, staff quartermaster, on the Queen, and Charles Pierce, a bravesteamboatman, on the Webb. On the 19th of February Brent went down to DeRussy with the Queen, mechanics still working on repairs, and therecalled for volunteer crews from the garrison. These were furnished atonce, sixty for the Webb under Lieutenant Handy, seventy for the Queen, on which boat Brent remained. There were five and twenty more thandesired; but, in their eagerness to go, many Texans and Louisianianssmuggled themselves aboard. The fighting part of the expedition was soonready, but there was difficulty about stokers. Some planters from theupper Red River had brought down their slaves to De Russy to labor onearthworks, but they positively refused to furnish stokers for theboats. It was a curious feature of the war that the Southern peoplewould cheerfully send their sons to battle, but kept their slaves out ofdanger. Having exhausted his powers of persuasion to no purpose, MajorBrent threw some men ashore, surrounded a gang of negroes at work, captured the number necessary, and departed. A famous din was made bythe planters, and continued until their negroes were safely returned. 

In the night of the 22d of February the expedition, followed by atender, entered the Mississippi, and met a steamer from Port Hudson, with two hundred men, sent up by General Gardiner to destroy the Queenof the West, the capture of which was unknown. This, a frail river boatwithout protection for her boilers, could be of no service; but shefollowed Brent up the river, keeping company with his tender. On the 23dNatchez was reached, and here the formidable character of the Indianolawas ascertained. While steaming up river in search of the enemy, thecrews were exercised at the guns, the discharge of which set fire to thecotton protecting the boilers of the Queen. This was extinguished withdifficulty, and showed an additional danger, to be guarded against bywetting the cotton thoroughly. Arrived in the afternoon of the 24th at apoint sixty miles below Vicksburg, Brent learned that the Indianola wasbut a short distance ahead, with a coal barge lashed on each side. Hedetermined to attack in the night, to diminish the chances of theenemy's fire. It was certain that a shell from one of the eleven-ornine-inch guns would destroy either of his boats. 

At 10 P. M. The Indianola was seen near the western shore, some thousandyards distant, and the Queen, followed by the Webb, was driven with fullhead of steam directly upon her, both boats having their lightsobscured. The momentum of the Queen was so great as to cut through thecoal barge and indent the iron plates of the Indianola, disabling by theshock the engine that worked her paddles. As the Queen backed out theWebb dashed in at full speed, and tore away the remaining coal barge. Both the forward guns fired at the Webb, but missed her. Returning tothe charge, the Queen struck the Indianola abaft the paddle box, crushing her frame and loosening some plates of armor, but received thefire of the guns from the rear casemates. One shot carried away a dozenbales of cotton on the right side; the other, a shell, entered theforward port-hole on the left and exploded, killing six men anddisabling two field pieces. Again the Webb followed the Queen, strucknear the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and crushing timbers. Voices from the Indianola announced the surrender, and that she wassinking. As she was near the western shore, not far below Grant's army, Major Brent towed her to the opposite side, then in our possession, where, some distance from the bank, she sank on a bar, her gun deckabove water. 

Thus we regained control of our section of the Mississippi, and by anaction that for daring will bear comparison with any recorded of Nelsonor Dundonald. Succeeding events at Vicksburg and Gettysburg so obscuredthis one, that in justice to the officers and men engaged it has seemedto me a duty to recount it. 

Brent returned to Red River, with his boats much shattered by the fray;and before we could repair them, Admiral Farragut with several ships ofwar passed Port Hudson, and the navigation of the great river waspermanently lost to us. Of the brave and distinguished Admiral Farragut, as of General Grant, it can be said that he always respectednon-combatants and property, and made war only against armed men. 

In the second week of March a brigade of mounted Texans, with a four-gunbattery, reached Opelousas, and was directed to Bisland on the lowerTeche. This force numbered thirteen hundred, badly armed; and to equipit exhausted the resources of the little arsenal at New Iberia. UnderBrigadier Sibley, it had made a campaign into New Mexico and defeatedthe Federals in some minor actions, in one of which, Valverde, the fourguns had been captured. The feeble health of Sibley caused hisretirement a few days after he reached the Teche, and Colonel ThomasGreen, a distinguished soldier, succeeded to the command of thebrigade. The men were hardy and many of the officers brave and zealous, but the value of these qualities was lessened by lack of discipline. Inthis, however, they surpassed most of the mounted men who subsequentlyjoined me, discipline among these "shining by its utter absence. " Theirexperience in war was limited to hunting down Comanches and Lipans, and, as in all new societies, distinctions of rank were unknown. Officers andmen addressed each other as Tom, Dick, or Harry, and had no moreconception of military gradations than of the celestial hierarchy of thepoets. 

I recall an illustrative circumstance. A mounted regiment arrived fromTexas, which I rode out to inspect. The profound silence in the campseemed evidence of good order. The men were assembled under the shade ofsome trees, seated on the ground, and much absorbed. Drawing near, Ifound the colonel seated in the center, with a blanket spread beforehim, on which he was dealing the fascinating game of monte. Learningthat I would not join the sport, this worthy officer abandoned hisamusement with some displeasure. It was a scene for that illustriousinspector Colonel Martinet to have witnessed. 

There also arrived from the east, in the month of March, 1863, to takecommand of the "Trans-Mississippi Department, " Lieutenant-General E. Kirby Smith, which "department, " including the States of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and the Indian Territory, with claims onNew Mexico, extended over some millions of square miles. The occupationof a large part of this region by the Federals would have spared GeneralSmith some embarrassments, had he not given much of his mind to therecovery of his lost empire, to the detriment of the portion yet in hispossession; and the substance of Louisiana and Texas was staked againstthe shadow of Missouri and northern Arkansas. 

General E. Kirby Smith graduated from West Point in 1845, in time to seeservice in the war with Mexico. Resigning from the United States cavalryto join the Confederacy, he moved with General Joseph E. Johnston'sforces from the Valley to reënforce Beauregard at Manassas, where he waswounded while bringing up some troops to our left. Commanding ineastern Tennessee in the summer of 1862, he led a force into Kentuckythrough Cumberland Gap, to coöperate with Bragg. At Richmond, Kentucky, a body of Federals was driven off, and Smith moved north to Lexingtonand Frankfort; after which his column was absorbed by Bragg's army. Thesenior general west of the Mississippi, Holmes, was in Arkansas, wherehe had accomplished nothing except to lose five thousand of his besttroops, captured at Arkansas Post by General Sherman. It was advisableto supersede Holmes; and, though he proved unequal to extended command, Smith, from his training and services, seemed an excellent selection. General Smith remained for several weeks in Alexandria, when he wasdriven away by the enemy's movements. The military situation of myimmediate command was explained to him. 

To reopen the navigation of the Mississippi was the great desire of theFederal Government, and especially of the Western people, and wasmanifested by declarations and acts. Grant was operating againstVicksburg, and Banks would certainly undertake the reduction of PortHudson; but it was probable that he would first clear the west bank ofthe Mississippi to prevent interruption of his communications with NewOrleans, threatened so long as we had a force on the lower Atchafalayaand Teche. Banks had twenty thousand men for the field, while my force, including Green's Texans, would not exceed twenty-seven hundred, withmany raw recruits, and badly equipped. The position at Bisland might beheld against a front attack, but could be turned by the way of GrandLake. With five thousand infantry I would engage to prevent theinvestment of Port Hudson; and as such a reënforcement must come fromHolmes, and could not reach me for a month, I hoped immediate orderswould be issued. 

On the 28th of March Weitzel, who had been quiet at Berwick's Bay forsome time, sent the gunboat Diana, accompanied by a land force, up theTeche to drive in our pickets. The capture of the Queen of the West anddestruction of the Indianola had impaired the prestige of gunboats, andthe troops at Bisland were eager to apply my theory of attacking themat close quarters. The enemy's skirmishers were driven off; a section ofthe "Valverde" battery, Captain Sayres, rapidly advanced; the fire ofthe gunboat was silenced in a moment, and she surrendered, with twocompanies of infantry on board. She was armed with a thirty-pounderParrott and two field guns, and had her boilers protected by railwayiron. Moved up to Bisland, her "Parrott" became a valuable adjunct toour line of defense. 

CHAPTER IX. 

ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTURE OFBERWICK'S BAY. 

Increased activity of the enemy at Berwick's Bay in the first days ofApril indicated an advance; and to guard against the danger from GrandLake, Fuller, whose wounds in the Cotton affair were partially healed, was sent to Alexandria to complete repairs on the Queen and convert oneor two other steamers into gunboats. It was hoped that he might harassthe enemy on Grand Lake, delay the landing of troops, and aid the littlegarrison at Butte à la Rose in defending the Atchafalaya. Fuller was asenergetic as brave, but the means at his disposal were very limited. Accompanied by a tender, he descended the Atchafalaya on the Queen, leaving orders for his steamers to follow as soon as they were armed. They failed to reach him, and his subsequent fate will be mentioned. 

On the 10th of April the enemy had assembled at Berwick's sixteenthousand men under Weitzel, Emory, and Grover ("Report on the Conduct ofthe War, " vol. Ii. , page 309). On the 12th Weitzel and Emory, twelvethousand strong, advanced up the Teche against Bisland, while Grover, with four thousand men, embarked on transports to turn our position byGrand Lake. Weitzel and Emory came in sight of our lines beforenightfall, threw forward skirmishers, opened guns at long range, andbivouacked; and our scouts reported the movement on the lake. Mydispositions were as follows: Mouton, with six hundred men and six guns, held the left from the lake to the Teche. The Diana in the bayou and twotwenty-fours on the right bank guarded the stream and the main road; andsixteen hundred men, with twelve guns, prolonged the line to therailway embankment on our extreme right, held by Green with hisdismounted horsemen. One of Green's regiments, Colonel Reilly, the 2dLouisiana cavalry, Colonel Vincent, recently embodied, and a section ofguns, were at Hutchin's Point on Grand Lake. 

The cannonading ceased at dark, and when all was quiet I rode up toFranklin, thirteen miles, to look after my rear. A staff officer hadbeen previously sent to direct the removal of stores from New Iberia, order down Clack's battalion, some ninety men, from the salt mines, andcommunicate with Fuller at Butte à la Rose; but the country around theButte was flooded, and he was unable to reach it. 

Above Franklin the Teche makes a great bend to the east and approachesGrand Lake at Hutchin's Point, where there was a shell bank, and a goodroad leading to the high ground along the bayou. The road to New Iberialeaves the Teche at Franklin to avoid this bend, and runs due northacross the prairie. Just clear of the village it enters a small wood, through which flows a sluggish stream, the Bayou Yokely, crossed by abridge. In the wood and near the stream the ground was low and boggy, impassable for wagons except on a causeway. The distance from Hutchin'sPoint to Yokely Bridge was less than that from Bisland; and this bridge, held by the enemy, made escape from the latter place impossible; yet toretreat without fighting was, in the existing condition of publicsentiment, to abandon Louisiana. 

I remained at Franklin until after midnight, when, learning from Reillythat no landing had been made at Hutchin's, I returned to Bisland. Theenemy was slow in moving on the 13th, apparently waiting for the effectof his turning movement to be felt. As the day wore on he opened hisguns, and gradually increased his fire until it became very heavy. Manyof his field pieces were twenty-pounder Parrotts, to which we hadnothing to reply except the Parrott on the Diana and the twenty-fours;and, as our supply of ammunition was small, Major Brent desired toreserve it for an emergency. 

With the exception of Green's command, the troops on the right of theTeche were raw, and had never been in action. As shot and shell toreover the breastwork behind which they were lying, much consternation wasexhibited, and it was manifest that an assault, however feeble, wouldbreak a part of the line. It was absolutely necessary to give the mensome _morale_; and, mounting the breastwork, I made a cigarette, struckfire with my _briquet_, and walked up and down, smoking. Near the linewas a low tree with spreading branches, which a young officer, Bradfordby name, proposed to climb, so as to have a better view. I gave him myfield glass, and this plucky youngster sat in his tree as quietly as ina chimney corner, though the branches around were cut away. Theseexamples, especially that of Captain Bradford, gave confidence to themen, who began to expose themselves, and some casualties were sufferedin consequence. 

From the extreme right Colonel Green sent word that his corner wasuncomfortably hot, and I found it so. The battery near him was cut up, its captain, Sayres, severely wounded, and Major Brent withdrew it. Green was assured that there were no places on our line particularlycool, and there was nothing to be done but submit to the pounding. 

A heavy fire was concentrated on the twenty-fours and the Diana. CaptainSemmes, son of Admiral Semmes of Alabama fame, and an officer of muchcoolness in action, had been detached from his battery and placed incommand of the boat. A message from him informed me that the Diana wasdisabled. She was lying against the bank under a severe fire. The watersof the bayou seemed to be boiling like a kettle. An officer came to theside of the boat to speak to me, but before he could open his mouth ashell struck him, and he disappeared as suddenly as Harlequin in apantomine. Semmes then reported his condition. Conical shells from theenemy's Parrotts had pierced the railway iron, killed and woundedseveral of his gunners and crew, and cut a steam pipe. Fortunately, hehad kept down his fires, or escaping steam would have driven every onefrom the boat. It was necessary to take her out of fire for repairs. Tolose even temporarily our best gun, the thirty-pounder, was hard, butthere was no help for it. 

During the day staff officers were frequently sent to Mouton toascertain his condition; and, as the bridge over which they passed wasin the line of fire directed on the Diana and the twenty-fours, thepromenade was not a holiday affair. 

Several times in the afternoon the enemy appeared to be forming for anassault; and after my men had become steady, I hoped an attack would bemade, feeling confident of repulsing it. 

Night brought quiet, and no report came from Reilly at Hutchin's. Nonews seemed good news; for I would have ample time to provide against adebarkation north of Hutchin's. The force at Bisland was in finespirits. Protected by the breastwork, we had suffered but little; andthe Diana was expected to resume her position before morning. 

At 9 P. M. Appeared Colonel Reilly to make the following report: Theenemy had landed at Hutchin's, several thousand strong, with artillery, and advanced to the Teche, pushing our people back to and throughFranklin. Reilly had left his command in camp below Franklin, towardBisland, but thought the enemy had not reached the village at nightfall. Here was pleasant intelligence! There was no time to ask questions. Ihoped to cut my way through, but feared the loss of wagons and material. Mouton was directed to withdraw from the left bank of the bayou, startthe artillery and trains to Franklin, and follow with the infantry. Green, with his mounted men and a section of guns, was to form the rearguard; and Semmes was told to hurry his repairs and get the Diana toFranklin by dawn. As there was no means of removing the twotwenty-fours, they were to be disabled. Leaving Major Brent to lookafter his artillery and Major Levy to superintend the prompt executionof orders, I rode for Franklin, taking Reilly with me. Reaching hiscamp, three miles from the town, I found the men sleeping and the trainsparked, though the enemy was so near at hand. The camp was aroused, thetroops were ordered under arms, and Reilly left to move up at once, withhis trains following. 

Two hours after midnight, and the village of Franklin was as silent asthe grave. Beyond the last houses, toward New Iberia, a faint light fromsome camp fires could be seen. Were the Federals in possession of theroad? Approaching the fires cautiously, I saw a sentinel walking hispost, and, as he passed between me and the light, marked his raggedConfederate garb. Major Clack had reached this point after dark, andintended to resume his march to Bisland in the morning. He speedily gothis little band under arms, and in the darkness we beat the wood to ourright. Not a picket nor scout was found, and Yokely Causeway and Bridgewere safe. From the farther edge of the wood, in open fields, Federalcamp fires were visible. It was a wonderful chance. Grover had stoppedjust short of the prize. Thirty minutes would have given him the woodand bridge, closing the trap on my force. Reilly, with his own andVincent's regiments of horse and the two guns, came up. The guns wereplaced on the road near the Teche, with orders to stand fast. Reilly andVincent dismounted their men, sent horses well to the rear, and formedline in the wood to the left of the guns, with Clack to the left ofVincent. 

The first light of dawn made objects visible and aroused the Federals, some two hundred yards distant. Advancing rapidly from the wood, ourline poured in a fire and rushed forward with a shout. Taken bysurprise, the Federals fell back, leaving a battery on their rightexposed. To prevent the sleepy gunners from opening, I rode straight onthe guns, followed by my staff and four mounted couriers, and thegunners made off. All this was easy enough. Surprise and the uncertainlight had favored us; but broad day exposed our weakness, and the enemythrew forward a heavy line of skirmishers. It was necessary for us toregain the wood, now four hundred yards to the rear. Officers behavedadmirably in seconding my efforts to encourage and steady their men andkeep them well in hand. Our two guns on the road fired rapidly andeffectively, but the Federals came on in numbers, and their fire beganto tell. Reilly was killed, Vincent wounded in the neck, and many otherswent down. At this moment the peculiar whistle of a Parrott shell washeard, and Semmes appeared with the Diana. 

The enemy's advance was arrested; Gray's infantry from Bisland came up;the wood was occupied; Mouton with the remaining infantry arrived, andall danger was over. Green, in command of the rear guard, showed greatvigor, and prevented Emory and Weitzel from pressing the trains. Besidesthe twenty-fours mentioned, one gun of Cornay's battery, disabled in theaction of the 13th, was left at Bisland, and with these exceptions everywagon, pot, or pan was brought off. Two months later these guns wererecaptured, much to the delight of our men. 

The trains over Yokely Bridge and on the road to New Iberia, Moutonskillfully withdrew from Grover's front as Green entered Franklin frombelow. To facilitate this, Semmes was directed to work the Diana's gunto the last moment, then get ashore with his crew, and blow up the boat. With his usual coolness Semmes carried out his instructions, but, remaining too long near the Diana to witness the explosion he hadarranged, was captured. 

The object sought in holding on to Bisland was attained. From this timeforward I had the sympathy and support of the people, and my troops werefull of confidence. Our retreat to Opelousas, by New Iberia andVermilionville, was undisturbed, Green with his horse keeping the enemyin check. Indeed, the pursuit was without energy or vigor. The firstdefensible position was at the Bayou Vermilion, thirty miles south ofOpelousas. Here, after an action of some warmth, the enemy was held backuntil night and the bridge destroyed. From Opelousas the infantry, byeasy marches, moved to and up the valley of the Red River, wheresupplies were abundant. The country was open, and the great superiorityof his numbers enabled the enemy to do as he liked. Mouton, with Green'shorse, marched west of Opelousas. It was hoped that he could findsubsistence between that place and the Mermentou River, and be inposition to fall on the enemy's rear and capture any small force left onthe Teche. I supposed that the Federal army, after reaching Alexandria, would turn to the east, cross the Mississippi, and invest Port Hudson;and this supposition proved to be correct. 

Meantime, accompanied by a tender, Fuller on the Queen entered GrandLake on the 13th, expecting his two armed steamers to follow. On themorning of the 14th the Federal gunboats from Berwick's Bay appeared, and Fuller, dispatching the tender up the Atchafalaya to hasten hissteamers, prepared for action, as he doubtless would have done inpresence of Admiral Farragut's fleet. A shell set fire to the Queen, andFuller with his crew was captured. On the 20th the enemy's gunboats, assisted by four companies of infantry, captured Butte à la Rose withtwo twenty-four-pounders and sixty men. Semmes, Fuller, and theprisoners taken from the Queen and at the Butte, were on the transportMaple Leaf with Captain Fusilier, and escaped in the manner related, excepting Fuller, who from wounds received in his last action was unableto walk. Remaining in charge of the Maple Leaf until his friends wereashore, he restored her to the Federals, was taken to Fort Delaware, anddied in prison. A braver man never lived. 

The Federal army reached Opelousas on the 20th of April, and remainedthere until the 5th of May, detained by fear of Mouton's horse to thewest. Unfortunately, this officer was forced by want of supplies to moveto the Sabine, more than a hundred miles away, and thrown out of thegame for many days. 

In the "Report on the Conduct of the War, " vol. Ii. , pp. 309 and 310, the Federal General Banks makes the following statements: "During theseoperations on the Teche we captured over twenty-five hundred prisonersand twenty-two guns; destroyed three gunboats and eight steamers"; andfurther: "A dispatch from Governor Moore to General Taylor wasintercepted, in which Taylor was directed to fall back into Texas. " Atthe time, my entire force in western Louisiana was under three thousand, and it is rather startling to learn that we were all captured. Twotwenty-fours and one field gun were abandoned at Bisland, and twotwenty-fours lost at Butte à la Rose. We scuttled and burnt the Cottonat Bisland, and blew up the Diana (captured from the enemy) at Franklin. The Queen (also captured) was destroyed in action on Grand Lake. TheFederals caught two small steamers, the Ellen and Cornie, in theAtchafalaya, and we destroyed two in the Teche. The other four reportedby General Banks must have come from the realm of the multitude ofprisoners and guns. It also appears from the intercepted dispatch ofGovernor Moore that major-generals of the Confederate army were underthe orders of State governors--an original discovery. 

The delay of the Federals at Opelousas gave abundant time to remove ourstores from Alexandria. General Kirby Smith, the new departmentalcommander, was advised to retire to Shreveport, two hundred miles up RedRiver, where, remote from danger or disturbance, he could organize hisadministration. Threatened in rear, Fort De Russy was untenable; so theplace was dismantled and the little garrison withdrawn. On the 16th ofApril Admiral Porter with several gunboats had passed the Vicksburgbatteries, and the abandonment of De Russy now left the Red River opento him. He reached Alexandria on the 9th of May, a few hours in advanceof Banks's army. From the 8th to the 11th of the same month some of hisgunboats bombarded Fort Beauregard, on the Washita, but were driven offby the garrison under Colonel Logan. 

At this time I was sorely stricken by domestic grief. On the approach ofthe enemy to Alexandria my family embarked on a steamer for Shreveport. Accustomed to the gentlest care, my good wife had learned to take actionfor herself, insisting that she was unwilling to divert the smallestportion of my time from public duty. A moment to say farewell, and sheleft with our four children, two girls and two boys, all pictures ofvigorous health. Before forty-eight hours had passed, just as shereached Shreveport, scarlet fever had taken away our eldest boy, andsymptoms of the disease were manifest in the other children. Thebereaved mother had no acquaintance in Shreveport, but the GoodSamaritan appeared in the person of Mr. Ulger Lauve, a resident of theplace, who took her to his house and showed her every attention, thoughhe exposed his own family to great danger from contagion. The second boydied a few days later. The two girls, older and stronger, recovered. Iwas stunned by this intelligence, so unexpected, and it was well perhapsthat the absorbing character of my duties left no time for theindulgence of private grief; but it was sad to think of the afflictedmother, alone with her dead and dying, deprived of the consolation of mypresence. Many days passed before we met, and then but for an hour. 

My infantry, hardly a thousand strong, with the trains, had marched toNatchitoches and camped, and some mounted scouts to observe the enemywere kept in the vicinity of Alexandria. 

On page 309 of the "Report" before quoted, General Banks says: "A forceunder Generals Weitzel and Dwight pursued the enemy nearly to GrandEcore, so thoroughly dispersing his forces that he was unable toreorganize a respectable army until July. " A party of Federal horsecrossed Cane River at Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Grand Ecore, and chased a mounted orderly and myself about four miles, then turnedback to Alexandria; but I maintain that the orderly and I were notdispersed, for we remained together to the end. 

The Federal army withdrew from Alexandria on the 13th of May, and on the23d crossed the Mississippi and proceeded to invest Port Hudson;whereupon I returned by steamer to Alexandria, directing the infantry atNatchitoches to march back to the Teche to unite with Mouton. Havingobtained supplies on the Sabine, Mouton and Green, the latter promotedto brigadier for gallant conduct, returned to the Teche country, butarrived too late to cut off the enemy, who with large plunder hadcrossed to the east side of Berwick's Bay, where he had fortificationsand gunboats. 

At Alexandria a communication from General Kirby Smith informed me thatMajor-General Walker, with a division of infantry and three batteries, four thousand strong, was on the march from Arkansas, and would reach mewithin the next few days; and I was directed to employ Walker's force insome attempt to relieve Vicksburg, now invested by General Grant, whohad crossed the Mississippi below on the 1st of May. 

The peculiar position of Vicksburg and the impossibility of approachingit from the west bank of the Mississippi have been stated, and were nowinsisted upon. Granting the feasibility of traversing the narrowpeninsula opposite the place, seven miles in length and swept by gunsafloat on both sides, what would be gained? The problem was to withdrawthe garrison, not to reënforce it; and the correctness of this opinionwas proved by the fact that Pemberton could not use the peninsular routeto send out messengers. 

On the other hand, I was confident that, with Walker's force, Berwick'sBay could be captured, the Lafourche overrun, Banks's communication withNew Orleans interrupted, and that city threatened. Its population of twohundred thousand was bitterly hostile to Federal rule, and theappearance of a Confederate force on the opposite bank of the riverwould raise such a storm as to bring General Banks from Port Hudson, thegarrison of which could then unite with General Joseph Johnston in therear of General Grant. Too late to relieve Port Hudson, I accomplishedall the rest with a force of less than three thousand of all arms. 

Remonstrances were of no avail. I was informed that all the Confederateauthorities in the east were urgent for some effort on our part inbehalf of Vicksburg, and that public opinion would condemn us if we didnot _try to do something_. To go two hundred miles and more away fromthe proper theatre of action in search of an indefinite _something_ washard; but orders are orders. Time was so important that I determined torun the risk of moving Walker by river, though the enemy could bringgunboats into the lower Red and Washita, as well as into the Tensas, andhad some troops in the region between this last and the Mississippi. Steamers were held in readiness, and as soon as Walker arrived hiscommand was embarked and taken up the Tensas. I went on in advance togive notice to the boats behind of danger; for, crowded with troops, these would have been helpless in the event of meeting an enemy. 

Without interference, a point on the Tensas opposite Vicksburg wasreached and the troops disembarked. Here Captain Harrison's mounted men, previously mentioned, met us. For safety the steamers were sent down theTensas to its junction with the Washita, and up the last above FortBeauregard; and bridges were thrown over the Tensas and Macon to givecommunication with the terminus of the Monroe Railway. 

Walker rapidly advanced to the village of Richmond, midway between theTensas and Mississippi, some twelve miles from each, where he surprisedand captured a small Federal party. At Young's Point, ten miles aboveVicksburg, on the west bank of the river, the enemy had a fortifiedcamp, and a second one four miles above Young's, both occupied by negrotroops. Holding one brigade in reserve at the point of separation of theroads, Walker sent a brigade to Young's and another to the camp above. Both attacks were made at dawn, and, with the loss of some scores ofprisoners, the negroes were driven over the levee to the protection ofgunboats in the river. 

Fifteen miles above Vicksburg the Yazoo River enters the Mississippifrom the east, and twenty-five miles farther up Steele's Bayou connectsthe two rivers. Before reaching the Mississippi the Yazoo makes a bendto the south, approaching the rear of Vicksburg. The right of Grant'sarmy rested on this bend, and here his supplies were landed, and histransports were beyond the reach of annoyance from the west bank of theMississippi. 

As foreseen, our movement resulted, and could result, in nothing. Walkerwas directed to desist from further efforts on the river, and move toMonroe, where steamers would be in readiness to return his command toAlexandria, to which place I pushed on in advance. Subsequently, GeneralKirby Smith reached Monroe direct from Shreveport, countermanded myorders, and turned Walker back into the region east of the Tensas, wherethis good soldier and his fine division were kept idle for some weeks, until the fall of Vicksburg. The time wasted on these absurd movementscost us the garrison of Port Hudson, nearly eight thousand men; but thepressure on General Kirby Smith to _do something_ for Vicksburg was toostrong to be resisted. 

At Alexandria I found three small regiments of Texan horse, justarrived. Together they numbered six hundred and fifty, and restored theloss suffered in action and in long marches by the forces on the Teche. Colonel (afterward brigadier) Major, the senior officer, was ordered tomove these regiments to Morgan's Ferry on the Atchafalaya; and byambulance, with relays of mules, I reached Mouton and Green on the lowerTeche in a few hours. 

The Federals had a number of sick and convalescent at Berwick's Bay, butthe effective force was small. Some works strengthened their positions, and there was a gunboat anchored in the bay. Mouton and Green weredirected to collect small boats, skiffs, flats, even sugar-coolers, inthe Teche; and the importance of secrecy was impressed upon them. Pickets were doubled to prevent communication with the enemy, and only afew scouts permitted to approach the bay. Returning north to Morgan'sFerry, I crossed the Atchafalaya with Major's command, and moved downthe Fordoche and Grosse-Tête, bayous draining the region between theAtchafalaya and Mississippi. A short march brought us near the FausseRivière, an ancient bed of the Mississippi, some miles west of thepresent channel, and opposite Port Hudson. 

Halting the command on the Fordoche, I rode out to the estate of anacquaintance on Fausse Rivière, whence the noise of battle at PortHudson could be heard. Two ladies of the family, recently from NewOrleans, told me that the Federal force left in the city would notexceed a thousand men; that a small garrison occupied a work nearDonaldsonville, where the Lafourche leaves the Mississippi, and withthis exception there were no troops on the west bank of the river. Fromour position on the Fordoche to the Bayou Boeuf, in rear of theFederal camp at Berwick's Bay, was over a hundred miles. The routefollowed the Grosse-Tête to Plaquemine on the Mississippi, and to escapeobservation Plaquemine must be passed in the night. Below this pointthere was an interior road that reached the Lafourche some distancebelow Donaldsonville. Minute instructions and guides were given toMajor. 

It was now the 19th of June, and he was expected to reach the Boeuf onthe morning of the 23d. The necessity of punctuality was impressed onhim and his officers, as I would attack Berwick's at dawn on the 23d, and their coöperation was required to secure success. Indeed, their ownsafety depended on promptness. The men carried rations, with someforage, and wagons were sent back across the Atchafalaya. Major moved intime to pass Plaquemine, twenty odd miles, before midnight, and Ihastened to Mouton's camp below Bisland, reaching it in the afternoon ofthe 22d. 

Fifty-three small craft, capable of transporting three hundred men, hadbeen collected. Detachments for the boats were drawn from Green'sbrigade and the 2d Louisiana horse. Major Hunter of Baylor's Texans wasplaced in command, with Major Blair of the 2d Louisiana as second. Afternightfall Hunter embarked his men, and paddled down the Teche to theAtchafalaya and Grand Lake. Fortunately, there was no wind; for theslightest disturbance of the lake would have swamped his _fleet_. He hadabout twelve miles to make, and was expected to reach before daylightthe northeast end of the island, a mile from Berwick's and the railwayterminus, where he was instructed to lie quiet until he heard GeneralGreen's guns from the west side of the bay, then rush on the rear of theFederal works. During the night Green placed a battery opposite thegunboat and railway station, and deployed five hundred dismounted menalong the shores of the bay, here eight hundred yards wide. The batterywas run up by hand, and every precaution to secure silence taken. Atdawn of the 23d (June, 1863) our guns opened on the gunboat, andspeedily drove it away. Fire was then directed on the earthwork, wherethe enemy, completely surprised, had some heavy pieces with which heattempted to reply. A shout was heard in his rear, and Hunter with hisparty came rushing on. Resistance ceased at once; but before Hunterclosed in, a train of three engines and many carriages escaped from thestation toward the Boeuf, seven miles away. I crossed in a "pirogue"with Green, and sent back two flats and several skiffs found on the eastside for his men, who used them to get over, their horses swimmingalongside. 

It was a scene of the wildest excitement and confusion. The sight ofsuch quantities of "loot" quite upset my hungry followers. Wanderingthrough the station and warehouse, filled with stores, a Texan came upona telegraphic instrument, clicking in response to one down the line. Supposing this to be some infernal machine for our destruction, hedetermined to save his friends at the risk of his own life, and smashedthe instrument with his heavy boots; then rushed among his comrades, exclaiming: "Boys! they is trying to blow us up. I seen the triggersa-working, but I busted 'em. "

Mouton now crossed with some infantry, and order was restored; andGreen, who had brought over several scores of horses, mounted his menand followed the rail toward the Boeuf. Before reaching it he heardthe noise of the train; then, firing and moving forward, found the trainstopped, and Major, up to time, in possession of the bridge. The captureof the train was of importance, as it enabled us to operate the thirtymiles of rail between Berwick's and the Lafourche. 

In the combined movements described, Green and Major had set out frompoints more than a hundred miles apart, the latter marching through aregion in possession or under control of the enemy, while the boatexpedition of Hunter passed over twelve miles of water; yet all reachedtheir goal at the appointed time. Although every precaution had beentaken to exclude mistakes and insure coöperation, such complete successis not often attained in combined military movements; and I felt thatsacrifices were due to Fortune. 

In his rapid march from the Fordoche Major captured seventy prisonersand burned two steamers at Plaquemine. He afterward encountered no enemyuntil he reached Thibodeaux, near which place, at Lafourche Crossing, there was a stockade held by a small force to protect the railwaybridge. Colonel Pyron, with two hundred men, was detached to mask orcarry this stockade, and Major passed on to the Boeuf. Pyron's attackwas repulsed with a loss of fifty-five killed and wounded, Pyron amongthe latter; but the enemy, after destroying the bridge, abandoned thepost and three guns and retired to New Orleans. 

The spoils of Berwick's were of vast importance. Twelve guns, thirty-twos and twenty-fours (among which were our old friends fromBisland), seventeen hundred prisoners, with many small arms andaccouterments, and great quantities of quarter-master's, commissary, ordnance, and medical stores, fell into our hands. For the first timesince I reached western Louisiana I had supplies, and in such abundanceas to serve for the Red River campaign of 1864. Three fourths of theprisoners were sick and convalescent men left here, as well as thestores, by General Banks, when he marched up the Teche in April. Excepting those too ill to be moved, the prisoners were paroled and sentto New Orleans under charge of their surgeons. 

I was eager to place batteries on the Mississippi to interrupt Banks'scommunication with New Orleans; but the passage of Berwick's Bayconsumed much time, though we worked night and day. We were forced todismount guns and carriages and cross them piecemeal in two small flats, and several days elapsed before a little steamer from the upper Techecould be brought down to assist. It must be remembered that neitherartillery nor wagons accompanied Major's march from the Fordoche. 

On the 24th General Green, with Major's men and such of his own as hadcrossed their horses, marched for Donaldsonville, sixty-five miles, andGeneral Mouton, with two regiments of infantry, took rail to Thibodeauxand sent pickets down the line to Bayou Des Allemands, twenty-five milesfrom New Orleans. Our third regiment of infantry remained at the bay, where Major Brent was at work mounting the captured guns on the southernend of the island and on the western shore opposite. Gunboats could stopthe crossing, and entrance from the Gulf was open. While we might driveoff "tin-clads" the enemy had boats capable of resisting field guns, andit is remarkable that, from the 23d of June to the 22d of July, he madeno attempt to disturb us at Berwick's Bay. 

General Green reached the vicinity of Donaldsonville on the 27th, andfound an earthwork at the junction of the Lafourche and Mississippi. This work, called Fort Butler, had a ditch on three sides, and the riverface was covered by gunboats in the stream. The garrison was reported tobe from two to three hundred negro troops. After some correspondencewith Mouton, Green determined to assault the place, and drew around itfive hundred of his men in the night of the 27th. Two hours before dawnof the 28th Colonel Joseph Phillipps led his regiment, two hundredstrong, to the attack. Darkness and ignorance of the ground caused muchblundering. The levee above the fort was mistaken for the parapet, andsome loss was sustained from the fire of gunboats. Changing direction, Phillipps came upon the ditch, unknown to him as to Green, who had beendeceived by false information. The ditch passed, Phillipps mounted theparapet and fell dead as he reached the top. An equally brave man, MajorRidley, worthy of his leader, followed, and, calling on his men to come, jumped into the work. Frightened by his appearance, the enemy abandonedthe parapet; but finding that Ridley was alone, returned and capturedhim. A dozen men would have carried the place; but the ditch affordedprotection from fire, and the men, disheartened by Phillipps's death, could not be induced to leave it. Indeed, the largest part of our loss, ninety-seven, was made up of these men, who remained in the ditch untildaylight and surrendered. 

The above statements are taken from the report of Major Ridley, madeafter he was exchanged. The affair was unfortunate. Open to fire fromvessels on the river, Fort Butler was of no value to us, and the feeblegarrison would have remained under cover; but, like the Irishman atDonnybrook, Green's rule was to strike an enemy whenever he saw him--amost commendable rule in war, and covering a multitude of such smallerrors as the attack on Fort Butler. 

Meantime I was detained at Berwick's Bay, engaged in hurrying over andforward artillery and arranging to transport the more valuable storesinto the interior. It was not, however, until near the end of the firstweek in July that I succeeded in placing twelve guns on the river belowDonaldsonville. Fire was opened, one transport destroyed and severalturned back. Gunboats attempted to dislodge us, but were readily drivenaway by the aid of Green's men, dismounted and protected by the levee. For three days the river was closed to transports, and our mountedscouts were pushed down to a point opposite Kenner, sixteen miles aboveNew Orleans. A few hours more, and the city would have been wild withexcitement; but in war time once lost can not be regained. The unwisemovement toward Vicksburg retarded operations at Berwick's and on theriver, and Port Hudson fell. During the night of the 10th of Julyintelligence of its surrender on the previous day reached me, and somehours later the fall of Vicksburg on the 4th was announced. 

An iron-clad or two in Berwick's Bay, and the road at Plaquemine held bytroops, supported by vessels in the river, would close all egress fromthe Lafourche, and the enemy could make arrangements to bag us at hisleisure; while Grant's army and Porter's fleet, now set free, mightoverrun the Washita and Red River regions and destroy Walker's division, separated from me by a distance of more than three hundred miles. Theoutlook was not cheerful, but it was necessary to make the best of it, and at all hazards save our plunder. Batteries and outposts were orderedin to the Lafourche; Green concentrated his horse near Donaldsonville, the infantry moved to Labadieville to support him, and Mouton went toBerwick's, where he worked night and day in crossing stores to the westside of the bay. 

On the 13th of July Generals Weitzel, Grover, and Dwight, with sixthousand men, came from Port Hudson, disembarked at Donaldsonville, andadvanced down the Lafourche. Ordering up the infantry, I joined Green, but did not interfere with his dispositions, which were excellent. Hisforce, fourteen hundred, including a battery, was dismounted and inline. As I reached the field the enemy came in sight, and Green led onhis charge so vigorously as to drive the Federals into Donaldsonville, capturing two hundred prisoners, many small arms, and two guns, one ofwhich was the field gun lost at Bisland. The affair was finished toospeedily to require the assistance of the infantry. 

Undisturbed, we removed not only all stores from Berwick's, but manysupplies from the abundant Lafourche country, including a large herd ofcattle driven from the prairies of Opelousas by the Federals some weeksbefore. On the 21st of July, we ran the engines and carriages on therailway into the bay, threw in the heavy guns, and moved up the Teche, leaving pickets opposite Berwick's. Twenty-four hours thereafter theenemy's scouts reached the bay. The timidity manifested after the actionof the 13th may be ascribed to the fertile imagination of the Federalcommander, General Banks, which multiplied my force of less than threethousand of all arms into nine or twelve thousand. 

In the "Report on the Conduct of the War, " vol. Ii. , pages 313 and 314, General Banks states:

"Orders had been sent to Brashear City [Berwick's] to remove all stores, but to hold the position, with the aid of gunboats, to the last. Theenemy succeeded in crossing Grand Lake by means of rafts, and surprisedand captured the garrison, consisting of _about three hundred men_. Theenemy, greatly strengthened in numbers, then attacked the works atDonaldsonville, on the Mississippi, which were defended by a garrison oftwo hundred and twenty-five men, including convalescents, commanded byMajor J. D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers. The attack was made on themorning of the 28th of June, and lasted until daylight. The garrisonmade a splendid defense, killing and wounding more than their ownnumber, and capturing as many officers and nearly as many men as theirgarrison numbered. The enemy's troops were under the command of GeneralGreen of Texas, and consisted of the Louisiana troops under GeneralTaylor and five thousand Texas cavalry, making a force of nine to twelvethousand in that vicinity. 

"The troops engaged in these different operations left but _four hundredmen for the defense of New Orleans_. Upon the surrender of Port Hudsonit was found that the enemy had established batteries below, on theriver, cutting off our communication with New Orleans, making itnecessary to send a large force to dislodge them. On the 9th of Julyseven transports, containing all my available force, were sent belowagainst the enemy in the vicinity of Donaldsonville. The country wasspeedily freed from his presence, and Brashear City [Berwick's] wasrecaptured on the 22d of July. "

Here are remarkable statements. Fourteen hundred men and the vast storesat Berwick's (Brashear City) are omitted, as is the action of the 13thof July with "all my [his] available force. .. . The country was speedilyfreed from his [my] presence, and Brashear City reoccupied, " though Iremained in the country for eleven days after the 9th, and had abandonedBrashear City twenty-four hours before the first Federal scout made hisappearance. The conduct of Major J. D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers, with two hundred and twenty-five negroes, "including convalescents, "appears to have surpassed that of Leonidas and his Spartans; but, likethe early gods, modern democracies are pleased by large utterances. 

While we were engaged in these operations on the Lafourche, a movementof Grant's forces from Natchez was made against Fort Beauregard on theWashita. The garrison of fifty men abandoned the place on the 3d ofSeptember, leaving four heavy and four field guns, with theirammunition, to be destroyed or carried off by the enemy. 

CHAPTER X. 

MOVEMENT TO THE RED RIVER--CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANKS. 

Recent events on the Mississippi made it necessary to concentrate mysmall force in the immediate valley of Red River. Indeed, when we lostVicksburg and Port Hudson, we lost not only control of the river but ofthe valley from the Washita and Atchafalaya on the west to Pearl Riveron the east. An army of forty odd thousand men, with all its material, was surrendered in the two places, and the fatal consequences were feltto the end of the struggle. The policy of shutting up large bodies oftroops in fortifications, without a relieving army near at hand, can notbe too strongly reprobated. Vicksburg should have been garrisoned by notmore than twenty-five hundred men, and Port Hudson by a thousand. Thesewould have been ample to protect the batteries against a sudden _coup_, and forty thousand men added to General Joseph Johnston's force wouldhave prevented the investment of the places, or at least made their lossof small moment. 

After wasting three months in ineffectual attempts to divert the channelof the Mississippi, General Grant ran gunboats and transports by thebatteries, and crossed the river below. Instead of meeting this movementwith every available man, Pemberton detached General Bowen with a weakdivision, who successfully resisted the Federal advance for many hours, vainly calling the while for reënforcements. Pemberton then illustratedthe art of war by committing every possible blunder. He fought a seriesof actions with fractions against the enemy's masses, and finished bytaking his defeated fragments into the Vicksburg trap. It may be stated, however, that, had he acted wisely and kept out of Vicksburg, he wouldhave been quite as much hounded as he subsequently was. 

Grant's error in undertaking an impossible work cost him three months'time and the loss by disease of many thousands of his men. The eventshowed that he could as readily have crossed the river below Vicksburgat first as at last; but, once over, he is entitled to credit forpromptly availing himself of his adversary's mistakes and vigorouslyfollowing him. The same may be said of his first success at FortDonelson on the Cumberland. The terror inspired by gunboats in the firstyear of the war has been alluded to; and at Fort Donelson General Granthad another potent ally. The two senior Confederate generals, politicians rather than warriors, retired from command on the approachof the enemy. One can imagine the effect of such conduct, unique in war, on the raw troops left behind. General Buckner, an educated soldier, wastoo heavily handicapped by his worthy superiors to make a successfuldefense, and General Grant secured an easy victory. "Among the blind, the one-eyed are kings. "

General Grant's first essay at Belmont failed, and at Shiloh he wasout-manoeuvred and out-fought by Sidney Johnston, and, indeed, he wassaved from destruction by Johnston's death. Before he moved againstBragg at Missionary Ridge, the latter had detached Longstreet with athird of his force, while he (Grant) reënforced Thomas with most of theVicksburg army and two strong corps under Hooker from the east. Thehistorian of the Federal Army of the Potomac states that, in reply to aquestion of General Meade, Grant said: "I never manoeuvre"; and onehas but to study the Virginia campaign of 1864, and imagine an exchangeof resources by Grant and Lee, to find the true place of the formeramong the world's commanders. He will fall into the class represented byMarshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland. 

Genius is God-given, but men are responsible for their acts; and itshould be said of General Grant that, as far as I am aware, he made warin the true spirit of a soldier, never by deed or word inflicting wrongon non-combatants. It would be to the credit of the United States armyif similar statements could be made of Generals Sherman and Sheridan. 

Released at length from the swamps of the Tensas, where it had sufferedfrom sickness, Walker's division of Texas infantry joined me in theearly autumn, and was posted to the north of Opelousas. Major-GeneralJ. G. Walker served as a captain of mounted rifles in the war withMexico. Resigning from the United States army to join the Confederacy, he commanded a division at the capture of Harper's Ferry in 1862, and inthe subsequent battle of Antietam; after which he was transferred toArkansas. Seconded by good brigade and regimental officers, he hadthoroughly disciplined his men, and made them in every sense soldiers;and their efficiency in action was soon established. 

On the 29th of September Green, with his horse and a part of Mouton'sbrigade of Louisiana infantry, crossed the Atchafalaya at Morgan'sFerry, and attacked and routed the enemy on the Fordoche, capturing fourhundred and fifty prisoners and two guns. Green lost a hundred in killedand wounded; the enemy, who fought under cover, less than half thatnumber. 

In October the Federals moved a large force of all arms up the Teche, their advance reaching the Courtableau. I concentrated for a fight, butthey suddenly retired to the Bayou Bourbeau, three miles south ofOpelousas, where they left a considerable body under General Burbridge. On the 3d of November Green, reënforced by three regiments of Walker'sdivision, was ordered to attack them, and they were beaten with the lossof six hundred prisoners. This was the first opportunity I had had ofobserving the admirable conduct of Walker's men in action. Green'spursuit was stopped by the approach of heavy masses of the enemy fromthe south, who seemed content with the rescue of Burbridge, as theyretired at once to the vicinity of New Iberia, fifty miles away. Greenfollowed with a part of his horse, and kept his pickets close up; butone of his regiments permitted itself to be surprised at night, on theopen prairie near New Iberia, and lost a hundred men out of a hundredand twenty-five. So much for want of discipline and over-confidence. General Banks's report mentions this capture, but is silent aboutBourbeau. 

The prisoners taken at the Bourbeau were marched to the Red River, wheresupplies could be had. The second day after the action, _en route_ forAlexandria in an ambulance, I turned out of the road on to the prairieto pass the column, when I observed an officer, in the uniform of acolonel, limping along with his leg bandaged. Surprised at this, Istopped to inquire the reason, and was told that the colonel refused toseparate from his men. Descending from the ambulance, I approached him, and, as gently as possible, remonstrated against the folly of walking ona wounded leg. He replied that his wound was not very painful, and hecould keep up with the column. His regiment was from Wisconsin, recruited among his neighbors and friends, and he was very unwilling toleave it. I insisted on his riding with me, for a time at least, as wewould remain on the road his men were following. With much reluctance hegot into the ambulance, and we drove on. For some miles he was silent, but, avoiding subjects connected with the war, I put him at ease, andbefore Alexandria was reached we were conversing pleasantly. Impressedby his bearing and demeanor, I asked him in what way I could serve him, and learned that he desired to send a letter to his wife in Wisconsin, who was in delicate health and expecting to be confined. She would hearof the capture of his regiment, and be uncertain as to his fate. "Youshall go to the river to-night, " I replied, "catch one of your steamers, and take home the assurance of your safety. Remain on parole until youcan send me an officer of equal rank, and I will look to the comfort ofyour men and have them exchanged at the earliest moment. " His manlyheart was so affected by this as to incapacitate him from expressing histhanks. 

During the administration of Andrew Johnson a convention met in the cityof Philadelphia which, at the earnest instance of the President, Iattended. The gallant Wisconsin colonel was also there to lend hisassistance in healing the wounds of civil strife. My presence in thecity of _brotherly love_ furnished an occasion to a newspaper todenounce me as "a rebel who, with hands dripping with loyal blood, hadthe audacity to show myself in a loyal community. " Whereupon myWisconsin friend, accompanied by a number of persons from his State, called on me to express condemnation of the article in question, and wasready, with the slightest encouragement, to make the newspaper office ahot place. This was the difference between brave soldiers andnon-fighting politicians, who grew fat by inflaming the passions ofsectional hate. 

The ensuing winter of 1863-4 was without notable events. Control of theMississippi enabled the enemy to throw his forces upon me from above andbelow Red River, and by gunboats interfere with my movements along thisstream; and as soon as the Lafourche campaign ended, steps were taken toprovide against these contingencies. Twenty miles south of Alexandria aroad leaves the Boeuf, an effluent of Red River, and passes throughpine forest to Burr's Ferry on the Sabine. Twenty odd miles from theBoeuf this road intersects another from Opelousas to Fort Jesup, anabandoned military post, thence to Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, andShreveport. At varying distances of twelve to thirty miles the valley ofthe Red River is an arc, of which this last-mentioned road is the chord, and several routes from the valley cross to ferries on the Sabine aboveBurr's. But the country between the Boeuf and Pleasant Hill, ninetymiles, was utterly barren, and depots of forage, etc. , were necessarybefore troops could march through it. With great expenditure of time andlabor depots were established, with small detachments to guard them; andevents proved that the time and labor were well bestowed. 

Movements of the Federals along the west coast of Texas in Novemberinduced General Kirby Smith to withdraw from me Green's command of Texashorse, and send it to Galveston. This left me with but one mountedregiment, Vincent's 2d Louisiana, and some independent companies, whichlast were organized into two regiments--one, on the Washita, by ColonelHarrison, the other, on the Teche, by Colonel Bush; but they were tooraw to be effective in the approaching campaign. Mouton's brigade ofLouisiana infantry could be recruited to some extent; but the Texasinfantry received no recruits, and was weakened by the ordinarycasualties of camp life, as well as by the action of the Shreveportauthorities. The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department"displayed much ardor in the establishment of bureaux, and on a scaleproportioned rather to the extent of his territory than to the smallnessof his force. His staff surpassed in numbers that of Von Moltke duringthe war with France; and, to supply the demands of bureaux and staff, constant details from the infantry were called for, to the greatdiscontent of the officers in the field. Hydrocephalus at Shreveportproduced atrophy elsewhere. Extensive works for defense were constructedthere, and heavy guns mounted; and, as it was known that I objected tofortifications beyond mere water batteries, for reasons already stated, the chief engineer of the "department" was sent to Fort De Russy tobuild an iron-casemated battery and other works. We shall see whatbecame of De Russy. 

In the winter there joined me from Arkansas a brigade of Texas infantry, numbering seven hundred muskets. The men had been recently dismounted, and were much discontented thereat. Prince Charles Polignac, a Frenchgentleman of ancient lineage, and a brigadier in the Confederate army, reported for duty about the same time, and was assigned to command thisbrigade. The Texans swore that a Frenchman, whose very name they couldnot pronounce, should never command them, and mutiny was threatened. Iwent to their camp, assembled the officers, and pointed out theconsequences of disobedience, for which I should hold them accountable;but promised that if they remained dissatisfied with their new commander_after an action_, I would then remove him. Order was restored, but itwas up-hill work for General Polignac for some time, notwithstanding hispatience and good temper. The incongruity of the relation struck me, andI thought of sending my monte-dealing Texas colonel to Paris, to commanda brigade of the Imperial Guard. 

In the first weeks of 1864 the enemy sent a gunboat expedition up theWashita, and Polignac's brigade, with a battery, was moved to Trinityto meet it. The gunboats were driven off, and Polignac, by his coolnessunder fire, gained the confidence of his men, as he soon gained theiraffections by his care and attention. They got on famously, and he madecapital soldiers out of them. General Polignac returned to Europe in1865, and as he had shown great gallantry and talent for war whileserving with me, I hoped that he might come to the front during thestruggle with Germany; but he belonged to that race of historic gentrywhose ancestors rallied to the white plume of Henry at Ivry, andfollowed the charge of Condé at Rocroy. Had he been a shopkeeper orscribbling attorney, he might have found favor with the dictator whoruled France. 

All the information received during the months of January and February, 1864, indicated a movement against me in the early spring; and in thelatter month it was ascertained that Porter's fleet and a part ofSherman's army from Vicksburg would join Banks's forces in the movement, while Steele would coöperate from Little Rock, Arkansas. Thisinformation was communicated to department headquarters, and I askedthat prompt measures should be taken to reënforce me; but it was "a farcry" to Shreveport as to "Lochow, " and the emergency seemed lesspressing in the rear than at the front. 

The end of February found my forces distributed as follows: Harrison'smounted regiment (just organized), with a four-gun battery, was in thenorth, toward Monroe; Mouton's brigade near Alexandria; Polignac's atTrinity on the Washita, fifty-five miles distant; Walker's division atMarksville and toward Simmsport on the Atchafalaya, with two hundred menunder Colonel Byrd detached to assist the gunners at De Russy, which, yet unfinished, contained eight heavy guns and two field pieces. Walkerhad three companies of Vincent's horse on the east side of theAtchafalaya, watching the Mississippi. The remainder of Vincent'sregiment was on the Teche. 

Increased activity and concentration at Berwick's Bay, and a visit ofSherman to New Orleans to confer with Banks, warned me of the impendingblow; and on the 7th of March Polignac was ordered to move at once toAlexandria, and thence, with Mouton's brigade, to the Boeuf, twenty-five miles south. Harrison was directed to get his regiment andbattery to the west bank of the Washita, gather to him severalindependent local companies of horse, and report to General Liddell, sent to command on the north bank of Red River, whence he was to harassthe enemy's advance up that stream. Vincent was ordered to leave flyingscouts on the Teche and move his regiment, with such men as Bush hadrecruited, to Opelousas, whence he afterward joined me on the Burr'sFerry road. At Alexandria steamers were loaded with stores and sentabove the falls, and everything made ready to evacuate the place. Thesearrangements were not completed a moment too soon. 

On March 12th Admiral Porter, with nineteen gunboats, followed by tenthousand men of Sherman's army, entered the mouth of Red River. (Thesenumbers are from Federal official reports. ) On the 13th, under cover ofa part of the fleet, the troops debarked at Simmsport, on theAtchafalaya near the Red, other vessels ascending the latter stream, andon the 14th, under command of General A. J. Smith, marched to De Russy, thirty miles, which they reached about 5 P. M. As stated, the work wasincomplete, and had time been given me would have been abandoned. Attacked in the rear, the garrison surrendered after losing ten killedand wounded. Byrd's two hundred men were in rifle pits on the riverbelow, where gunboats, under Commander Phelps, were removingobstructions in the channel. A number of Byrd's men and a few gunnersescaped to the swamps and rejoined their commands; but we lost a hundredand eighty-five prisoners, eight heavy guns, and two field pieces. Thusmuch for our Red River Gibraltar. 

Cut off from direct communication by the sudden appearance of the enemyon the 12th, the three mounted companies east of the Atchafalaya wereforced to cross at Morgan's Ferry, below Simmsport, and did not rejoinWalker until the 15th. This officer was thereby left without means ofinformation; but, judging correctly of the numbers of the enemy by apersonal observation of his transports and fleet, he fell back from hisadvanced position to the Boeuf, forty miles, where he was united withMouton and Polignac. His division at this time was reduced to somethirty-three hundred muskets, too weak to make head against A. J. Smith'scolumn. 

On the afternoon of the 15th of March the advanced boats of Porter'sfleet reached Alexandria, whence all stores had been removed; but, bythe mismanagement of a pilot, one steamer was grounded on the falls andhad to be burned. 

In the "Report on the Conduct of the War, " vol. Ii. , page 192, ColonelJ. S. Clarke, aide-de-camp to General Banks, states that Banks's army inthis campaign was twenty-eight thousand strong, eighteen thousand underFranklin, ten thousand under A. J. Smith. General Steele, operating fromArkansas, reports his force at seven thousand; and the number ofgunboats given is taken from the reports of Admiral Porter to theSecretary of the Navy. 

To meet Porter and A. J. Smith, Major-General Franklin had left the lowerTeche on the 13th for Alexandria, with eighteen thousand men. My entireforce on the south side of Red River consisted of fifty-three hundredinfantry, five hundred horse, and three hundred artillerymen; andLiddell, on the north, had about the same number of horse and a four-gunbattery. From Texas, if at all, the delayed reënforcements must come, and it was vital to cover the roads from the Sabine. 

From the Boeuf, on the 16th, I marched on the Burr's Ferry road toCarroll Jones's, which was reached on the evening of the 18th. Here, where the Burr's Ferry and Natchitoches roads separated, was a depot offorage, and I camped. 

Polignac's and the Louisiana brigade, under Colonel Gray, were united ina division for General Mouton. Vincent's horse, from Opelousas, joinedon the 19th, and on the following day was sent forward to the BayouRapides, twelve miles, where it skirmished with the enemy's horse fromAlexandria, twenty miles below. At dawn of the 21st Edgar's battery, four guns, was sent to strengthen Vincent, and posted in a strongposition near James's Store, where it overlooked and commanded thevalley. 

Meanwhile, couriers were dispatched to the Sabine to inform approachingreënforcements of my position, and direct them on to the Fort Jesuproad. The 21st proved to be a cold, rainy day, with gusts of wind. Toward evening the sound of Edgar's guns was heard. Fearing a surpriseduring the night, Captain Elgee of my staff was sent to withdraw thebattery and warn Vincent of the necessity of vigilance; but the enemyhad been too prompt. Vincent's pickets found their fires more agreeablethan outposts. At nightfall the battery and a number of the horse werecaptured, as was Captain Elgee, who rode up just after the event. Welost the four guns, with their caissons, and two hundred men. Vincent, with the remainder of his command escaped. In truth, my horse was tooill disciplined for close work. On the 22d we marched to Beaseley's, twelve miles, and remained until the 29th, hoping that reënforcementswould reach us. Beaseley's was a depot of forage, and covered roads toFort Jesup and Natchitoches; and a cross road reached the Red Rivervalley at a point twenty-five miles below the latter place, by whichsome supplies were obtained. As no reënforcements arrived, and the enemywas moving up the river, the troops were ordered to Pleasant Hill viaFort Jesup, forty miles, and I went to Natchitoches, thirty miles. Here, on the night of the 30th, I met Colonel McNeill's regiment of Texashorse, numbering two hundred and fifty men, of whom fifty were withoutarms; and the following morning Colonel Herbert came in, with a hundredand twenty-five of his three hundred and fifty men unarmed. These were apart of Green's command, and the first reënforcements received. 

The enemy's advance reached Natchitoches, by the river road, on the31st, and McNeill and Herbert were directed to fall back slowly towardPleasant Hill, thirty-six miles. I remained in the town until the enemyentered, then rode four miles to Grand Ecore, where, in the main channelof Red River, a steamer was awaiting me. Embarking, I went up river toBlair's Landing, forty miles by the windings of the stream, whence was aroad, sixteen miles, to Pleasant Hill. Four miles from Blair's was BayouPierre, a large arm of the river, crossed by a ferry. At Pleasant Hill, on the 1st of April, Walker and Mouton, with their infantry divisions, artillery, and trains joined me, as did Green with his staff. From thelatter I learned that De Bray's regiment of cavalry, with two batteriesand trains, was in march from Fort Jesup. As the enemy was moving fromNatchitoches, and could strike the Jesup road across country, De Braywas ordered to push forward his artillery and wagons, and look well tohis right. He reached Pleasant Hill after dark. The enemy attempted toimpede the march, but was driven off, with a loss of five wounded to DeBray. During the day our horse, toward Natchitoches, had someskirmishing. 

It appeared that General Major, with the remainder of Green's horse, could not get up before the 6th, and he was directed to cross the Sabineat Logansport and march to Mansfield, twenty miles in my rear. Thisinsured his march against disturbance; and, to give him time, I haltedtwo days at Pleasant Hill, prepared for action. But the enemy showed nodisposition to advance seriously, and on the 4th and 5th the infantrymoved to Mansfield, where on the following day Major, with his horse andBuchell's regiment of cavalry, joined. General Major was sent toPleasant Hill to take charge of the advance. 

De Bray's and Buchell's regiments have been spoken of as _cavalry_ todistinguish them from mounted infantry, herein called _horse_. They hadnever before left their State (Texas), were drilled and disciplined, andarmed with sabers. Buchell's regiment was organized in the Germansettlement of New Braunfels. The men had a distinct idea that they werefighting for their adopted country, and their conduct in battle was inmarked contrast to that of the Germans whom I had encountered in theFederal army in Virginia. Colonel Buchell had served in the Prussianarmy, and was an instructed soldier. Three days after he joined me, hewas mortally wounded in action, and survived but a few hours. I satbeside him as his brave spirit passed away. The old "Fatherland" sent nobolder horseman to battle at Rossbach or Gravelotte. 

During this long retreat of two hundred miles from the banks of theAtchafalaya to Mansfield, I had been in correspondence with GeneralKirby Smith at Shreveport, and always expressed my intention to fight assoon as reënforcements reached me. General Kirby Smith thought that Iwould be too weak to meet the enemy, even with all possiblereënforcements, and suggested two courses: one, to hold the works atShreveport until he could concentrate a force to relieve me; the other, to retire into Texas and induce the enemy to follow us. 

My objection to the first suggestion was, that it would result in thesurrender of the troops and Shreveport, as it would be impossible toraise a new force for their relief; and to the second, that itsconsequences would be quite as disastrous as a defeat, as it would be anabandonment of Louisiana and southern Arkansas. The men from theseStates might be expected to leave us, and small blame to them; whilefrom the interior of Texas we could give no more aid to our brethren onthe east of the Mississippi than from the Sandwich Islands. GeneralKirby Smith did not insist on the adoption of either of his ownsuggestions, nor express an approval of mine; but when Mansfield wasreached, a decision became necessary. 

Three roads lead from this place to Shreveport, the Kingston, Middle, and Keachi. The distance by the first, the one nearest to the valley ofRed River, is thirty-eight miles; by the second, forty; and by thethird, forty-five. From Keachi, five and twenty miles from Mansfield andtwenty from Shreveport, roads cross the Sabine into Texas. PastMansfield, then, the enemy would have three roads, one of which would benear his fleet on the river, and could avail himself of his greatsuperiority in numbers. This was pointed out to the "Aulic Council" atShreveport, but failed to elicit any definite response. 

On the 21st of March there had reached Shreveport, from Price's commandin Arkansas, two brigades of Missouri infantry and two of Arkansas, numbering together forty-four hundred muskets. These troops I hadrepeatedly asked for, but they were retained at Shreveport until theafternoon of the 4th of April, when they marched to Keachi, and reportedto me from that place on the morning of the 6th. Supplies were far fromabundant in the vicinity of Mansfield; and as I might at any momentreceive an order to retire to Keachi, they were directed to remain therefor the present. Green, now promoted to major-general, was placed incommand of all the horse, with Brigadiers Bee, Major, and Bagby underhim. 

On the morning of the 7th of April, Major, from Pleasant Hill, reportedthe enemy advancing in force; whereupon Green went to the front. Laterin the day the southerly wind brought such distinct sounds of firing toMansfield as to induce me to join Green. Riding hard, I suddenly metsome fifty men from the front, and reined up to speak to them; but, before I could open my mouth, received the following rebuke from one ofthe party for a bad habit: "General! if you won't curse us, we will goback with you. " I bowed to the implied homily, rode on, followed by themen, and found Green fighting a superior force of horse. Putting in mylittle reënforcement, I joined him, and enjoyed his method of managinghis wild horsemen; and he certainly accomplished more with them than anyone else could have done. After some severe work, the enemy's progresswas arrested, and it became evident that Green could camp that night ata mill stream seven miles from Pleasant Hill, a matter of importance. 

The roads in this region follow the high ridge dividing the drainage ofRed River from that of the Sabine, and water is very scarce. BetweenPleasant Hill and Mansfield but two streams are found, the one abovementioned, and a smaller, seven miles nearer to the latter place. Fortwenty miles from Pleasant Hill toward Natchitoches there was little orno water; and at Pleasant Hill itself we had exhausted the wells andreduced the store in cisterns during our stay. This, as it affectedmovements and positions of troops, should be borne in mind. 

Leaving Green, I returned to Mansfield, stopping on the road to selectmy ground for the morrow. This was in the edge of a wood, fronting anopen field eight hundred yards in width by twelve hundred in length, through the center of which the road to Pleasant Hill passed. On theopposite side of the field was a fence separating it from the pineforest, which, open on the higher ground and filled with underwood onthe lower, spread over the country. The position was three miles infront of Mansfield, and covered a cross-road leading to the Sabine. Oneither side of the main Mansfield-Pleasant Hill road, at two miles'distance, was a road parallel to it and connected by this Sabinecross-road. 

General Churchill, commanding the Missouri-Arkansas troops at Keachi, was ordered to march for Mansfield at dawn of the 8th, and advised thata battle was impending. My medical director was instructed to preparehouses in the village for hospitals, and quartermasters were told tocollect supplies and park surplus wagons. An officer with a small guardwas selected to preserve order in the town, and especially among thewagoners, always disposed to "stampede. " Walker and Mouton were orderedto move their divisions in the morning, ready for action, to theposition selected; and a staff officer was sent to Green, withinstructions to leave a small force in front of the enemy, and beforedawn withdraw to the appointed ground. These arrangements made, adispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith at Shreveport, informing himthat I had returned from the front, found the enemy advancing in force, and would give battle on the following day, April 8, 1864, unlesspositive orders to the contrary were sent to me. This was about 9 P. M. Of the 7th. 

My confidence of success in the impending engagement was inspired byaccurate knowledge of the Federal movements, as well as the character oftheir commander, General Banks, whose measure had been taken in theVirginia campaigns of 1862 and since. 

On the morning of the 7th of April Admiral Porter left Grand Ecore withsix gunboats and twenty transports, on which last were embarked sometwenty-five hundred troops. The progress of these vessels up the riverwas closely watched by an officer of my staff, who was also incommunication with General Liddell on the north side. Banks began hismovement from Grand Ecore to Pleasant Hill on the 6th, with an estimatedforce of twenty-five thousand. Though lateral roads existed, his columnmarched by the main one, and in the following order: Five thousandmounted men led the advance, followed by a large wagon train and muchartillery. Infantry succeeded, then more wagons and artillery, theninfantry again. In the afternoon of the 7th I knew that the front andrear of his column were separated by a distance of twenty miles. 

My troops reached the position in front of Sabine cross-road at an earlyhour on the 8th, and were disposed as follows: On the right of the roadto Pleasant Hill, Walker's infantry division of three brigades, with twobatteries; on the left, Mouton's, of two brigades and two batteries. AsGreen's men came in from the front, they took position, dismounted, onMouton's left. A regiment of horse was posted on each of the parallelroads mentioned, and De Bray's cavalry, with McMahon's battery, held inreserve on the main road. Dense forest prevented the employment of muchartillery, and, with the exception of McMahon's, which renderedexcellent service, none was used in the action. 

I had on the field fifty-three hundred infantry; three thousand horse, and five hundred artillerymen--in all, eight thousand eight hundred men, a very full estimate. But the vicious dispositions of the enemy made meconfident of beating all the force he could concentrate during the day;and on the morrow Churchill, with forty-four hundred muskets, would beup. 

The forenoon of the 8th wore on as the troops got into position. Ridingalong the line, I stopped in front of the Louisiana brigade of Mouton'sdivision, and made what proved to be an unfortunate remark to the men:"As they were fighting in defense of their own soil I wished theLouisiana troops to draw the first blood. " But they were alreadyinflamed by many outrages on their homes, as well as by camp rumors thatit was intended to abandon their State without a fight. At this momentour advanced horse came rushing in, hard followed by the enemy. A showerof bullets reached Mouton's line, one of which struck my horse, and abody of mounted men charged up to the front of the 18th Louisiana. Avolley from this regiment sent them back with heavy loss. Infantry wasreported in the wood opposite my left. This was a new disposition ofthe enemy, for on the 6th and 7th his advance consisted of horse alone;and to meet it, Mouton was strengthened by moving Randall's brigade ofWalker's from the right to the left of the road. To cover this change, skirmishers were thrown forward and De Bray's regiment deployed in thefield. 

The enemy showing no disposition to advance, at 4 P. M. I ordered aforward movement of my whole line. The ardor of Mouton's troops, especially the Louisianians, could not be restrained by their officers. Crossing the field under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms, thedivision reached the fence, paused for a moment to draw breath, thenrushed into the wood on the enemy. Here our loss was severe. GeneralMouton was killed, as were Colonels Armand, Beard, and Walker, commanding the 18th, Crescent, and 28th Louisiana regiments of Gray'sbrigade. Major Canfield of the Crescent also fell, and Lieutenant-ColonelClack of the same regiment was mortally wounded. As these officers wentdown, others, among whom Adjutant Blackman was conspicuous, seized thecolors and led on the men. Polignac's brigade, on the left of Gray's, also suffered heavily. Colonel Noble, 17th Texas, with many others, waskilled. Polignac, left in command by the death of Mouton, displayedability and pressed the shattered division steadily forward. Randall, with his fine brigade, supported him on the right; while Major'sdismounted men, retarded by dense wood, much to the impatience ofGeneral Green, gradually turned the enemy's right, which was forcedback with loss of prisoners and guns. 

On the right of the main road General Walker, with Waul's and Scurry'sbrigades, encountered but little resistance until he had crossed theopen field and entered the wood. Finding that he outflanked the enemy'sleft, he kept his right brigade, Scurry's, advanced, and swepteverything before him. 

The first Federal line, consisting of all the mounted force and onedivision of the 13th army corps, was in full flight, leaving prisoners, guns, and wagons in our hands. Two miles to the rear of the firstposition, the 2d division of the 13th corps brought up, but was speedilyrouted, losing guns and prisoners; and our advance continued. Nearsunset, four miles from our original position, the 19th army corps wasfound, drawn up on a ridge overlooking a small stream. Fatigued, anddisordered by their long advance through dense wood, my men made noimpression for a time on this fresh body of troops; but possession ofthe water was all-important, for there was none other between this andMansfield. Walker, Green, and Polignac led on their weary men, and Irode down to the stream. There was some sharp work, but we persisted, the enemy fell back, and the stream was held, just as twilight fadedinto darkness. 

Twenty-five hundred prisoners, twenty pieces of artillery, severalstands of colors, many thousands of small arms, and two hundred andfifty wagons were the fruits of victory in the battle of Mansfield. Eight thousand of the enemy, his horse and two divisions of infantry, had been utterly routed, and over five thousand of the 19th corps drivenback at sunset. With a much smaller force on the field, we invariablyoutnumbered the enemy at the fighting point; and foreseeing thepossibility of this, I was justified in my confidence of success. Thedefeat of the Federal army was largely due to the ignorance andarrogance of its commander, General Banks, who attributed my longretreat to his own wonderful strategy. 

Night put an end to the struggle along the little stream, and my troopscamped by the water. 

A dispatch was sent to General Kirby Smith, at Shreveport, to inform himof the result of the day's fighting, and of my intention to push theenemy on the following morning. Leaving instructions for Green, with allthe mounted force, to pursue at dawn, I rode to Mansfield to look afterour wounded and meet Churchill. The precautions taken had preservedorder in the village throughout the day. Hospitals had been prepared, the wounded brought in and cared for, prisoners and captured propertydisposed of. Churchill came and reported his command in camp, four milesfrom Mansfield, on the Keachi road; and he was directed to prepare twodays' rations, and march toward Pleasant Hill at 3 A. M. 

Sitting by my camp fire to await the movement of Churchill's column, Iwas saddened by recollection of the many dead, and the pleasure ofvictory was turned to grief as I counted the fearful cost at which ithad been won. Of the Louisianians fallen, most were acquaintances, manyhad been neighbors and friends; and they were gone. Above all, the deathof gallant Mouton affected me. He had joined me soon after I reachedwestern Louisiana, and had ever proved faithful to duty. Modest, unselfish, and patriotic, he showed best in action, always leading hismen. I thought of his wife and children, and of his father, GovernorMouton, whose noble character I have attempted to portray. 

Churchill's march disturbed these solemn reveries, and I returned to thefront, where Walker and Green were awaiting the approaching day. Thehorse, with a battery, moved early to Pleasant Hill, fourteen miles, leaving Walker and Polignac to follow Churchill's column as soon as ithad passed. I rode with Green, and we found many stragglers, scatteredarms, and burning wagons, showing the haste of the enemy's retreat. Themill stream, seven miles distant, was reached, then the vicinity ofPleasant Hill, before a shot was fired. A short mile in front of thelatter place the enemy was found; and as our rapid advance had left theinfantry far to the rear, feints were made to the right and left todevelop his position and strength. 

The village of Pleasant Hill occupies part of a plateau, a mile widefrom east to west, along the Mansfield and Fort Jesup road. The highestground, called College Hill, is on the west, and here enters a road fromthe Sabine, which, sixteen miles to the east, strikes the Red River atBlair's Landing; while, from the necessity of turning Spanish Lake, thedistance to Natchitoches and Grand Ecore is thirty-six miles. TheFederal fleet, with accompanying troops, was now many miles aboveBlair's, which by river is forty-five miles above Grand Ecore. Drivenfrom Pleasant Hill to the latter place, the Federal forces would bewidely separated, and might be destroyed in detail. Though it appearedto be the enemy's intention to continue his retreat, as he was known tobe moving back his trains, yet if undisturbed he might find courage toattempt a junction with his fleet at Blair's Landing; and I did not wishto lose the advantage of the _morale_ gained by success on the previousday. 

Our reconnoissance showed that the Federal lines extended across theopen plateau, from College Hill on their left to a wooded height on theright of the road to Mansfield. Winding along in front of this positionwas a gully cut by winter rains, but now dry, and bordered by a thickgrowth of young pines, with fallen timber interspersed. This was held bythe enemy's advanced infantry, with his main line and guns on theplateau. Separating the gully and thicket from the forest towardMansfield was an open field, several hundred yards wide near the road, but diminishing in width toward the west. Here the Federal commander hadconcentrated some eighteen thousand, including A. J. Smith's force, notengaged on the previous day. 

My plan of attack was speedily determined. Orders were sent to theinfantry to fill canteens at the mill stream, and to the trains to parkthere. Shortly after midday the infantry appeared, Churchill in advance;but a glance showed that his men were too much exhausted to attack. Theyhad marched forty-five miles, and were thoroughly jaded. Walker's andPolignac's divisions had been heavily engaged on the previous day, andall were suffering from heat and thirst. Accordingly, two hours weregiven to the troops to lie down and rest. 

At 3 P. M. Churchill, with two batteries and three regiments of horse, was directed to move to the right and turn the enemy's left. His routewas through the forest for two miles to the road coming from the Sabine. The enemy's left outflanked, he was to attack from the south and west, keeping his regiments of horse well to his right, and Walker wouldattack on his left. This was explained to Churchill, and Mr. T. J. Williams, formerly sheriff of De Soto parish, and acquainted with everyroad in the vicinity, was sent with him as a guide. On Walker's left, near the road from Mansfield, Major Brent had twelve guns in the wood, with four on the road, where were posted Buchell's and De Bray'scavalry, under General Bee, and Polignac's division, the last inreserve. In the wood on the left of the road from Mansfield, Major, withtwo brigades of horse dismounted, was to drive back the enemy'sskirmishers, turn his right, and gain the road to Blair's Landing. As nooffensive movement by the enemy was anticipated, he would be turned onboth flanks, subjected to a concentric fire, and overwhelmed. Though Ihad but twelve thousand five hundred men against eighteen thousand inposition, the _morale_ was greatly in our favor, and intelligentexecution of orders was alone necessary to insure success. 

At 4. 30 P. M. Churchill was reported to be near the position whence hewould attack; and, to call off attention, Major Brent advanced histwelve guns into the field, within seven hundred yards of the enemy'sline, and opened fire. Soon thereafter the sound of Churchill's attackwas heard, which the cheers of his men proved to be successful. Walkerat once led forward his division by echelons of brigades from his right, Brent advanced his guns, and Major turned the enemy's right and gainedpossession of the road to Blair's. Complete victory seemed assured whenChurchill's troops suddenly gave way, and for a time arrested theadvance of Walker and Major. 

The road from the Sabine reached, Churchill formed his line with the twoMissouri brigades, General Parsons on the right, and the two Arkansas, General Tappan, on the left. Advancing three fourths of a mile throughthe forest, he approached the enemy's line, and found that he had notgained ground enough to outflank it. Throwing forward skirmishers, hemoved by the right flank until the Missouri brigades were on the rightof the Sabine road, the regiments of horse being farther to the right. Churchill should have placed his whole command on the right of theSabine road, and he would have found no difficulty in successfullyexecuting his orders. In his official report he states "that had my[his] line extended a half mile more to the right, a brilliant successwould have been achieved"; and he gives as the reason for not sodisposing his force that he judged, from information furnished by hisguides, the enemy's left to be already outflanked. 

The attack ordered, the Missourians threw themselves on the enemy, drovehim from the gully and thicket, mounted the plateau, broke an opposingline, captured and sent to the rear three hundred prisoners, gotpossession of two batteries, the horses of which had been killed, andreached the village. Here a Federal brigade, left by Churchill's erroron his right, attacked them in flank and rear, while their rapid chargehad put three hundred yards between them and the Arkansas brigades, delayed by the gully. The enemy's reserve was thrust into this openingand advanced in front. Finding themselves assaulted on all sides, theMissourians retreated hastily, and in repassing the gully and thicketfell into much confusion. Colonel Hardiman, commanding the horse, checked the enemy, and Parsons rallied his men on the line first formedby Churchill. The Arkansas brigades had forced the gully and mounted theplateau as the Missourians retreated, whereupon they fell back, theirleft brigade (Gause's) running into Walker's right (Scurry's) andimpeding its advance. Gause imagined that Scurry had fired on him; butas his entire loss in the action amounted to but fifteen killed andfifty-nine wounded, out of eleven hundred men, there appears littleground for this belief. Churchill's two batteries followed theMissourians, and with much difficulty reached the plateau, where theyopened an effective fire. When the infantry retreated three carriagesbroke down in the attempt to get through the thicket and fallen timber, and the guns were lost. Night ended the conflict on this part of thefield, and both sides occupied their original positions. We brought offthree hundred prisoners, but lost three guns and one hundred andseventy-nine prisoners from Churchill's command. Out of two thousandmen, the Missourians lost three hundred and thirty-one in killed andwounded, and the Arkansas brigades, of equal strength, one hundred andforty-two. 

Within a few minutes of the time when our whole line became engaged, anofficer came to inform me that General Walker was wounded. DirectingPolignac to move up his division and hold it in readiness, I leftGeneral Green in charge of the center and hastened to Walker, whosedivision was now fully engaged in the wood. I found him suffering froma contusion in the groin, and ordered him to retire, which heunwillingly did. Here it was that our right gave way in the mannerdescribed. Scurry's brigade of Walker's, disordered by the suddenretreat upon it of Gause, was heavily pressed by the enemy. Scurry andhis men struggled gallantly, but required immediate relief; and to giveit, Waul and Randall on their left were ordered to drive back the linefronting them. Never was order more thoroughly executed. Leading ontheir fine brigades with skill and energy, these officers forced backthe Federals and relieved Scurry. 

Meanwhile, the fire of Brent's guns had overpowered a Federal batteryposted on the plateau in front of the road from Mansfield. The confusionattending the withdrawal of this battery, coupled with the fierce attackof Waul and Randall, led General Green to believe that the enemy wasretreating, and he ordered Bee to charge with his two regiments ofcavalry, Buchell's and De Bray's. Bee reached the plateau, where he wasstopped by a heavy fire from infantry, in the wood on both sides of theroad. Some men and horses went down, Buchell was mortally wounded, andBee and De Bray slightly. The charge was premature and cost valuablelives, but was of use in moral effect. I returned to the road as Bee, with coolness and pluck, withdrew. Brent advanced his guns close up tothe opposing line, Polignac attacked on Randall's left with his reducedbut stubborn division, and Green urged on his dismounted horsemen, cleared the wood from the Mansfield to the Blair's Landing road, and atnightfall held the position previously occupied by the Federal battery. 

Severe fighting continued in the dense thicket, where Polignac, Randall, Waul, and Scurry were steadily driving back the enemy. Approachingtwilight obscured the wood, but resistance in front was becoming feeble, and, anxious to reach the village, I urged on our men. As Randall andWaul gained ground to the front, they became separated by a ravine inwhich was concealed a brigade of Federals. Isolated by the retreat oftheir friends, these troops attempted to get out. Fired on from bothsides of the ravine, a part of them appeared on the field in front ofBrent's guns, to be driven back by grape. With heavy loss they at lengthsucceeded in escaping through the thicket. A letter from the commanderwas subsequently captured, wherein he denounces the conduct of hissuperiors who abandoned him to his fate. However true the allegation, itis doubtful if his brigade could have rendered more service elsewhere. The suddenness of its appearance stopped our forward movement, and a cryarose that we were firing on our own people. The thickening gloom madeit impossible to disabuse the troops of this belief, and I ordered themto withdraw to the open field. The movement was made slowly and inperfect order, the men forming in the field as they emerged from thethicket. The last light of day was fading as I rode along the line, andthe noise of battle had ceased. 

Churchill came to report the result of his attack, and seemed muchdepressed. I gave such consolation as I could, and directed him to movehis command to the mill stream, seven miles to the rear, where he wouldfind his trains and water. A worthy, gallant gentleman, GeneralChurchill, but not fortunate in war. 

The mill stream was the nearest water to be had, and I was compelled tosend the troops back to it. The enemy made no attempt to recover theground from which his center and right had been driven. Bee picketed thefield with his cavalry, his forage wagons were ordered up from the millstream, and it was hoped that water for his two regiments could be foundin the wells and cisterns of the village. Sounds of retreat could beheard in the stillness of the night. Parties were sent on the field tocare for the wounded, and Bee was ordered to take up the pursuit towardGrand Ecore at dawn, to be followed by the horse from the mill stream assoon as water and forage had been supplied. These dispositions for themorning made, worn out by fatigue and loss of sleep, I threw myself onthe ground, within two hundred yards of the battle field, and soughtrest. The enemy retreated during the night, leaving four hundredwounded, and his many dead unburied. On the morning of the 10th Beepursued for twenty miles before he overtook his rear guard, findingstragglers and burning wagons and stores, evidences of haste. 

In the two actions of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill my loss in killed andwounded was twenty-two hundred. At Pleasant Hill we lost three guns andfour hundred and twenty-six prisoners, one hundred and seventy-nine fromChurchill's, and two hundred and forty-seven from Scurry's brigade atthe time it was so nearly overwhelmed. The Federal loss in killed andwounded exceeded mine, and we captured twenty guns and twenty-eighthundred prisoners, not including stragglers picked up after the battle. The enemy's campaign for conquest was defeated by an inferior force, andit was doubtful if his army and fleet could escape destruction. 

These were creditable results, yet of much less importance than thosethat would have been accomplished but for my blunder at Pleasant Hill. Instead of intrusting the important attack by my right to a subordinate, I should have conducted it myself and taken Polignac's division tosustain it. True, this would have removed my reserve from the center andline of retreat, and placed it on a flank; but I was confident that theenemy had no intention of resuming the offensive, and should have actedon that conviction. All this flashed upon me the instant I learned ofthe disorder of my right. Herein lies the vast difference between geniusand commonplace: one anticipates errors, the other discovers them toolate. 

The foregoing account of Churchill's attack at Pleasant Hill, hiddenfrom me by intervening wood, is taken from his official report and thereports of his subordinates; and I will now supplement it by someextracts from the testimony given by General Francis Fessenden of theFederal army. On pages 94 and 95 of the second volume of the "Report onthe Conduct of the War, " the following appears:

"In the afternoon we were changed, from a position in the woods in frontof Pleasant Hill, to a position in rear of a deep ditch near the town. We were placed behind this ditch, in open ground, and practically heldthe left of the front line; and my regiment was on the left. I think itwas not expected that an attack would be made by the enemy in thatdirection. The attack was expected by the road which led in by the rightcenter of the army. Instead of that, however, the enemy came aroundthrough the woods, and about half-past 5 o'clock drove in ourskirmishers, and made a very fierce attack on the brigade I wasin--Colonel Benedict's brigade. The brigade fell back under the attack agreat deal broken up, and my regiment was separated from the other threeregiments which went off in another direction. I had fallen back stillfurther to the left, as I knew there was a brigade of troops in there toprotect our left flank and rear from attack in that direction. Myregiment being the last of the brigade to fall back, the enemy hadalready advanced so far after the other three regiments that I could notfall back where they did. I therefore fell back in another direction, rallying my regiment and forming on the right of the brigade referredto; and that brigade, my regiment, and another brigade, which I thinkhad been brought up under General Emory, made an attack upon the enemy'scolumn, which had advanced some distance, and drove them back with greatloss. We continued to advance, and drove them a mile or more, socompletely off the field that there was no other attack made by theenemy in that direction. 

"That night we fell back again, marching all night and all the nextmorning, until we reached the camping ground at the end of our firstday's march from Grand Ecore. I ought to state here that in that attackof the enemy on our left the brigade commander, Colonel Benedict, waskilled, and I then assumed command of the brigade. We remained at GrandEcore some eight or nine days, where we built intrenchments to a certainextent--rifle pits. I think the whole army threw up a kind of temporarywork in front. "

General Fessenden's statements accord with the reports of Churchill andhis officers, and in other respects are accurate. 

On page 62 of the volume quoted from, General A. L. Lee, commandingmounted division of Banks's army, testifies:

"The next morning (9th of April) I was ordered by General Banks todetach one thousand cavalry to act as scouts and skirmishers, and totake the remainder of my division, and take whatever was left of thedetachment of the 13th army corps and some negro troops that were there, and take the trains and the majority of the artillery of the army toGrand Ecore. It was thought that the enemy would get between us andGrand Ecore. I started about 11 o'clock with this train, and with six oreight batteries of artillery, and reached Grand Ecore the next day. Thebattle of the 9th of April commenced just as I was leaving. The next dayat night the main army had reached Grand Ecore and joined me there. General Banks impressed on me very strongly that, in sending me backfrom Pleasant Hill just as the fight was commencing, it was of thegreatest importance to save what material we had left. Early the nextmorning, when I was distant from Pleasant Hill eighteen miles, Ireceived a dispatch from General Banks. I have not the dispatch with me, but it was to this effect: that they had whipped the enemy terribly;that Price was killed, also two or three other rebel generals whom henamed, but who have since recovered; and that I was to send back thesubsistence trains for such and such troops. I was very much puzzled bythat order, and immediately sent a staff officer back for more specificinstructions. But he had not been gone more than half an hour when astaff officer of General Banks arrived with an order to me, with whichhe had left in the night, for me to continue pressing on with the wholetrain to Grand Ecore, and with instructions if any wagons broke down toburn them, not stop to fix anything, but get everything into Grand Ecoreas quickly as I could, and look out very carefully on the flanks. "

There can be no question of the correctness of these statements ofGeneral A. L. Lee. 

The following quotations from the reports of Admiral Porter to theSecretary of the Navy are taken from page 239, and succeeding pages ofthe same volume:

"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, GRAND ECORE, _April 14, 1864_. 

"The army here has met with a great defeat, no matter what the generalstry to make ofit. With the defeat has come demoralization, and it willtake some time to reorganize and make up the deficiencies in killed andprisoners. The whole affair has been seriously mismanaged. It was wellwe came up, for I am convinced the rebels would have attacked thisbroken army at Grand Ecore had we not been here to cover them. I do notthink our army would be in a condition to resist them. I must confessthat I feel a little uncertain how to act. I could not leave this armynow without disgracing myself forever; and, when running a risk in theircause, I do not want to be deserted. One of my officers has already beenasked 'If we would not burn our gunboats as soon as the army left?'speaking as if a gunboat was a very ordinary affair, and could be burnedwith indifference. I inclose two notes I received from Generals Banksand Stone. There is a faint attempt to make a victory out of this, buttwo or three such victories would cost us our existence. "

Again, on page 166 of the same volume appears this dispatch fromLieutenant-General Grant, at Culpepper, Virginia, to General Halleck, Chief of Staff, at Washington:

"You can see from General Brayman's dispatch to me something of GeneralBanks's disaster. "

Concerning the battle of Pleasant Hill General Banks reports (page 326):

"The whole of the reserves were now ordered up, and in turn we drove theenemy, continuing the pursuit until night compelled us to halt. Thebattle of the 9th was desperate and sanguinary. The defeat of the enemywas complete, and his loss in officers and men more than double thatsustained by our forces. There was nothing in the immediate position andcondition of the two armies to prevent a forward movement the nextmorning, and orders were given to prepare for an advance. Butrepresentations subsequently received from General Franklin and all thegeneral officers of the 19th corps, as to the condition of theirrespective commands for immediate active operations against the enemy, caused a suspension of this order, and a conference of the generalofficers was held in the evening, in which it was determined to retireupon Grand Ecore the following day. The reasons urged for this coursewere: 1. That the absence of water made it absolutely necessary toadvance or retire without delay. General Emory's command had beenwithout rations for two days, and the train, which had been turned tothe rear during the battle, could not be put in condition to moveforward upon the single road through dense woods, in which it stood, without great difficulty and much loss of time. "

Again, on page 13, General Banks states:

"The enemy was driven from the field. It was as clear a rout as it waspossible for any army to suffer. After consulting with my officers, Iconcluded, against my own judgment, to fall back to Grand Ecore andreorganize. We held the field of battle. Our dead were buried. Thewounded men were brought in and placed in the best hospitals we couldorganize, and surgeons were left with them, with provisions, medicines, and supplies; and at daybreak we fell back to Grand Ecore. "

Here the proportion of fiction to fact surpasses that of sack to breadin Sir John's tavern bill; and it may be doubted if a mandarin from theremotest province of the Celestial Empire ever ventured to send such areport to Peking. General Fessenden's testimony, given above, shows thatthe army marched during the night of the 9th, and continued to GrandEcore, where it intrenched; and General A. L. Lee's, that the main armyjoined him at that place on the evening of the 10th. Twenty of thethirty-six miles between Pleasant Hill and Grand Ecore were passed onthe 10th by my cavalry before the rear of the enemy's column was seen;yet General Banks officially reports that his army left Pleasant Hill atdaybreak of the 10th. Homeric must have been the laughter of his troopswhen this report was published. 

CHAPTER XI. 

ESCAPE OF BANKS AND PORTER. 

From my resting-place on the ground at Pleasant Hill, after the battleof the 9th, I was aroused about 10 P. M. By General Kirby Smith, justarrived from Shreveport. This officer disapproved of further pursuit ofBanks, except by a part of our mounted force, and ordered the infantryback to Mansfield. He was apprehensive that the troops on the transportsabove would reach Shreveport, or disembark below me and that place. Inaddition, Steele's column from Arkansas caused him much uneasiness, andmade him unwilling for my troops to increase their distance from thecapital of the "Trans-Mississippi Department. " It was pointed out thatthe water in Red River was falling, and navigation becoming more andmore difficult; that I had a staff officer watching the progress of thefleet, which was not accompanied by more than three thousand men, toofew to attempt a landing, and that they would certainly hear of Banks'sdefeat and seek to rejoin him at Grand Ecore. As to Steele he was morethan a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, harassed by Price's force;he must learn of Banks's misfortune, and, leading but a subsidiarycolumn, would retire to Little Rock. Banks, with the remains of hisbeaten army, was before us, and the fleet of Porter, with barely waterenough to float upon. We had but to strike vigorously to capture ordestroy both. But it was written that the sacrifices of my little armyshould be wasted, and, on the morning of the 10th, I was ordered to takeall the infantry and much of the horse to Mansfield. 

The Bayou Pierre, three hundred feet wide and too deep to ford, leavesthe Red River a few miles below Shreveport, and after a long course, inwhich it frequently expands into lakes, returns to its parent streamthree miles above Grand Ecore, dividing the pine-clad hills on the westfrom the alluvion of the river on the east. Several roads lead from theinterior to landings on the river, crossing Bayou Pierre by ferries. Onefrom Pleasant Hill to Blair's Landing, sixteen miles, has beenmentioned. Another led from Mansfield to Grand Bayou Landing, eighteenmiles. Dispatches from Captain McCloskey informed me that the enemy'sfleet had passed this last place on the morning of the 9th, pushingslowly up river, impeded by low water. Feeling assured that intelligenceof Banks's defeat would send the fleet back to Grand Ecore, and hopingto cut off its communication, at dawn of the 11th I sent General Bagby, with a brigade of horse and a battery, from Mansfield to Grand BayouLanding. Before reaching the ferry at Bayou Pierre, he ascertained thatthe fleet had turned back on the afternoon of the 10th. There was apontoon train at Shreveport that I had in vain asked for, and Bagbyexperienced great delay in crossing Bayou Pierre by means of one smallflat. The fleet, descending, passed Grand Bayou Landing at 10 o'clockA. M. Of the 11th, some hours before Bagby reached the river; and hepushed on toward Blair's Landing, where he arrived on the night of the12th, after the close of Green's operations of that day. 

General Green, from Pleasant Hill, had been directing the movements ofour advanced horse, a part of which, under Bee, was in front of GrandEcore and Natchitoches. Advised of the movements of the enemy's fleet, he, with seven hundred and fifty horse and two batteries, left PleasantHill for Blair's Landing at 6 o'clock P. M. On the 11th. As in the caseof Bagby, he was delayed at Bayou Pierre, and, after hard work, onlysucceeded in crossing three guns and a part of his horse before thefleet came down on the 12th. Green attacked at once, and leading his menin his accustomed fearless way, was killed by a discharge of grape fromone of the gunboats. Deprived of their leader, the men soon fell back, and the fleet reached Grand Ecore without further molestation from thewest bank. The enemy's loss, supposed by our people to have beenimmense, was officially reported at seven on the gunboats and fifty onthe transports. _Per contra_, the enemy believed that our loss wasstupendous; whereas we had scarcely a casualty except the death ofGeneral Green, an irreparable one. No Confederate went aboard the fleetand no Federal came ashore; so there was a fine field of slaughter inwhich the imagination of both sides could disport itself. 

With facilities for crossing the Pierre at hand, the fleet, during the11th and 12th, would have been under the fire of two thousand riflemenand eighteen guns and suffered heavily, especially the transports, crowded with troops. As it was, we accomplished but little and lostGeneral Green. 

Like Mouton, this officer had joined me at an early period of my servicein western Louisiana. Coming to me with the rank of colonel, hisconspicuous services made it my pleasant duty to recommend him forpromotion to brigadier and major-general. Upright, modest, and with thesimplicity of a child, danger seemed to be his element, and he rejoicedin combat. His men adored him, and would follow wherever he led; butthey did not fear him, for, though he scolded at them in action, he wastoo kind-hearted to punish breaches of discipline. In truth, he had noconception of the value of discipline in war, believing that all must beactuated by his own devotion to duty. His death was a public calamity, and mourned as such by the people of Texas and Louisiana. To me he was atried and devoted friend, and our friendship was cemented by the factthat, through his Virginia mother, we were related by blood. The greatCommonwealth, whose soil contains his remains, will never send forth abolder warrior, a better citizen, nor a more upright man than ThomasGreen. 

The brigade of horse brought by General Green to Louisiana, and withwhich he was so long associated, had some peculiar characteristics. Theofficers such as Colonels Hardiman, Baylor, Lane, Herbert, McNeill, andothers, were bold and enterprising. The men, hardy frontiersmen, excellent riders, and skilled riflemen, were fearless and self-reliant, but discharged their duty as they liked and when they liked. On a marchthey wandered about at will, as they did about camp, and could be kepttogether only when a fight was impending. When their arms were injuredby service or neglect, they threw them away, expecting to be suppliedwith others. Yet, with these faults, they were admirable fighters, andin the end I became so much attached to them as to be incapable ofpunishing them. 

After the affair at Blair's Landing on the 12th, the horse returned toPleasant Hill, and thence joined Bee in front of Grand Ecore, whereBanks had his army concentrated behind works, with gunboats andtransports in the river, Bee occupying the town of Natchitoches, fourmiles away. On the morning of the 13th General Kirby Smith visited me atMansfield. Relieved of apprehension about the fleet, now at Grand Ecore, he expressed great anxiety for the destruction of Steele's column. I wasconfident that Steele, who had less than ten thousand men and was morethan a hundred miles distant from Shreveport, would hear of Banks'sdisaster and retreat; but General Kirby Smith's views differed frommine. I then expressed my willingness to march, with the main body ofthe infantry, to join Price in Arkansas, and serve under his commanduntil Steele's column was destroyed or driven back; insisting, however, that in the event of Steele's retreat I should be permitted to turn onBanks and Porter, to complete the work of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. The destruction of the Federal army and capture of the fleet, helplessalone by reason of low and falling water in Red River, were thelegitimate fruits of those victories, and I protested with all possibleearnestness against a policy that would fail to reap them. After thisconversation General Kirby Smith returned to Shreveport, leaving meunder the impression that my last proposition was acceded to. The lossof valuable time incurred by a wild-goose chase after Steele was mostannoying, but I was hopeful it might be recovered. To get the fleet downto Alexandria and over the falls at that place would require much timein the low condition of the water; and Banks's army was so muchdemoralized by defeat that Bee found no difficulty in restraining itsmovements with his horse. 

At dawn of the 14th Walker's and Churchill's divisions of infantry, withtheir artillery, prepared for an active campaign, marched forShreveport, forty miles. The same day Polignac's infantry division, reduced to some twelve hundred muskets, was sent toward Grand Ecore tostrengthen the horse in front of the enemy. On the evening of the 15th Ireached Shreveport, and had a short interview with General Kirby Smith, who informed me that Steele had begun his retreat from a point a hundredand ten miles distant, but that he hoped to overtake him, and wouldpersonally direct the pursuit. I was further informed that my presencewith the troops was not desired, and that I would remain in nominalcommand of Shreveport, but might join the force near Grand Ecore if Ithought proper. All this with the curt manner of a superior to asubordinate, as if fearing remonstrance. General Kirby Smith marchednorth of Shreveport on the 16th, and three days thereafter I received adispatch from his "chief of staff" informing me that the pontoon train, asked for in vain when it would have been of priceless value, would besent back from his army and placed at my disposition. Doubtless GeneralKirby Smith thought that a pontoon train would supply the place of seventhousand infantry and six batteries. 

I remained at Shreveport three days, occupied with reports and sendingsupplies to my little force near Grand Ecore, toward which I proceededon the 19th of April. Major-General Wharton, who had gained reputationas a cavalry officer in the Confederate Army of Tennessee, accompaniedme. He had reported for duty at Shreveport on the 18th, and was assignedto the command of the horse to replace the lamented Green. We reachedPolignac's camp, in the vicinity of Grand Ecore, ninety odd miles fromShreveport, on the evening of the 21st, and learned that the enemy hadthreatened an advance during the day. This convinced me of his intentionto retreat, and an officer was sent to General Bee to warn him. 

Cane River leaves the main channel of the Red below Grand Ecore, and, passing by Natchitoches, returns to the Red after a winding course ofsixty miles. Except at the season of floods, it is not navigable; butthe alluvion through which it flows is very productive, while the pineforest immediately to the west is sterile. Bee, under instructions, occupied the valley of Cane River with his horse, and had been orderedto keep his pickets close to Grand Ecore and Natchitoches, draw hisforage from plantations along the river, and, when the enemy retreatedtoward Alexandria, fall back before him to Monette's Ferry, which he wasexpected to hold. Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Natchitoches, wason the only practicable road to Alexandria. Here the river made a wide, deep ford, and pine-clad hills rose abruptly from the southern bank. Onthe left, looking toward Natchitoches, were hills and impassable lakes, easily held against any force. On the right, hills, rugged andpine-clad, extended eight miles to the point at which Cane Riverreënters the Red. The distance from Monette's to Alexandria isthirty-five miles, of which fourteen is through wooded hills. Roads ledwest to Carroll Jones's and Beaseley's, twelve and thirty milesrespectively; and on these roads Bee was directed to keep his trains. 

Concerning the position at Monette's General Banks reports: "The armymarched from Grand Ecore on the morning of the 22d of April. To preventthe occupation of Monette's Bluff, on Cane River, a strong positioncommanding the only road leading across the river to Alexandria, or toprevent the concentration of the enemy's forces at that point, it becamenecessary to accomplish the evacuation without his knowledge. " As beforestated, the threatened advance of the 21st convinced me that the enemy'sretreat was imminent, and so I advised Bee; but there was not time tosend General Wharton to him after I reached Polignac's camp. Bee had twothousand horse and four batteries, and, after several days to examineand prepare his ground, might well be expected to hold it with tenacity. 

Immediately after the battle of Pleasant Hill I had sent Vincent, withhis own and Bush's regiments of Louisiana horse, to threaten Alexandriaand drive out small parties of the enemy from the Attakapas and Techeregions. Subsequently, a brigade of Texas horse, seven hundred strong, under Brigadier William Steele, joined me, and was now with Polignac. 

As anticipated, the enemy left Grand Ecore during the night of the 21stand marched without halting to Cloutierville, thirty-two miles. WithSteele's brigade, Wharton drove his rear guard from Natchitoches on themorning of the 22d, capturing some prisoners, and continued the pursuitto the twenty-four-mile ferry. On the 23d, after a sharp action, hepushed the enemy's rear below Cloutierville, taking some score ofprisoners. Polignac's infantry joined that evening, and covered a roadleading through the hills from Cloutierville to Beaseley's. If Bee stoodfirm at Monette's, we were in position to make Banks unhappy on themorrow, separated as he was from the fleet, on which he relied to aidhis demoralized forces. But Bee gave way on the afternoon of the 23d, permitting his strong position to be forced at the small cost to theenemy of less than four hundred men, and suffering no loss himself. Then, instead of attacking the great trains, during their fourteenmiles' march through the forest, and occupying with artillery McNutt'sHill, a high bluff twenty miles from Alexandria and commanding the roadthither in the valley, he fell back at once to Beaseley's, thirty miles. Before this mistake could be rectified, the enemy crossed at Monette's, burning many wagons at the ford, and passed below McNutt's Hill. GeneralBee had exhibited much personal gallantry in the charge at PleasantHill, but he was without experience in war, and had neglected to studythe ground or strengthen his position at Monette's. Leaving Mansfieldfor Shreveport on the 15th, under orders from General Kirby Smith, Ionly got back to the front on the night of the 21st, too late to reachMonette's or send Wharton there. 

It was very disheartening, but, persuaded that the enemy could not passthe falls at Alexandria with his fleet, I determined to stick to himwith my little force of less than forty-five hundred of all arms. It wasimpossible to believe that General Kirby Smith would continue to persistin his inexplicable policy, and fail to come, ere long, to myassistance. 

On the 26th Bee's horse, from Beaseley's, joined Steele's at McNutt'sHill; and together, under Wharton, they attacked the enemy in the valleyand drove him, with loss of killed and prisoners, to the immediatevicinity of Alexandria. 

When General Banks retreated so hastily from Grand Ecore, Admiral Porterwas laboring to get his fleet down to Alexandria. In a communication tothe Secretary of the Navy from his flag-ship below Grand Ecore, he says("Report on the Conduct of the War, " vol. Ii. , pages 234-5):

"I soon saw that the army would go to Alexandria again, and we would beleft above the bars in a helpless condition. The vessels are mostly atAlexandria, above the falls, excepting this one and two others I kept toprotect the Eastport. The Red River is falling at the rate of two inchesa day. If General Banks should determine to evacuate this country, thegunboats will be cut off from all communication with the Mississippi. Itcannot be possible that the country would be willing to have eightiron-clads, three or four other gunboats, and many transports sacrificedwithout an effort to save them. It would be the worst thing that hashappened this war. "

The Eastport, the most formidable iron-clad of the Mississippi squadron, grounded on a bar below Grand Ecore. Three tin-clad gunboats and twotransports remained near to assist in getting her off; and, to preventthis, some mounted riflemen were sent, on the morning of the 26th, tocoöperate with Liddell's raw levies on the north bank of the river. These forced the enemy to destroy the Eastport, and drove away thegunboats and transports. Our loss in the affair was two killed and fourwounded. Meantime, to intercept the gunboats and transports on their waydown, Colonel Caudle of Polignac's division, with two hundred riflemenand Cornay's four-gun battery, had been posted at the junction of Caneand Red Rivers, twenty miles below. At 6 o'clock P. M. Of the 26th theleading gunboat and one transport came down. Our fire speedily crippledand silenced the gunboat, and a shot exploded the boiler of thetransport. Under cover of escaping steam the gunboat drifted out offire, but the loss of life on the transport was fearful. One hundreddead and eighty-seven severely scalded, most of whom subsequently died, were brought on shore. These unfortunate creatures were negroes, takenfrom plantations on the river above. The object of the Federals was toremove negroes from their owners; but for the lives of these poor peoplethey cared nothing, or, assuredly, they would not have forced them, onan unprotected river steamer, to pass riflemen and artillery, againstwhich gunboats were powerless. On the following day, the 27th, the tworemaining gunboats and transport attempted to pass Caudle's position;and the former, much cut up, succeeded, but the transport was captured. Colonel Caudle had one man wounded, and the battery one killed--itscommander, Captain Cornay, who, with Mouton, Armand, and many othercreoles, proved by distinguished gallantry that the fighting qualitiesof the old French breed had suffered no deterioration on the soil ofLouisiana. 

The following extracts from the report of Admiral Porter well exhibitthe efficiency of Caudle and Cornay in this affair:

"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, OFF ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_. 

"When rounding the point, the vessels in close order and ready foraction, we descried a party of the enemy with artillery on the rightbank, and we immediately opened fire with our bow guns. The enemyimmediately returned it with a _large number of cannon, eighteen inall_, every shot of which struck this vessel. The captain gave orders tostop the engines. I corrected this mistake, and got headway on thevessel again, but not soon enough to avoid the pelting showers of shotand shell which the enemy poured into us, every shot going through andthrough us, clearing all our decks in a moment. I took charge of thevessel, and, _as the battery was a very heavy one_, I determined to passit, which was done under the heaviest fire I ever witnessed. Seeing thatthe Hindman did not pass the batteries, the Juliet disabled, and thatone of the pump boats (transport) had her boiler exploded by a shot, Iran down to a point three or four miles below. Lieutenant-CommanderPhelps had two vessels in charge, the Juliet and Champion (transport), which he wished to get through safely. He kept them out of range untilhe could partially repair the Juliet, and then, starting under a heavyfire, he make a push by. Unfortunately the pump boat (Champion) wasdisabled and set fire to. The Hindman had her wheel ropes cut away, anddrifted past, turning round and round, and getting well cut up in goingby. The Juliet was cut to pieces in hull and machinery; had fifteenkilled and wounded. I inclose the report of Lieutenant-Commander Phelps, from the time of his first misfortune until his arrival at this place(Alexandria), where I now am with all the fleet, but very much surprisedthat I have any left, considering all the difficulties encountered. Icame up here with the river on the rise, and water enough for ourlargest vessels; and even on my way up to Shreveport from Grand Ecorethe water rose, while it commenced falling where I left the largestgunboats. Falling or not, I could not go back while in charge of thetransports and material on which _an army of thirty thousand mendepended_. "

This is high testimony to the fighting capacity of two hundred riflemenand four guns, two twelve-pounder smooth-bores and two howitzers, allthat Admiral Porter's three gunboats had to contend with. It proves theutter helplessness of gunboats in narrow streams, when deprived of theprotection of troops on the banks. Even the iron-clads, with armorimpenetrable by field guns, were readily driven off by sharp-shooters, who, under cover, closed their ports or killed every exposed man. 

On the 24th Liddell, from the north bank of Red River, dashed intoPineville, opposite Alexandria, killed and captured a score of theenemy's party, and drove the remainder over the river. 

On the 27th Admiral Porter's fleet was lying above the falls, nowimpassable, and Banks's army, over twenty thousand strong, was in andaround Alexandria behind earthworks. Such was the condition to whichthis large force had been reduced by repeated defeat, that we not onlyconfined it to its works, driving back many attacks on our advancedpositions, but I felt justified in dividing my little command in orderto blockade the river below, and cut off communication with theMississippi. Wharton's horse was divided into three parts, each athousand strong, and accompanied by artillery. The first, under Steele, held the river and Rapides roads, above and west of Alexandria; thesecond, under Bagby, the Boeuf road to the south of that place; whileMajor, with the third, was sent to Davide's Ferry, on the river, twenty-five miles below. Polignac's infantry, twelve hundred muskets, was posted on the Boeuf within supporting distance of the two last. Liddell's seven hundred newly-organized horse, with four guns, was oflittle service beyond making feints to distract the enemy. 

Major reached his position on the 30th, and on the following day, the1st of May, captured and sunk the transport Emma. On the 3d he capturedthe transport City Belle, on her way up to Alexandria, with the 120thOhio regiment on board. All the officers and two hundred and seventy-sixmen were taken, with many killed and wounded. On the evening of the 4ththe gunboats Covington and Signal, each mounting eight heavy guns, withthe transport Warner, attempted to pass. The Covington was blown up byher crew to escape capture, but the Signal and Warner surrendered. Fourguns, two three-inch rifled and two howitzers, were engaged in thisaction with the Covington and Signal. They were run up to the river'sbank by hand, the howitzers above, the three-inch rifles below thegunboats, which, overpowered by the rapid fire, moved back and forthuntil one surrendered and the other was destroyed, affording a completeillustration of the superiority of field guns to gunboats in narrowstreams. There was no further attempt to pass Major's position, andFederal communication with the Mississippi was closed for fifteen days. 

During these operations the enemy was engaged night and day in theconstruction of a dam across the Red River, to enable him to pass hisfleet over the falls; and the following extracts from the report ofAdmiral Porter to the Secretary of the Navy well exhibit the conditionof affairs in and around Alexandria ("Report on the Conduct of the War, "vol. Ii. , page 250):

"FLAG-SHIP CRICKET, ALEXANDRIA, _April 28, 1864_. 

"SIR: I have written you an account of the operations of the fleet inthese waters, but take the liberty of writing to you confidentially thetrue state of affairs. I find myself blockaded by a fall of three feetof water, three feet four inches being the amount now on the falls. Seven feet being required to get over, no amount of lightening willaccomplish the object. I have already written to you how the whole stateof things has been changed by a too blind carelessness on the part ofour military leader, and our retreat back to Alexandria from place toplace has so demoralized General Banks's army that the troops have noconfidence in anybody or anything. Our army is now all here, with thebest general (Franklin) wounded and unfit for duty in the field. GeneralBanks seems to hold no communication with any one, and it is impossiblefor me to say what he will do. I have no confidence in his promises, ashe asserted in a letter, herein inclosed, that he had no intention ofleaving Grand Ecore, when he had actually already made all hispreparations to leave. The river is crowded with transports, and everygunboat I have is required to convoy them. I have to withdraw manylight-draughts from other points on the Mississippi to supply demandshere. In the mean time the enemy are splitting up into parties of twothousand, and bringing in the artillery (with which we have suppliedthem) to blockade points below here; and what will be the upshot of itall I can not foretell. I know that it will be disastrous in theextreme, for this is a country in which a retreating army is completelyat the mercy of an enemy. Notwithstanding that the rebels are reportedas coming in from Washita, with heavy artillery to plant on the hillsopposite Alexandria, no movement is being made to occupy the position, and I am in momentary expectation of hearing the rebel guns open on thetransports on the town side; or if they go down or come up the river, itwill be at the risk of destruction. Our light-clads can do nothingagainst hill batteries. I am in momentary expectation of seeing thisarmy retreat, when the result will be disastrous. Unless instructed bythe Government, I do not think that General Banks will make the leasteffort to save the navy here. The following vessels are above the fallsand command the right of the town: Mound City, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Carondelet, Chillicothe, Osage, Neosho, Ozark, Lexington, and FortHindman. At this moment the enemy have attacked our outposts, and drivenin our indifferent cavalry, which came up numbering six thousand, andhave brought nothing but calamity in their train. Our whole army iscooped up in this town, while a much inferior force is going rampantabout the country, making preparations to assail our helplesstransports, which, if caught filled with men, would be perfectslaughter-houses. Quick remedies are required, and I deem it my duty tolay the true state of affairs before you. If left here by the army, Iwill be obliged to destroy this fleet to prevent it falling into theenemy's hands. I can not conceive that the nation will permit such asacrifice to be made, when men and money can prevent it. We have foughthard for the opening of the Mississippi, and have reduced the navalforces of the rebels in this quarter to two vessels. If we have todestroy what we have here, there will be material enough to build half adozen iron-clads, and the Red River, which is now of no further dread tous, will require half the Mississippi squadron to watch it. I amapprehensive that the turrets of the monitors will defy any efforts wecan make to destroy them. Our prestige will receive a shock from whichit will be long in recovering; and if the calamities I dread shouldovertake us, the annals of this war will not present so dire a one aswill have befallen us. "

Thus Admiral Porter, who even understates the facts. 

In vain had all this been pointed out to General Kirby Smith, when hecame to me at Pleasant Hill in the night after the battle. Granted thathe was alarmed for Shreveport, sacred to him and his huge staff asBenares, dwelling-place of many gods, to the Hindoo; yet, when hemarched from that place on the 16th of April against Steele, the latter, already discomfited by Price's horse, was retreating, and, with lessthan a third of Banks's force at Grand Ecore, was then further fromShreveport than was Banks. To pursue a retreating foe, numbering sixthousand men, he took over seven thousand infantry, and left me twelvehundred to operate against twenty odd thousand and a powerful fleet. From the evening of the 21st of April, when I returned to the front nearGrand Ecore, to the 13th of May, the day on which Porter and Banksescaped from Alexandria, I kept him advised of the enemy's movements andcondition. Couriers and staff officers were sent to implore him toreturn and reap the fruits of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, whose pricehad been paid in blood. Not a man was sent me; even the four-gun batterywith Liddell on the north of the river was, without my knowledge, withdrawn toward Arkansas. From first to last, General Kirby Smithseemed determined to throw a protecting shield around the Federal armyand fleet. 

In all the ages since the establishment of the Assyrian monarchy nocommander has possessed equal power to destroy a cause. Far away fromthe great centers of conflict in Virginia and Georgia, on a remotetheatre, the opportunity of striking a blow decisive of the war wasafforded. An army that included the strength of every garrison fromMemphis to the Gulf had been routed, and, by the incompetency of itscommander, was utterly demoralized and ripe for destruction. But thisarmy was permitted to escape, and its 19th corps reached Chesapeake Bayin time to save Washington from General Early's attack, while the 13th, 16th, and 17th corps reënforced Sherman in Georgia. More than all, welost Porter's fleet, which the falling river had delivered into ourhands; for the protection of an army was necessary to its liberation, aswithout the army a dam at the falls could not have been constructed. With this fleet, or even a portion of it, we would have at oncerecovered possession of the Mississippi, from the Ohio to the sea, andundone all the work of the Federals since the winter of 1861. Instead ofSherman, Johnston would have been reënforced from west of theMississippi, and thousands of absent men, with fresh hope, would haverejoined Lee. The Southern people might have been spared the humiliationof defeat, and the countless woes and wrongs inflicted on them by theirconquerors. 

It was for this that Green and Mouton and other gallant spirits fell! Itwas for this that the men of Missouri and Arkansas made a forced marchto die at Pleasant Hill! It was for this that the divisions of Walkerand Polignac had held every position intrusted to them, carried everyposition in their front, and displayed a constancy and valor worthy ofthe Guards at Inkermann or Lee's veterans in the Wilderness! For this, too, did the handful left, after our brethren had been taken from us, follow hard on the enemy, attack him constantly at any odds, beat offand sink his gunboats, close the Red River below him and shut up hisarmy in Alexandria for fifteen days! Like "Sister Ann" from her watchtower, day after day we strained our eyes to see the dust of ourapproaching comrades arise from the north bank of the Red. Not a campfollower among us but knew that the arrival of our men from the Northwould give us the great prize in sight. Vain, indeed, were our hopes. The commander of the "Trans-Mississippi Department" had the power todestroy the last hope of the Confederate cause, and exercised it withall the success of Bazaine at Metz. 

"The affairs of mice and men aft gang aglee, " from sheer stupidity andpig-headed obstinacy. General Kirby Smith had publicly announced thatBanks's army was too strong to be fought, and that the proper policy waseither to defend the works protecting Shreveport, or retreat into Texas. People do not like to lose their reputations as prophets or sons ofprophets. Subsequently, it was given out that General Kirby Smith had awonderful plan for the destruction of the enemy, which I had disturbedby rashly beating his army at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill; but thisplan, like Trochu's for the defense of Paris, was neverdisclosed--undoubtedly, because _c'était le secret de Polichinelle_. 

After many days of energetic labor, the enemy on the 13th of Maysucceeded in passing his fleet over the falls at Alexandria, evacuatedthe place, and retreated down the river, the army, on the south bank, keeping pace with the fleet. Admiral Porter, in his report to theSecretary of the Navy, gives a graphic account of the passage of thefalls, and under date of May 19th, says: "In my report in relation tothe release of the gunboats from their unpleasant position above thefalls, I did not think it prudent to mention that I was obliged todestroy eleven thirty-two-pounders, not having time to haul them fromabove the falls to Alexandria, the army having moved and drawn in alltheir pickets. For the same reason I also omitted to mention that I wasobliged to take off the iron from the sides of the Pook gunboats andfrom the Ozark, to enable them to get over. "

To harass the retreat, the horse and artillery, on the river aboveAlexandria, were directed to press the enemy's rear, and the remaininghorse and Polignac's infantry to intercept his route at AvoyellesPrairie. During the 14th, 15th, and 16th he was constantly attacked infront, rear, and right flank; and on the 17th Wharton charged his rearnear Mansura, capturing many prisoners, while Colonel Yager, with tworegiments of horse, cut in on the wagon train at Yellow Bayou, killedand drove off the guard, and destroyed much property. Meanwhile Liddell, on the north bank of the Red, followed the fleet and kept up a constantfire on the transports. But for the unfortunate withdrawal of hisbattery, before alluded to, he could have destroyed many of thesevessels. On the 18th we attacked the enemy at Yellow Bayou, nearSimmsport, and a severe engagement ensued, lasting until night. We heldthe field, on which the enemy left his dead, but our loss was heavy, four hundred and fifty-two in killed and wounded; among the former, Colonel Stone, commanding Polignac's old brigade. Polignac, in charge ofdivision, was conspicuous in this action. The following day, May 19, 1864, the enemy crossed the Atchafalaya and was beyond our reach. Here, at the place where it had opened more than two months before, thecampaign closed. 

The army I had the honor to command in this campaign numbered, at itsgreatest strength, about thirteen thousand of all arms, includingLiddell's force on the north bank of Red River; but immediately afterthe battle of Pleasant Hill it was reduced to fifty-two hundred by thewithdrawal of Walker's and Churchill's divisions. Many of the troopsmarched quite four hundred miles, and from the 5th of April to the 18thof May not a day passed without some engagement with the enemy, eitheron land or river. Our total loss in killed, wounded, and missing wasthree thousand nine hundred and seventy-six; that of the enemy, nearlythree times this number. 

From the action at Yellow Bayou on the 18th of May, 1864, to the closeof the war in the following year, not a shot was fired in the"Trans-Mississippi Department. " Johnston was forced back to Atlanta andrelieved from command, and Atlanta fell. Not even an effectivedemonstration was made toward Arkansas and Missouri to prevent troopsfrom being sent to reënforce Thomas at Nashville, and Hood wasoverthrown. Sherman marched unopposed through Georgia and SouthCarolina, while Lee's gallant army wasted away from cold and hunger inthe trenches at Petersburg. Like Augustus in the agony of his spirit, the sorely pressed Confederates on the east of the Mississippi asked, and asked in vain: "Varus! Varus! Where are our legions?"

The enemy's advance, fleet and army, reached Alexandria on the 16th ofMarch, but he delayed sixteen days there and at Grand Ecore. My firstreënforcements, two small regiments of horse, joined at Natchitoches onthe 31st; but the larger part of Green's force came in at Mansfield onthe 6th of April, Churchill's infantry reaching Keachi the same day. HadBanks pushed to Mansfield on the 5th instead of the 8th of April, hewould have met but little opposition; and, once at Mansfield, he had thechoice of three roads to Shreveport, where Steele could have joined him. 

Judging from the testimony given to the Congressional Committee on theConduct of the War, cotton and elections seem to have been the chiefcauses of delay. In the second volume of "Report" may be found muchcrimination and recrimination between the Navy and Army concerning theseizure of cotton. Without attempting to decide the question, I mayobserve that Admiral Porter informs the Secretary of the Navy of "thecapture from the rebels of three thousand bales of cotton on the Washitariver, and two thousand on the Red, all of which I have sent to Cairo";while General Banks testifies that he "took from western Louisiana tenthousand bales of cotton and twenty thousand beef cattle, horses, andmules. " From this, the Army appears to have surpassed the navy to theextent of five thousand bales of cotton and the above-mentioned numberof beef cattle, etc. Whether Admiral Porter or General Banks was themore virtuous, the unhappy people of Louisiana were deprived of "cakesand ale. "

In his enthusiasm for art the classic cobbler forgot his last; but "allquality, pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war" could not makeGeneral Banks forget his politics, and he held elections at Alexandriaand Grand Ecore. The General describes with some unction the devotion ofthe people to the "Union, " which was and was to be, to them, "the fountof every blessing. "

Says General Banks in his report: "It became necessary to accomplish theevacuation [of Grand Ecore] without the enemy's knowledge. Theconflagration of a portion of the town at the hour appointed for themovement partially frustrated the object. " And further on: "Rumors werecirculated freely throughout the camp at Alexandria, that upon theevacuation of the town it would be burned, and a considerable portion ofthe town was destroyed. " Evidently, these burnings were against theorders of General Banks, who appears to have lost authority over some ofhis troops. Moreover, in their rapid flight from Grand Ecore toMonette's Ferry, a distance of forty miles, the Federals burned nearlyevery house on the road. In pursuit, we passed the smoking ruins ofhomesteads, by which stood weeping women and children. Time for theremoval of the most necessary articles of furniture had been refused. Itwas difficult to restrain one's inclination to punish the ruffiansengaged in this work, a number of whom were captured; but they asserted, and doubtless with truth, that they were acting under orders. 

From the universal testimony of citizens, I learned that General Banksand the officers and men of the 19th corps, Eastern troops, exertedthemselves to prevent these outrages, and that the perpetrators were themen of General A. J. Smith's command from Sherman's army. Educated atWest Point, this General Smith had long served in the regular army ofthe United States, and his men were from the West, whose brave sonsmight well afford kindness to women and babes. A key to their conductcan be found in the "Memoirs" of General W. T. Sherman, the commander whoformed them, and whose views are best expressed in his own words. 

The city of Atlanta, from which the Confederates had withdrawn, wasoccupied by Slocum's corps of Sherman's army on the 2d of September, 1864. In vol. Ii. Of his "Memoirs, " page 111, General Sherman says: "Iwas resolved to make Atlanta a pure military garrison or depot, with nocivil population to influence military measures. I gave notice of thispurpose as early as the 4th of September, to General Halleck, in aletter concluding with these words: 'If the people raise a howl againstmy barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and notpopularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relations muststop the war. '" On pages 124-6 appears the correspondence of GeneralSherman with the mayor and councilmen of Atlanta concerning the removalof citizens, in which the latter write: "We petition you to reconsiderthe order requiring them to leave Atlanta. It will involve in theaggregate consequences appalling and heartrending. Many poor women arein an advanced state of pregnancy, others now having young children, andwhose husbands for the greater part are either in the army, prisoners, or dead. Some say, 'I have such a one sick at my house; who will wait onthem when I am gone?' Others say, 'What are we to do? we have no houseto go to, and no means to buy, build, or rent any; no parents, relatives, or friends to go to. ' This being so, how is it possible forthe people still here, mostly women and children, to find shelter? Andhow can they live through the winter in the woods?" To this GeneralSherman replies: "I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of apetition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabitants from Atlanta. I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of thedistress that will be occasioned, and yet shall not revoke my orders, because _they were not intended to meet the humanities of the case_. Youmight as well appeal against the thunderstorm as against these terriblehardships of war. They are inevitable; and the only way the people ofAtlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home is to stopthe war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error andis perpetuated in pride. " Again, on page 152 is Sherman's telegram toGeneral Grant: "Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us tooccupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and peoplewill cripple their military resources. I can make this march, and makeGeorgia howl. " It could hardly be expected that troops trained by thiscommander would respect _the humanities_. 

CHAPTER XII. 

EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Prostrated by two years of constant devotion to work--work so severe, stern, and exacting as to have prevented me from giving the slightestattention to my family, even when heavily afflicted--and persuaded thatunder existing administration nothing would be accomplished in the"Trans-Mississippi Department, " a month after the close of the Red Rivercampaign I applied for relief from duty. After several applications thiswas granted, and with my wife and two surviving children I retired tothe old Spanish-French town of Natchitoches. The inhabitants, thoughimpoverished by the war, had a comfortable house ready for my family, towhich they invited me, with all the warmth of Southern hearts and allthe good taste of the Latin race. Here I remained for several weeks, when information of my promotion to lieutenant-general came fromRichmond, with orders to report for duty on the east side of theMississippi. The officers of my staff, who had long served with me, desired and were permitted to accompany me, with the exception of Brent, now colonel of artillery, who could not be spared. Colonel Brentremained in west Louisiana until the close of the war, attaining therank of brigadier. Of his merit and services I have already written. 

The Red River campaign of 1864 was the last Federal campaign undertakenfor political objects, or intrusted to political generals. Experiencetaught the Washington Government that its enormous resources must beconcentrated, and henceforth unity of purpose and action prevailed. Posts on the Mississippi between Memphis and New Orleans werestrengthened, intervening spaces closely guarded by numerous gunboats, and parties thrown ashore to destroy all boats that could be found. Though individuals, with precaution, could cross the great river, it wasalmost impossible to take over organized bodies of troops or supplies, and the Confederates on the west were isolated. The Federal Governmentnow directed its energies against Richmond and Atlanta. 

Upon what foundations the civil authorities of the Confederacy restedtheir hopes of success, after the campaign of 1864 fully opened, I amunable to say; but their commanders in the field, whose rank andposition enabled them to estimate the situation, fought simply to affordstatesmanship an opportunity to mitigate the sorrows of inevitabledefeat. 

A grand old oak, on the east bank of the Black River, the lower Washita, protected my couch; and in the morning, with two guides, the faithfulTom following, I threaded my way through swamp and jungle to theMississippi, which was reached at sunset. A light canoe was concealedsome distance from the river bank, and after the short twilight fadedinto night this was borne on the shoulders of the guides, and launched. One of the guides embarked to paddle, and Tom and I followed, eachleading a horse. A gunboat was lying in the river a short distancebelow, and even the horses seemed to understand the importance ofsilence, swimming quietly alongside of our frail craft. The easternshore reached, we stopped for a time to rub and rest the cattle, exhausted by long-continued exertion in the water; then pushed on toWoodville, some five and twenty miles east. This, the chief town ofWilkison county, Mississippi, was in telegraphic communication withRichmond, and I reported my arrival to the war office. An answer came, directing me to take command of the department of Alabama, Mississippi, etc. , with the information that President Davis would shortly leaveRichmond to meet me at Montgomery, Alabama. While awaiting telegram, Ilearned of the fall of Atlanta and the forts at the entrance of MobileBay. My predecessor in the department to the command of whichtelegraphic orders had just assigned me was General Bishop Polk, to whomI accord all his titles; for in him, after a sleep of severalcenturies, was awakened the church militant. Before he joined Johnstonin northern Georgia, Polk's headquarters were at Meridian, near theeastern boundary of Mississippi, where the Mobile and Ohio Railway, running north, is crossed by the Vicksburg, Jackson, and Selma line, running east. To this point I at once proceeded, _via_ Jackson, morethan a hundred miles northeast of Woodville. Grierson's and other"raids, " in the past summer, had broken the New Orleans and JacksonRailway, so that I rode the distance to the latter place. It was inSeptember, and the fierce heat was trying to man and beast. The openpine forests of southern Mississippi obstruct the breeze, whileaffording no protection from the sun, whose rays are intensified byreflection from the white, sandy soil. Jackson reached, I stopped for anhour to see the Governor of Mississippi, Clarke, an old acquaintance, and give instructions to Brigadier Wirt Adams, the local commander; thentook rail to Meridian, eighty miles, where I found the records of thedepartment left by General Polk, as well as several officers of thegeneral staff. These gentlemen had nothing especial to do, and appearedto be discharging that duty conscientiously; but they were zealous andintelligent, and speedily enabled me to judge of the situation. Major-General Maury, in immediate command at Mobile, and the seniorofficer in the department before my arrival, had ordered General Forrestwith his cavalry to Mobile in anticipation of an attack. Forrest himselfwas expected to pass through Meridian that evening, _en route_ forMobile. 

Just from the Mississippi river, where facilities for obtaininginformation from New Orleans were greater than at Mobile, I wasconfident that the enemy contemplated no immediate attack on the latterplace. Accordingly, General Maury was informed by telegraph of mypresence, that I assumed command of the department, and would arrestForrest's movement. An hour later a train from the north, bringingForrest in advance of his troops, reached Meridian, and was stopped; andthe General, whom I had never seen, came to report. He was a tall, stalwart man, with grayish hair, mild countenance, and slow and homelyof speech. In few words he was informed that I considered Mobile safefor the present, and that all our energies must be directed to therelief of Hood's army, then west of Atlanta. The only way to accomplishthis was to worry Sherman's communications north of the Tennessee river, and he must move his cavalry in that direction at the earliest moment. 

To my surprise, Forrest suggested many difficulties and asked numerousquestions: how he was to get over the Tennessee; how he was to get backif pressed by the enemy; how he was to be supplied; what should be hisline of retreat in certain contingencies; what he was to do withprisoners if any were taken, etc. I began to think he had no stomach forthe work; but at last, having isolated the chances of success fromcauses of failure with the care of a chemist experimenting in hislaboratory, he rose and asked for Fleming, the superintendent of therailway, who was on the train by which he had come. Fleming appeared--alittle man on crutches (he had recently broken a leg), but with theenergy of a giant--and at once stated what he could do in the way ofmoving supplies on his line, which had been repaired up to the Tennesseeboundary. Forrest's whole manner now changed. In a dozen sharp sentenceshe told his wants, said he would leave a staff officer to bring up hissupplies, asked for an engine to take him back north twenty miles tomeet his troops, informed me he would march with the dawn, and hoped togive an account of himself in Tennessee. 

Moving with great rapidity, he crossed the Tennessee river, capturedstockades with their garrisons, burned bridges, destroyed railways, reached the Cumberland River below Nashville, drove away gunboats, captured and destroyed several transports with immense stores, andspread alarm over a wide region. The enemy concentrated on him from alldirections, but he eluded or defeated their several columns, recrossedthe Tennessee, and brought off fifteen hundred prisoners and much spoil. Like Clive, Nature made him a great soldier; and he was without theformer's advantages. Limited as was Clive's education, he was a personof erudition compared with Forrest, who read with difficulty. In thelast weeks of the war he was much with me, and told me the story of hislife. His father, a poor trader in negroes and mules, died when he wasfifteen years of age, leaving a widow and several younger childrendependent on him for support. To add to his burden, a posthumous infantwas born some weeks after the father's death. Continuing the paternaloccupations in a small way, he continued to maintain the family and givesome education to the younger children. His character for truth, honesty, and energy was recognized, and he gradually achievedindependence and aided his brethren to start in life. Such was his shortstory up to the war. 

Some months before the time of our first meeting, with two thousand menhe defeated the Federal General Sturgis, who had five times his force, at Tishimingo; and he repeated his success at Okalona, where hisopponent, General Smith, had even greater odds against him. The battleof Okalona was fought on an open plain, and Forrest had no advantage ofposition to compensate for great inferiority of numbers; but it isremarkable that he employed the tactics of Frederick at Leuthen andZorndorf, though he had never heard these names. Indeed, his tacticsdeserve the closest study of military men. Asked after the war to whathe attributed his success in so many actions, he replied: "Well, I _gotthere first with the most men_. " Jomini could not have stated the key tothe art of war more concisely. I doubt if any commander since the daysof lion-hearted Richard has killed as many enemies with his own hand asForrest. His word of command as he led the charge was unique: "Forward, men, and _mix_ with 'em!" But, while cutting down many a foe withlong-reaching, nervous arm, his keen eye watched the whole fight andguided him to the weak spot. Yet he was a tender-hearted, kindly man. The accusations of his enemies that he murdered prisoners at Fort Pillowand elsewhere are absolutely false. The prisoners captured on hisexpedition into Tennessee, of which I have just written, were negroes, and he carefully looked after their wants himself, though in rapidmovement and fighting much of the time. These negroes told me of MassForrest's kindness to them. After the war I frequently met GeneralForrest, and received many evidences of attachment from him. He haspassed away within a month, to the regret of all who knew him. In theStates of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, to generations yetunborn, his name will be a "household word. "

Having devoted several hours at Meridian to the work mentioned, I tookrail for Mobile, a hundred and forty miles. This town of thirty thousandinhabitants is situated on the west bank of the Alabama (here calledMobile) River, near its entrance into Mobile Bay, which isfive-and-twenty miles long by ten broad. A month before my arrivalAdmiral Farragut had captured Fort Morgan at the eastern mouth of thebay, after defeating the Confederate fleet under Admiral Buchanan, whowas severely wounded in the action. Two or three of Buchanan's vesselshad escaped, and were in charge of Commodore Farrand near Mobile. Theshallow waters of the bay were thickly planted with torpedoes, and manyheavy guns were mounted near the town, making it safe in front. Mobilehad excellent communications with the interior. The Alabama, Tombigby, and Black Warrior Rivers afforded steam navigation to central Alabamaand eastern Mississippi, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway reached thenorthern limit of the latter State. Supplies from the fertile"cane-brake" region of Alabama and the prairies of eastern Mississippiwere abundant. Before they abandoned Pensacola, the Confederates hadtaken up fifty miles of rails from the Pensacola and Montgomery line, and used them to make a connection between the latter place andBlakeley, at the eastern head of the bay, opposite Mobile. From theknown dispositions of the Federal forces, I did not think it probablethat any serious attempt on Mobile would be made until spring. Alreadyin possession of Fort Morgan and Pensacola, thirty miles east of thefirst, and the best harbor on the Gulf, the enemy, when he attacked, would doubtless make these places his base. It was important, then, tolook to defensive works on the east side of the bay, and such works werevigorously pushed at Blakeley, above mentioned, and at Spanish Fort, several miles south. I had no intention of standing a siege in Mobile, but desired to hold the place with a small force, so as to compel theemployment of an army to reduce it; and for this its situation wasadmirably adapted. The Mobile River, forty miles long, and formed by theAlabama and Tombigby, is but the estuary at the head of Mobile Bay, silted up with detritus by the entering streams. Several miles wide, itincloses numerous marshy islands in its many channels. These featuresmake its passage difficult, while the Mobile and Ohio Railway, trendingto the west as it leaves the town to gain the high land above thevalley, affords a ready means for the withdrawal of a limited force. 

The officer commanding at Mobile was well qualified for his task. Major-General D. H. Maury, nephew to the distinguished Matthew Maury, formerly of the United States navy, graduated from West Point in time toserve in the war with Mexico, where he was wounded. A Virginian, heresigned from the United States cavalry to share the fortunes of hisState. Intelligent, upright, and devoted to duty, he gained the respectand confidence of the townspeople, and was thereby enabled to supplementhis regular force of eight thousand of all arms with a body of localmilitia. It was a great comfort to find an able officer in thisresponsible position, who not only adopted my plans, but improved andexecuted them. General Maury had some excellent officers under him, andthe sequel will show how well they discharged their duty to the end. 

From Mobile to Meridian, and after some days to Selma, ninety mileseast. The railway between these last places had been recently laid down, and was very imperfect. There was no bridge over the Tombigby atDemopolis, and a steam ferry was employed. East of Demopolis, the linepassed through the cane-brake country, a land of fatness. The army ofLee, starving in the trenches before Richmond and Petersburg, could havebeen liberally supplied from this district but for lack oftransportation. 

Here it may be asserted that we suffered less from inferiority ofnumbers than from want of mechanical resources. Most of the mechanicsemployed in the South were Northern men, and returned to their sectionat the outbreak of war. The loss of New Orleans, our only large city, aggravated this trouble, and we had no means of repairing the long linesof railway, nor the plant. Even when unbroken by raids, wear and tearrendered them inefficient at an early period of the struggle. This had amore direct influence on the sudden downfall of the Confederacy than isgenerally supposed. 

Selma, a place of some five thousand people, is on the north bank of theAlabama River, by which it has steam communication with Mobile andMontgomery, forty miles above on the opposite bank. In addition to therailway from Meridian, there was a line running to the northeast in thedirection of Dalton, Georgia, the existing terminus of which was at BlueMountain, a hundred and odd miles from Selma; and, to inspect the line, I went to Blue Mountain. This, the southern limit of the Alleghanies, which here sink into the great plain of the gulf, was distant from theAtlanta and Chattanooga Railway, Sherman's only line of communication, sixty miles. A force operating from Blue Mountain would approach thisline at a right angle, and, drawing its supplies from the fertilecountry near Selma, would cover its own communications while threateningthose of an enemy from Atlanta to Chattanooga. On this account the roadmight be of importance. 

Returning to Selma, I stopped at Talladega, on the east bank of theCoosa River, the largest affluent of the Alabama, and navigable by smallsteamers to Rome, Georgia. Here I met Brigadier Daniel Adams, in localcommand, and learned much of the condition of the surrounding region. After passing Chattanooga the Tennessee River makes a great bend to theSouth, inclosing a part of Alabama between itself and the TennesseeState line; and in this district was a small Confederate force underBrigadier Roddy, which was enabled to maintain an exposed position byknowledge of the country. General Adams thought he could procure wireenough to establish communication with Roddy, or materially shorten thecourier line between them; and, as this would duplicate my means ofgetting news, especially of Forrest, he was directed to do so. I had noknowledge of Hood's plans or condition, saving that he had been defeatedand was southwest of Atlanta; but if he contemplated operations onSherman's communications, which was his true policy, he must drawsupplies from Selma, as much of the country between the Tennessee andAlabama Rivers was sterile and sparsely populated. Accordingly, I movedmy headquarters to Selma and ordered the collection of supplies there, and at Talladega; then took steamer for Montgomery, to meet the GeneralAssembly of Alabama, called in extra session in view of the crisisproduced by Hood's defeat and the fall of Atlanta. Just as the steamerwas leaving Selma, I received dispatches from Forrest, announcing hisfirst success after crossing the Tennessee river. Traveling alone, orwith one staff officer, and unknown to the people, I had opportunitiesof learning something of the real state of public sentiment in my newdepartment. Citizens were universally depressed and disheartened. Sickand wounded officers and men from Hood's army were dissatisfied with theremoval of Johnston from command, and the subsequent conduct of affairs. From conversations in railway carriages and on river steamers I hadgathered this, and nothing but this, since my arrival. 

Reaching Montgomery in the morning, I had interviews with the Governorand leading members of the Assembly, who promised all the assistance intheir power to aid in the defense of the State. The Governor, Watts, whohad resigned the office of Attorney-General of the Confederacy to accepthis present position, was ever ready to coöperate with me. 

Late in the afternoon a dispatch was received from President Davis, announcing his arrival for the following morning. He came, was receivedby the State authorities, visited the Capitol, addressed the Assembly, and then received leading citizens; all of which consumed the day, andit was ten o'clock at night when he took me to his chamber, locked thedoor, and said we must devote the night to work, as it was imperativefor him to return to Richmond the next morning. He began by saying thathe had visited Hood and his army on his way to Montgomery, and wasgratified to find officers and men in excellent spirits, not at alldepressed by recent disasters, and that he thought well of a movementnorth toward Nashville. I expressed surprise at his statement of thecondition of Hood's army, as entirely opposed to the conclusions forcedon me by all the evidence I could get, and warned him of the danger oflistening to narrators who were more disposed to tell what was agreeablethan what was true. He readily admitted that persons in his positionwere exposed to this danger. Proceeding to discuss the suggestedmovement toward Nashville, I thought it a serious matter to undertake acampaign into Tennessee in the autumn, with troops so badly equipped aswere ours for the approaching winter. Every mile the army marched north, it was removing farther from supplies, and no reënforcements were to behoped for from any quarter. Besides, Sherman could control force enoughto garrison Chattanooga and Nashville, and, if time were allowed him toaccumulate supplies at Atlanta by his one line of rail, could abandoneverything south of Chattanooga, and with fifty thousand men, in theabsence of Hood's army, march where he liked. The President asked whatassistance might be expected from the trans-Mississippi. I replied, none. There would not be another gun fired there; for the Federals hadwithdrawn their troops to concentrate east of the river. The difficultyof bringing over organized bodies of men was explained, with theaddition of their unwillingness to come. The idea prevailed that theStates west of the Mississippi had been neglected by the Government, andthis idea had been encouraged by many in authority. So far from desiringto send any more men to the east, they clamored for the return of thosealready there. Certain senators and representatives, who had bitterlyopposed the administration at Richmond, talked much wild nonsense aboutsetting up a government west of the Mississippi, uniting withMaximilian, and calling on Louis Napoleon for assistance. The Presidentlistened attentively to this, and asked, "What then?" I informed him ofthe work Forrest was doing, pointed out the advantages of Blue Mountainas a base from which to operate, and suggested that Hood's army bethrown on Sherman's line of railway, north of Atlanta. As Johnston hadbeen so recently removed from command, I would not venture to recommendhis return, but believed that our chances would be increased by theassignment of Beauregard to the army. He still retained some of theearly popularity gained at Sumter and Manassas, and would awaken acertain enthusiasm. Apprehending no immediate danger for Mobile, I wouldstrip the place of everything except gunners and join Beauregard withfour thousand good troops. Even the smallest reënforcement isinspiriting to a defeated army, and by seizing his railway we wouldforce Sherman to battle. Granting we would be whipped, we could fallback to Blue Mountain without danger of pursuit, as the enemy waschained to his line of supply, and we certainly ought to make the fighthot enough to cripple him for a time and delay his projected movements. At the same time, I did not disguise my conviction that the best wecould hope for was to protract the struggle until spring. It was forstatesmen, not soldiers, to deal with the future. 

The President said Beauregard should come, and, after consultation withHood and myself, decide the movements of the army; but that he wasdistressed to hear such gloomy sentiments from me. I replied that it wasmy duty to express my opinions frankly to him, when he asked for them, though there would be impropriety in giving utterance to them beforeothers; but I did not admit the gloom. In fact, I had cut into this gamewith eyes wide open, and felt that in staking life, fortune, and thefuture of my children, the chances were against success. It was not forme, then, to whimper when the cards were bad; that was the right ofthose who were convinced there would be no war, or at most a holidayaffair, in which everybody could display heroism. With much other talkwe wore through the night. In the morning he left, as he purposed, and Ireturned to Selma. My next meeting with President Davis was at FortressMonroe, under circumstances to be related. 

Some days at Selma were devoted to accumulation of supplies, and GeneralMaury was advised that he must be prepared to forward a part of hiscommand to that place, when a message from Beauregard informed me thathe was on the way to Blue Mountain and desired to meet me there. He hadnot seen Hood, whose army, after an ineffectual attack on Altoona, hadleft Sherman's line of communication, moved westward, and was now somefifteen miles to the north of Blue Mountain. Having told me this, Beauregard explained the orders under which he was acting. To mydisappointment, he had not been expressly assigned to command Hood'sarmy, but to the general direction of affairs in the southwest. GeneralMaury, a capable officer, was at Mobile; Forrest, with his cavalrydivision, I had sent into Tennessee; and a few scattered men werewatching the enemy in various quarters--all together hardly constitutinga command for a lieutenant-general, my rank. Unless Beauregard tookcharge of Hood's army, there was nothing for him to do except to commandme. Here was a repetition of 1863. Then Johnston was sent with a rovingcommission to command Bragg in Tennessee, Pemberton in Mississippi, andothers in sundry places. The result was that he commanded nobody, and, when Pemberton was shut up in Vicksburg, found himself helpless, with ahandful of troops, at Jackson. To give an officer discretion to removeanother from command of an army in the field is to throw upon him theresponsibility of doing it, and this should be assumed by thegovernment, not left to an individual. 

However, I urged on Beauregard the considerations mentioned in myinterview with President Davis, that Sherman had detached to look afterForrest, was compelled to keep garrisons at many points from Atlanta toNashville, and, if forced to action fifty or sixty miles north of theformer place, would be weaker then than we could hope to find him later, after he had accumulated supplies. I mentioned the little reënforcementwe could have at once from Mobile, my readiness to take any command, division, brigade, or regiment to which he might assign me, and, aboveall, the necessity of prompt action. There were two persons present, Colonel Brent, of Beauregard's staff, and Mr. Charles Villeré, a memberof the Confederate Congress from Louisiana. The former said all that wasproper for a staff officer in favor of my views; the latter, Beauregard's brother-in-law, warmly urged their adoption. The Generalordered his horse, to visit Hood, and told me to await intelligencefrom him. On his return from Hood, he informed me that the army wasmoving to the northwest, and would cross the Tennessee river near theMuscle Shoals. As this plan of campaign had met the sanction ofPresident Davis, and Hood felt confident of success, he declined tointerfere. I could not blame Beauregard; for it was putting a cruelresponsibility on him to supersede a gallant veteran, to whom fortunehad been adverse. There was nothing to be said and nothing to be done, saving to discharge one's duty to the bitter end. Hood's line of marchwould bring him within reach of the Mobile and Ohio Railway in northernMississippi, and supplies could be sent him by that road. Selma ceasedto be of importance, and my quarters were returned to Meridian. Forrest, just back from Tennessee, was advised of Hood's purposes and ordered tocoöperate. Maury was made happy by the information that he would losenone of his force, and the usual routine of inspections, papers, etc. , occupied the ensuing weeks. 

My attention was called about this time to the existence of awide-spread evil. A practice had grown up of appointing provost-marshalsto take private property for public use, and every little post commanderexercised the power to appoint such officials. The land swarmed withthese vermin, appointed without due authority, or self-constituted, whorobbed the people of horses, mules, cattle, corn, and meat. The wretchedpeasants of the middle ages could not have suffered more from the "freecompanies" turned loose upon them. Loud complaints came up from Stategovernors and from hundreds of good citizens. I published an order, informing the people that their property was not to be touched unless byauthority given by me and in accordance with the forms of law, and theywere requested to deal with all violators of the order as withhighwaymen. This put an end to the tyranny, which had been long anduniversally submitted to. 

The readiness of submission to power displayed by the American people inthe war was astonishing. Our British forefathers transmitted to usrespect for law and love of liberty founded upon it; but the influenceof universal suffrage seemed to have destroyed all sense of personalmanhood, all conception of individual rights. It may be said of theSouth, that its people submitted to wrong because they were engaged in afierce struggle with superior force; but what of the North, whose peoplewere fighting for conquest? Thousands were opposed to the war, andhundreds of thousands to its conduct and objects. The wonderful votereceived by McClellan in 1864 showed the vast numbers of the Northernminority; yet, so far from modifying in the smallest degree the will andconduct of the majority, this multitude of men dared not give utteranceto their real sentiments; and the same was true of the South at the timeof secession. Reformers who have tried to improve the morals ofhumanity, discoverers who have striven to alleviate its physicalconditions, have suffered martyrdom at its hands. Years upon years havebeen found necessary to induce the masses to consider, much less adopt, schemes for their own advantage. A government of numbers, then, is notone of virtue or intelligence, but of force, intangible, irresistible, irresponsible--resembling that of Cæsar depicted by the great historian, which, covering the earth as a pall, reduced all to a common level ofabject servitude. For many years scarce a descendant of the colonialgentry in the Eastern States has been elected to public office. To-daythey have no existence even as a social force and example. Under thebaleful influence of negro suffrage it is impossible to foretell thedestiny of the South. Small wonder that pure democracies have everproved ready to exchange "Demos" for some other tyrant. 

Occasional visits for inspection were made to Mobile, where Maury wasstrengthening his defenses. On the east side of the bay, Blakeley andSpanish Fort were progressing steadily, as I held that the enemy wouldattack there, tempted by his possession of Pensacola and Fort Morgan. Although this opinion was justified in the end, hope may have had someinfluence in its formation; for we could meet attack from that quarterbetter than from the west, which, indeed, would have speedily driven usfrom the place. The loss of the Mobile and Ohio railway would havenecessitated the withdrawal of the garrison across the bay, a difficultoperation, if pressed by superior force. 

The Confederate Congress had enacted that negro troops, captured, shouldbe restored to their owners. We had several hundreds of such, taken byForrest in Tennessee, whose owners could not be reached; and they wereput to work on the fortifications at Mobile, rather for the purpose ofgiving them healthy employment than for the value of the work. I made ita point to visit their camps and inspect the quantity and quality oftheir food, always found to be satisfactory. On one occasion, while soengaged, a fine-looking negro, who seemed to be leader among hiscomrades, approached me and said: "Thank you, Massa General, they giveus plenty of good victuals; but how you like our work?" I replied thatthey had worked very well. "If you will give us guns we will fight forthese works, too. We would rather fight for our own white folks than forstrangers. " And, doubtless, this was true. In their dealings with thenegro the white men of the South should ever remember that no instanceof outrage occurred during the war. Their wives and little ones remainedsafe at home, surrounded by thousands of faithful slaves, who workedquietly in the fields until removed by the Federals. This is the highesttestimony to the kindness of the master and the gentleness of theservant; and all the dramatic talent prostituted to the dissemination offalsehood in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and similar productions can not rebutit. 

About the middle of November I received from General Lee, now commandingthe armies of the Confederacy, instructions to visit Macon and Savannah, Georgia, if I could leave my department, and report to him the conditionof affairs in that quarter, and the probabilities of Sherman'smovements, as the latter had left Atlanta. I proceeded at once, takingrail at Montgomery, and reached Macon, _via_ Columbus, Georgia, at dawn. It was the bitterest weather I remember in this latitude. The ground wasfrozen and some snow was falling. General Howell Cobb, the localcommander, met me at the station and took me to his house, which wasalso his office. Arrived there, horses appeared, and Cobb said hesupposed that I would desire to ride out and inspect the fortifications, on which he had been at work all night, as the enemy was twelve milesnorth of Macon at noon of the preceding day. I asked what force he hadto defend the place. He stated the number, which was utterly inadequate, and composed of raw conscripts. Whereupon I declined to look at thefortifications, and requested him to order work upon them to be stopped, so that his men could get by a fire, as I then was and intended toremain. I had observed a movement of stores in passing the railwaystation, and now expressed the opinion that Macon was the safest placein Georgia, and advised Cobb to keep his stores. Here entered GeneralMackall, one of Cobb's subordinates, who was personally in charge of thedefensive works, and could not credit the order he had received to stop. Cobb referred him to me, and I said: "The enemy was but twelve milesfrom you at noon of yesterday. Had he intended coming to Macon, youwould have seen him last evening, before you had time to strengthenworks or remove stores. " This greatly comforted Cobb, who up to thatmoment held me to be a lunatic. Breakfast was suggested, to which Iresponded with enthusiasm, having been on short commons for many hours. While we were enjoying the meal, intelligence was brought that the enemyhad disappeared from the north of Macon and marched eastward. Cobb wasdelighted. He pronounced me to be the wisest of generals, and said heknew nothing of military affairs, but had entered the service from asense of duty. 

Cobb had been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, andSecretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Buchanan. Beloved and respected in his State, he had been sent to Georgia tocounteract the influence of Governor Joe Brown, who, carrying out thedoctrine of State rights, had placed himself in opposition to PresidentDavis. Cobb, with his conscripts, had been near Atlanta before Shermanmoved out, and gave me a laughable account of the expeditious manner inwhich he and "his little party" got to Macon, just as he was inditing asuperb dispatch to General Lee to inform him of the impossibility ofSherman's escape. 

While we were conversing Governor Brown was announced, as arrived fromMilledgeville, the State capital, forty miles to the northeast. Cobbremarked that it was awkward; for Governor Brown was the only man inGeorgia to whom he did not speak. But he yielded to the ancient jest, that for the time being we had best hang together, as there seemed apossibility of enjoying that amusement separately, and brought theGovernor in, who told me that he had escaped from Milledgeville as theFederals entered. People said that he had brought off his cow and hiscabbages, and left the State's property to take care of itself. However, Governor Brown deserves praise at my hands, for he promptly acceded toall my requests. With him were General Robert Toombs, the most originalof men, and General G. W. Smith, both of whom had been in the Confederatearmy. Toombs had resigned to take the place of Adjutant-General ofGeorgia; Smith, to superintend some iron works, from which he had beendriven by Sherman's movements, and was now in command of GovernorBrown's "army, " composed of men that he had refused to the Confederateservice. This "army" had some hours before marched east toward Savannah, taking the direct route along the railway. I told the Governor that hismen would be captured unless they were called back at once; and Smith, who undertook the duty in person, was just in time. "Joe Brown's army"struck the extreme right of Sherman, and suffered some loss before Smithcould extricate it. To Albany, ninety miles south of Macon, there was arailway, and some forty miles farther south, across the country, Thomasville was reached. Here was the terminus of the Savannah and GulfRailway, two hundred miles, or thereabouts, southwest of Savannah. Thisroute I decided to take, and suggested it to the Governor as the onlysafe one for his troops. He acquiesced at once, and Toombs promised tohave transportation ready by the time Smith returned. Taking leave ofCobb, I departed. 

Several years after the close of the war General Cobb and I happened tobe in New York, accompanied by our families, but stopping at differentinns. He dined with me, seemed in excellent health and spirits, andremained to a late hour, talking over former times and scenes. I walkedto his lodgings with him, and promised to call with my wife on Mrs. Cobbthe following day at 1 o'clock. We were there at the hour, when theservant, in answer to my request to take up our cards, stated thatGeneral Cobb had just fallen dead. I sprang up the stair, and saw hisbody lying on the floor of a room, his wife, dazed by the shock, lookingon. A few minutes before he had written a letter and started for theoffice of the inn to post it, remarking to his wife that he would returnimmediately, as he expected our visit. A step from the threshold, and hewas dead. Thus suddenly passed away one of the most genial and generousmen I have known. His great fortune suffered much by the war, but to thelast he shared its remains with less fortunate friends. 

Traveling all night, I reached Thomasville in the early morning, andfound that there was telegraphic communication with General Hardee atSavannah, whom I informed of my presence and requested to send downtransportation for Governor Brown's troops. There was much delay atThomasville, the railway people appearing to think that Sherman wasswarming all over Georgia. At length I discovered an engine and afreight van, which the officials promised to get ready for me; but theywere dreadfully slow, until Toombs rode into town and speedily woke themup. Smith returned to Macon after my departure, found transportationready for his men, brought them to Albany by rail, and was now marchingto Thomasville. Toombs, who had ridden on in advance, was not satisfiedwith Hardee's reply to my dispatch, but took possession of the telegraphand threatened dire vengeance on superintendents and road masters ifthey failed to have the necessary engines and carriages ready in time. He damned the dawdling creatures who had delayed me to such an extent asto make them energetic, and my engine appeared, puffing with anxiety tomove. He assured me that he would not be many hours after me atSavannah, for Smith did not intend to halt on the road, as his men couldrest in the carriages. A man of extraordinary energy, this same Toombs. 

Savannah was reached about midnight, and Hardee was awaiting me. A shortconversation cleared the situation and enabled me to send the followingreport to General Lee. Augusta, Georgia, held by General Bragg with alimited force, was no longer threatened, as the enemy had passed southof it. Sherman, with sixty or seventy thousand men, was moving on thehigh ground between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers; and as thisafforded a dry, sandy road direct to Savannah, where he would mostreadily meet the Federal fleet, it was probable that he would adhere toit. He might cross the Savannah river forty or fifty miles above andmarch on Charleston, but this was hardly to be expected; for, inaddition to the river named, there were several others and a difficultcountry to pass before Charleston could be reached, and his desire tocommunicate with the fleet by the nearest route and in the shortest timemust be considered. Hardee's force was inadequate to the defense ofSavannah, and he should prepare to abandon the place before he was shutup. Uniting, Bragg and Hardee should call in the garrison fromCharleston, and all scattered forces along the coast south ofWilmington, North Carolina, and be prepared to resist Sherman's marchthrough the Carolinas, which he must be expected to undertake as soon ashe had established a base on the ocean. Before this report wasdispatched, Hardee read and approved it. 

Meanwhile scores of absurd rumors about the enemy came in. Places I hadpassed within an hour were threatened by heavy columns; others, fromwhich the enemy was distant a hundred miles, were occupied, etc. But oneof importance did come. The railway from Savannah to Charleston passesnear the coast. The officer commanding at Pocotaligo, midway of the twoplaces, reported an advance of the enemy from Port Royal, and that hemust abandon his post the following morning unless reënforced. To losethe Charleston line would seriously interfere with the concentrationjust recommended. Hardee said that he could ill spare men, and had nomeans of moving them promptly. I bethought me of Toombs, Smith, andGovernor Brown's "army. " The energetic Toombs had frightened the railwaypeople into moving him, and, from his telegrams, might be expectedbefore dawn. Hardee thought but little of the suggestion, because theground of quarrel between Governor Brown and President Davis was therefusal of the former to allow his guards to serve beyond their state. However, I had faith in Toombs and Smith. A short distance to the southof Savannah, on the Gulf road, was a switch by which carriages could beshunted on to a connection with the Charleston line. I wrote to Toombsof the emergency, and sent one of Hardee's staff to meet him at theswitch. The governor's army was quietly shunted off and woke up atPocotaligo in South Carolina, where it was just in time to repulse theenemy after a spirited little action, thereby saving the railway. Doubtless the Georgians, a plucky people, would have responded to anappeal to leave their State under the circumstances, but Toombs enjoyedthe joke of making them unconscious patriots. 

In the past autumn Cassius Clay of Kentucky killed a colored man who hadattacked him. For more than thirty years Mr. Clay had advocated theabolition of slavery, and at the risk of his life. Dining with Toombs inNew York just after the event, he said to me: "Seen the story about oldCassius Clay? Been an abolitionist all his days, and ends by shooting anigger. I knew he would. " A droll fellow is Robert Toombs. Full oftalent and well instructed, he affects quaint and provincial forms ofspeech. His influence in Georgia is great, and he is a man to know. 

Two days at Savannah served to accomplish the object of my mission, and, taking leave of Hardee, I returned to my own department. An educatedsoldier of large experience, Hardee was among the best of oursubordinate generals, and, indeed, seemed to possess the requisitequalities for supreme command; but this he steadily refused, alleginghis unfitness for responsibility. Such modesty is not a common Americanweakness, and deserves to be recorded. General Hardee's death occurredafter the close of the war. 

In this journey through Georgia, at Andersonville, I passed in sight ofa large stockade inclosing prisoners of war. The train stopped for a fewmoments, and there entered the carriage, to speak to me, a man who saidhis name was _Wirtz_, and that he was in charge of the prisoners nearby. He complained of the inadequacy of his guard and of the want ofsupplies, as the adjacent region was sterile and thinly populated. Healso said that the prisoners were suffering from cold, were destitute ofblankets, and that he had not wagons to supply fuel. He showed meduplicates of requisitions and appeals for relief that he had made todifferent authorities, and these I indorsed in the strongest termspossible, hoping to accomplish some good. I know nothing of this Wirtz, whom I then met for the first and only time, but he appeared to beearnest in his desire to mitigate the condition of his prisoners. Therecan be but little doubt that his execution was a "sop" to the passionsof the "many-headed. "

Returned to Meridian, the situation of Hood in Tennessee absorbed all myattention. He had fought at Franklin, and was now near Nashville. Franklin was a bloody affair, in which Hood lost many of his bestofficers and troops. The previous evening, at dusk, a Federal column, retreating north, passed within pistol-shot of Hood's forces, and anattack on it might have produced results; but it reached strong works atFranklin, and held them against determined assaults, until night enabledit to withdraw quietly to Nashville. This mistake may be ascribed toHood's want of physical activity, occasioned by severe wounds andamputations, which might have been considered before he was assigned tocommand. Maurice of Saxe won Fontenoy in a litter, unable from diseaseto mount his horse; but in war it is hazardous to convert exceptionsinto rules. 

Notwithstanding his frightful loss at Franklin, Hood followed the enemyto Nashville, and took position south of the place, where he remainedten days or more. It is difficult to imagine what objects he had inview. The town was open to the north, whence the Federal commander, Thomas, was hourly receiving reënforcements, while he had none to hopefor. His plans perfected and his reënforcements joined, Thomas moved, and Hood was driven off; and, had the Federal general possessed dashequal to his tenacity and caution, one fails to see how Hood could havebrought man or gun across the Tennessee River. It is painful tocriticise Hood's conduct of this campaign. Like Ney, "the bravest of thebrave, " he was a splendid leader in battle, and as a brigade or divisioncommander unsurpassed; but, arrived at higher rank, he seems to havebeen impatient of control, and openly disapproved of Johnston's conductof affairs between Dalton and Atlanta. Unwillingness to obey is ofteninterpreted by governments into capacity for command. 

Reaching the southern bank of the Tennessee, Hood asked to be relieved, and a telegraphic order assigned me to the duty. At Tupelo, on theMobile and Ohio Railway, a hundred and odd miles north of Meridian, Imet him and the remains of his army. Within my experience were assaultson positions, in which heavy losses were sustained without success; butthe field had been held--retreats, but preceded by repulse of the foeand followed by victory. This was my first view of a beaten army, anarmy that for four years had shown a constancy worthy of the "TenThousand"; and a painful sight it was. Many guns and small arms had beenlost, and the ranks were depleted by thousands of prisoners and missing. Blankets, shoes, clothing, and accouterments were wanting. I havewritten of the unusual severity of the weather in the latter part ofNovember, and it was now near January. Some men perished by frost; manyhad the extremities severely bitten. Fleming, the active superintendentmentioned, strained the resources of his railway to transport the troopsto the vicinity of Meridian, where timber for shelter and fuel wasabundant and supplies convenient; and every energy was exerted toreëquip them. 

Sherman was now in possession of Savannah, but an interior line of railby Columbus, Macon, and Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, was open. Mobile was not immediately threatened, and was of inferiorimportance as compared with the safety of Lee's army at Petersburg. Unless a force could be interposed between Sherman and Lee's rear, thegame would be over when the former moved. Accordingly, I dispatched toGeneral Lee the suggestion of sending the "Army of Tennessee" to NorthCarolina, where Johnston had been restored to command. He approved, anddirected me to send forward the men as rapidly as possible. I had longdismissed all thought of the future. The duty of a soldier in the fieldis simple--to fight until stopped by the civil arm of his government, orhis government has ceased to exist; and military men have usually cometo grief by forgetting this simple duty. 

Forrest had fought and worked hard in this last Tennessee campaign, andhis division of cavalry was broken down. By brigades it was distributedto different points in the prairie and cane-brake regions, where foragecould be had, and I hoped for time to restore the cattle and refit thecommand. With our limited resources of transportation, it was a slowbusiness to forward troops to Johnston in North Carolina; but at lengthit was accomplished, and the month of March came round to raise thecurtain for the last act of the bloody drama. Two clouds appeared on thehorizon of my department. General Canby, a steady soldier, whom I hadlong known, had assumed command of all the Federal forces in thesouthwest, and was concentrating fifty thousand men at Fort Morgan andPensacola against Mobile. In northern Alabama General Wilson had tenthousand picked mounted men ready for an expedition. At Selma was afoundry, where the best ordnance I have seen was made of Briarsfieldiron, from a furnace in the vicinity; and, as this would naturallyattract the enemy's attention to Selma, I endeavored to prepare for him. The Cahawba River, from the northeast, enters the Alabama below Selma, north of which it separates the barren mineral region from the fertilelands of the river basin; and at its crossing I directed Forrest toconcentrate. 

Wilson, with the smallest body, would probably move first; and, oncedisposed of, Forrest could be sent south of the Alabama River to delayCanby and prolong the defense of Mobile. For a hundred miles north ofthe gulf the country is sterile, pine forest on a soil of white sand;but the northern end of the Montgomery and Pensacola Railway was in ourpossession, and would enable us to transport supplies. In a conferencewith Maury at Mobile I communicated the above to him, as I hadpreviously to Forrest, and hastened to Selma. Distributed for forage, and still jaded by hard work, Forrest ordered his brigades to theCahawba crossing, leading one in person. His whole force would have beeninferior to Wilson's, but he was a host in himself, and a dangerousadversary to meet at any reasonable odds. 

Our information of the enemy had proved extremely accurate; but in thisinstance the Federal commander moved with unusual rapidity, and threwout false signals. Forrest, with one weak brigade, was in the path; buttwo of his brigadiers permitted themselves to be deceived by reports ofthe enemy's movements toward Columbus, Mississippi, and turned west, while another went into camp under some misconception of orders. Forrestfought as if the world depended on his arm, and sent to advise me of thedeceit practiced on two of his brigades, but hoped to stop the enemy ifhe could get up the third, the absence of which he could not accountfor. I directed such railway plant as we had to be moved out on theroads, retaining a small yard engine to take me off at the last moment. There was nothing more to be done. Forrest appeared, horse and mancovered with blood, and announced the enemy at his heels, and that Imust move at once to escape capture. I felt anxious for him, but he saidhe was unhurt and would cut his way through, as most of his men haddone, whom he had ordered to meet him west of the Cahawba. My enginestarted toward Meridian, and barely escaped. Before headway was attainedthe enemy was upon us, and capture seemed inevitable. Fortunately, thegroup of horsemen near prevented their comrades from firing, so we hadonly to risk a fusillade from a dozen, who fired wild. The driver andstoker, both negroes, were as game as possible, and as we thunderedacross Cahawba bridge, all safe, raised a loud "Yah! yah!" of triumph, and smiled like two sable angels. Wilson made no delay at Selma, but, crossing the Alabama River, pushed on to Montgomery, and thence intoGeorgia. I have never met this General Wilson, whose soldierly qualitiesare entitled to respect; for of all the Federal expeditions of which Ihave any knowledge, his was the best conducted. 

It would have been useless to pursue Wilson, had there been troopsdisposable, as many hundred miles intervened between him and NorthCarolina, where Johnston commanded the nearest Confederate forces, tooremote to be affected by his movements. Canby was now before the easterndefenses of Mobile, and it was too late to send Forrest to that quarter. He was therefore directed to draw together and reorganize his divisionnear Meridian. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

CLOSING OPERATIONS OF THE WAR--SURRENDER. 

On the 26th of March Canby invested Spanish Fort, and began the siege byregular approaches, a part of his army investing Blakeley on the sameday. General R. L. Gibson, now a member of Congress from Louisiana, heldSpanish Fort with twenty-five hundred men. Fighting all day and workingall night, Gibson successfully resisted the efforts of the immense forceagainst him until the evening of April 8, when the enemy effected alodgment threatening his only route of evacuation. Under instructionsfrom Maury, he withdrew his garrison in the night to Mobile, exceptinghis pickets, necessarily left. Gibson's stubborn defense and skillfulretreat make this one of the best achievements of the war. Althoughinvested on the 26th of March, the siege of Blakeley was not presseduntil April 1, when Steele's corps of Canby's army joined the originalforce before it. Here, with a garrison of twenty-eight hundred men, commanded General Liddell, with General Cockrell, now a Senator fromMissouri, as his second. Every assault of the enemy, who made but littleprogress, was gallantly repulsed until the afternoon of the 9th, when, learning by the evacuation of Spanish Fort how small a force had delayedhim, he concentrated on Blakeley and carried it, capturing the garrison. Maury intended to withdraw Liddell during the night of the 9th. It wouldhave been more prudent to have done so on the night of the 8th, as theenemy would naturally make an energetic effort after the fall of SpanishFort; but he was unwilling to yield any ground until the last moment, and felt confident of holding the place another day. After dismantlinghis works, Maury marched out of Mobile on the 12th of April, withforty-five hundred men, including three field batteries, and wasdirected to Cuba Station, near Meridian. In the interest of the thirtythousand non-combatants of the town, he properly notified the enemy thatthe place was open. During the movement from Mobile toward Meridianoccurred the last engagement of the civil war, in a cavalry affairbetween the Federal advance and our rear guard under Colonel Spence. Commodore Farrand took his armed vessels and all the steamers in theharbor up the Tombigby River, above its junction with the Alabama, andplanted torpedoes in the stream below. Forrest and Maury had about eightthousand men, but tried and true. Cattle were shod, wagons overhauled, and every preparation for rapid movement made. 

From the North, by wire and courier, I received early intelligence ofpassing events. Indeed, these were of a character for the enemy todisseminate rather than suppress. Before Maury left Mobile I had learnedof Lee's surrender, rumors of which spreading among the troops, a numberfrom the neighboring camps came to see me. I confirmed the rumor, andtold them the astounding news, just received, of President Lincoln'sassassination. For a time they were silent with amazement, then asked ifit was possible that any Southern man had committed the act. There was asense of relief expressed when they learned that the wretched assassinhad no connection with the South, but was an actor, whose brains wereaddled by tragedies and Plutarch's fables. 

It was but right to tell these gallant, faithful men the whole truthconcerning our situation. The surrender of Lee left us little hope ofsuccess; but while Johnston remained in arms we must be prepared tofight our way to him. Again, the President and civil authorities of ourGovernment were on their way to the south, and might need ourprotection. Granting the cause for which we had fought to be lost, weowed it to our own manhood, to the memory of the dead, and to the honorof our arms, to remain steadfast to the last. This was received, notwith noisy cheers, but solemn murmurs of approval, showing that it wasunderstood and adopted. Forrest and Maury shared my opinions andobjects, and impressed them on their men. Complete order was maintainedthroughout, and public property protected, though it was known laterthat this would be turned over to the Federal authorities. Aconsiderable amount of gold was near our camps, and safely guarded; yetit is doubtful if our united means would have sufficed to purchase abreakfast. 

Members of the Confederate Congress from the adjoining and more westernStates came to us. These gentlemen had left Richmond very hurriedly, inthe first days of April, and were sorely jaded by fatigue and anxiety, as the presence of Wilson's troops in Georgia had driven them toby-paths to escape capture. Arrived at a well-ordered camp, occupied bya formidable-looking force, they felt as storm-tossed mariners in aharbor of refuge, and, ignorant of recent events, as well as uncertainof the future, were eager for news and counsel. The struggle wasvirtually over, and the next few days, perhaps hours, would decide mycourse. In my judgment it would speedily become their duty to go totheir respective homes. They had been the leaders of the people, hadsought and accepted high office at their hands, and it was for them toteach the masses, by example and precept, how best to meet impendingtroubles. Possibly they might suffer annoyance and persecution fromFederal power, but manhood and duty required them to incur the risk. Tothe credit of these gentlemen it should be recorded that they followedthis advice when the time for action came. There was one exception whichdeserves mention. 

Ex-Governor Harris, now a United States Senator from Tennessee, occupiedthe executive chair of his State in 1862, and withdrew from Nashvillewhen the army of General Sidney Johnston retreated to the TennesseeRiver in the spring of that year. By the death of President Lincoln, Andrew Johnson had succeeded to power, and he was from Tennessee, andthe personal enemy of Governor Harris. The relations of their State withthe Federal Union had been restored, and Harris's return would beproductive of discord rather than peace. I urged him to leave thecountry for a time, and offered to aid him in crossing the MississippiRiver; but he was very unwilling to go, and only consented after amatter was arranged, which I anticipate the current of events to relate. He had brought away from Nashville the coin of the Bank of Tennessee, which, as above mentioned, was now in our camp. An official of the bankhad always been in immediate charge of this coin, but Harris felt thathonor was involved in its safe return. At my request, General Canbydetailed an officer and escort to take the coin to Nashville, where itarrived intact; but the unhappy official accompanying it wasincarcerated for his fidelity. Had he betrayed his trust, he might havereceived rewards instead of stripes. 'Tis dangerous to be out of harmonywith the practices of one's time. 

Intelligence of the Johnston-Sherman convention reached us, and Canbyand I were requested by the officers making it to conform to its termsuntil the civil authorities acted. A meeting was arranged to take placea few miles north of Mobile, where the appearance of the two partiescontrasted the fortunes of our respective causes. Canby, who preceded meat the appointed spot, a house near the railway, was escorted by abrigade with a military band, and accompanied by many officers in "fullfig. " With one officer, Colonel William Levy, since a member of Congressfrom Louisiana, I made my appearance on a hand-car, the motive power ofwhich was two negroes. Descendants of the ancient race of Abraham, dealers in cast-off raiment, would have scorned to bargain for our rustysuits of Confederate gray. General Canby met me with much urbanity. Weretired to a room, and in a few moments agreed upon a truce, terminableafter forty-eight hours' notice by either party. Then, rejoining thethrong of officers, introductions and many pleasant civilities passed. Iwas happy to recognize Commodore (afterward Admiral) James Palmer, anold friend. He was second to Admiral Thatcher, commanding United Statessquadron in Mobile Bay, and had come to meet me. A bountiful luncheonwas spread, of which we partook, with joyous poppings of champagne corksfor accompaniment, the first agreeable explosive sounds I had heard foryears. The air of "Hail Columbia, " which the band in attendance struckup, was instantly changed by Canby's order to that of "Dixie"; but Iinsisted on the first, and expressed a hope that Columbia would be againa happy land, a sentiment honored by many libations. 

There was, as ever, a skeleton at the feast, in the person of a generalofficer who had recently left Germany to become a citizen and soldier ofthe United States. This person, with the strong accent and idioms of theFatherland, comforted me by assurances that we of the South wouldspeedily recognize our ignorance and errors, especially about slaveryand the rights of States, and rejoice in the results of the war. In vainCanby and Palmer tried to suppress him. On a celebrated occasion anEmperor of Germany proclaimed himself above grammar, and this earnestphilosopher was not to be restrained by canons of taste. I apologizedmeekly for my ignorance, on the ground that my ancestors had come fromEngland to Virginia in 1608, and, in the short intervening period of twohundred and fifty-odd years, had found no time to transmit to me correctideas of the duties of American citizenship. Moreover, my grandfather, commanding the 9th Virginia regiment in our Revolutionary army, hadassisted in the defeat and capture of the Hessian mercenaries atTrenton, and I lamented that he had not, by association with theseworthies, enlightened his understanding. My friend smiled blandly, andassured me of his willingness to instruct me. Happily for the world, since the days of Huss and Luther, neither tyranny nor taste can repressthe Teutonic intellect in search of truth or exposure of error. Akindly, worthy people, the Germans, but wearing on occasions. 

The party separated, Canby for Mobile, I for Meridian, where within twodays came news of Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, the capture ofPresident Davis in Georgia, and notice from Canby that the truce mustterminate, as his Government disavowed the Johnston-Sherman convention. I informed General Canby that I desired to meet him for the purpose ofnegotiating a surrender of my forces, and that Commodore Farrand wouldaccompany me to meet Admiral Thatcher. The military and civilauthorities of the Confederacy had fallen, and I was called toadminister on the ruins as residuary legatee. It seemed absurd for thefew there present to continue the struggle against a million of men. Wecould only secure honorable interment for the remains of our cause--acause that for four years had fixed the attention of the world, beenbaptized in the blood of thousands, and whose loss would be mourned inbitter tears by countless widows and orphans throughout their lives. Atthe time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind, but such have since crept in. Many Southern warriors, from the hustingsand in print, have declared that they were anxious to die in the lastditch, and by implication were restrained from so doing by the readinessof their generals to surrender. One is not permitted to question thesincerity of these declarations, which have received the approval ofpublic opinion by the elevation of the heroes uttering them to suchoffices as the people of the South have to bestow; and popular opinionin our land is a court from whose decisions there is no appeal on thisside of the grave. 

On the 8th of May, 1865, at Citronelle, forty miles north of Mobile, Idelivered the epilogue of the great drama in which I had played a humblepart. The terms of surrender demanded and granted were consistent withthe honor of our arms; and it is due to the memory of General Canby toadd that he was ready with suggestions to soothe our military pride. Officers retained their side arms, mounted men their horses, which inour service were private property; and public stores, ordnance, commissary, and quartermaster, were to be turned over to officers of theproper departments and receipted for. Paroles of the men were to besigned by their officers on rolls made out for the purpose, and I was toretain control of railways and river steamers to transport the troops asnearly as possible to their homes and feed them on the road, in order tospare the destitute people of the country the burden of theirmaintenance. Railways and steamers, though used by the Confederateauthorities, were private property, and had been taken by force whichthe owners could not resist; and it was agreed that they should not beseized by civil jackals following the army without special orders fromWashington. Finally, I was to notify Canby when to send his officers tomy camp to receive paroles and stores. 

Near the Tombigby River, to the east of Meridian, were many thousands ofbales of cotton, belonging to the Confederate Government and in chargeof a treasury agent. It seemed to me a duty to protect public propertyand transfer it to the United States, successors by victory to theextinct Confederacy. Accordingly, a guard had been placed over thiscotton, though I hated the very name of the article, as the source ofmuch corruption to our people. Canby remarked that cotton had been acurse to his side as well, and he would send to New Orleans for a UnitedStates Treasury agent, so that we might rid ourselves of this at theearliest moment. The conditions of surrender written out and signed, wehad some conversation about the state of the country, disposition of thepeople, etc. I told him that all were weary of strife, and he would meetno opposition in any quarter, and pointed out places in the interiorwhere supplies could be had, recommending him to station troops at suchplaces. I was persuaded that moderation by his officers and men wouldlead to intercourse, traffic, and good feeling with the people. Hethanked me for the suggestions, and adopted them. 

The Governors of Mississippi and Alabama, Clarke and Watts, had askedfor advice in the emergency produced by surrender, which they had beeninformed was impending, and I thought their best course would be tosummon their State Legislatures. These would certainly provide forconventions of the people to repeal ordinances of secession and abolishslavery, thus smoothing the way for the restoration of their States tothe Union. Such action would be in harmony with the theory and practiceof the American system, and clear the road of difficulties. The North, by its Government, press, and people, had been declaring for years thatthe war was for the preservation of the Union and for nothing else, andCanby and I, in the innocence of our hearts, believed it. As Canbythought well of my plan, I communicated with the Governors, who acted onit; but the Washington authorities imprisoned them for abetting a newrebellion. 

Returned to Meridian, I was soon ready for the Federal officers, whocame quietly to our camp and entered on their appointed work; and I havenow in my possession receipts given by them for public stores. Meanwhile, I received from Canby a letter informing me that he haddirected two of his corps commanders, Generals Steele and Granger, toapply to me for instructions concerning the movement of their troops, asto time, places, and numbers. It was queer for one to be placed in_quasi_ command of soldiers that he had been fighting for four years, and to whom he had surrendered; but I delicately made some suggestionsto these officers, which were adopted. 

With two or three staff officers, I remained at Meridian until the lastman had departed, and then went to Mobile. General Canby mostconsiderately took me, Tom, and my two horses on his boat to NewOrleans; else I must have begged my way. The Confederate paper (notcurrency, for it was without exchangeable value) in my pocket would nothave served for traveling expenses; and my battered old sword couldhardly be relied on for breakfasts, dinners, and horse feed. 

After an absence of four years, I saw my native place and home, NewOrleans. My estate had been confiscated and sold, and I was without apenny. The man of Uz admitted that naked he came into the world, andnaked must leave it; but to find himself naked in the midst of it triedeven his patience. My first care was to sell my horses, and a purchaserwas found who agreed to take and pay for them the following morning. Ifelt somewhat eager to get hold of the "greenbacks, " and suffered for myavarice. The best horse, one that had carried me many a weary mile andday without failing, could not move a hoof when the purchaser came totake him. Like other veterans, long unaccustomed to abundance of prog, he had overfed and was badly foundered. Fortunately, the liverymanproposed to take this animal as a consideration for the keep of the two, and the price received for the other would suffice to bring my wife andchildren from the Red River to New Orleans, and was sent to them forthat purpose. 

Awaiting the arrival of my family, I had a few days of rest at the houseof an old friend, when Generals Price, Buckner, and Brent came fromShreveport, the headquarters of the "Trans-Mississippi Department, "under flag of truce, and sent for me. They reported a deplorablecondition of affairs in that region. Many of the troops had taken up theidea that it was designed to inveigle them into Mexico, and were greatlyincensed. Some generals of the highest rank had found it convenient tofold their tents and quietly leave for the Rio Grande; others, whoremained, were obliged to keep their horses in their quarters and guardthem in person; and numbers of men had disbanded and gone off. By ameeting of officers, the gentlemen present were deputed to make asurrender and ask for Federal troops to restore order. The officers inquestion requested me to be present at their interview with GeneralCanby, who also invited me, and I witnessed the conclusion. So, from theCharleston Convention to this point, I shared the fortunes of theConfederacy, and can say, as Grattan did of Irish freedom, that I "satby its cradle and followed its hearse. "

For some weeks after my return to New Orleans, I had various occasionsto see General Canby on matters connected with the surrender, and recallno instance in which he did not conform to my wishes. Narrow perhaps inhis view, and harsh in discharge of duty, he was just, upright, andhonorable, and it was with regret that I learned of his murder by a bandof Modoc savages. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CRITICISMS AND REFLECTIONS. 

The military collapse of the South was sudden and unexpected to theworld without, but by no means so to some within. I happen to know thatone or two of our ablest and most trusted generals concurred with me inopinion that the failure at Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg inJuly, 1863, should have taught the Confederate Government and people thenecessity of estimating the chances for defeat; but soldiers in thefield can not give utterance to such opinions unless expressly solicitedby the civil head of their government, and even then are liable tomisconstruction. 

Of many of the important battles of the civil war I have written, anddesire to dwell somewhat on Shiloh, but will first say a few words aboutGettysburg, because of recent publications there-anent. 

Some facts concerning this battle are established beyond dispute. In thefirst day's fighting a part of Lee's army defeated a part of Meade's. Intending to continue the contest on that field, a commander not smittenby idiocy would desire to concentrate and push the advantage gained byprevious success and its resultant _morale_. But, instead of attackingat dawn, Lee's attack was postponed until afternoon of the followingday, in consequence of the absence of Longstreet's corps. Federalofficial reports show that some of Meade's corps reached him on thesecond day, several hours after sunrise, and one or two late in theafternoon. It is positively asserted by many officers present, and ofhigh rank and character, that Longstreet was nearer to Lee on the firstday than Meade's reënforcing corps to their chief, and even nearer thana division of Ewell's corps, which reached the field in time to share inthe first day's success. Now, it nowhere appears in Lee's report ofGettysburg that he ordered Longstreet to him or blamed him fortardiness; but his report admits errors, and quietly takes theresponsibility for them on his own broad shoulders. A recent article inthe public press, signed by General Longstreet, ascribes the failure atGettysburg to Lee's mistakes, which he (Longstreet) in vain pointed outand remonstrated against. That any subject involving the possession andexercise of intellect should be clear to Longstreet and concealed fromLee, is a startling proposition to those having knowledge of the twomen. We have Biblical authority for the story that the angel in the pathwas visible to the ass, though unseen by the seer his master; butsuppose, instead of smiting the honest, stupid animal, Balaam hadcaressed him and then been kicked by him, how would the story read? Andthus much concerning Gettysburg. 

Shiloh was a great misfortune. At the moment of his fall SidneyJohnston, with all the energy of his nature, was pressing on the routedfoe. Crouching under the bank of the Tennessee River, Grant washelpless. One short hour more of life to Johnston would have completedhis destruction. The second in command, Beauregard, was on another anddistant part of the field, and before he could gather the reins ofdirection darkness fell and stopped pursuit. During the night Buellreached the northern bank of the river and crossed his troops. Wallace, with a fresh division, got up from below. Together, they advanced in themorning, found the Confederates rioting in the plunder of capturedcamps, and drove them back with loss. But all this was as nothingcompared to the calamity of Johnston's death. 

Educated at West Point, Johnston remained for eight years in the army ofthe United States, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the details ofmilitary duty. Resigning to aid the cause of the infant Republic ofTexas, he became her Adjutant-General, Senior Brigadier, and Secretaryof War. During our contest with Mexico, he raised a regiment of Texansto join General Zachary Taylor, and was greatly distinguished in thefighting around and capture of Monterey. General Taylor, with whom theearly years of his service had been passed, declared him to be the bestsoldier he had ever commanded. More than once I have heard GeneralZachary Taylor express this opinion. Two cavalry regiments were added tothe United States army in 1854, and to the colonelcy of one of theseJohnston was appointed. Subsequently, a brigadier by brevet, hecommanded the expedition against the Mormons in Utah. 

Thus he brought to the Southern cause a civil and military experiencesurpassing that of any other leader. Born in Kentucky, descended from anhonorable colonial race, connected by marriage with influential familiesin the West, where his life had been passed, he was peculiarly fitted tocommand western armies. With him at the helm, there would have been noVicksburg, no Missionary Ridge, no Atlanta. His character was lofty andpure, his presence and demeanor dignified and courteous, with thesimplicity of a child; and he at once inspired the respect and gainedthe confidence of cultivated gentlemen and rugged frontiersmen. 

Besides, he had passed through the furnace of ignorant newspapers, hotter than that of the Babylonian tyrant. Commanding some raw, unequipped forces at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the habitual Americanexaggeration represented him as at the head of a vast army prepared andeager for conquest. Before time was given him to organize and train hismen, the absurdly constructed works on his left flank were captured. AtFort Donelson on the Cumberland were certain political generals, who, with a self-abnegation worthy of Plutarch's heroes, were anxious to getaway and leave the glory and renown of defense to others. Johnston wasin no sense responsible for the construction of the forts, nor theassignment to their command of these self-denying warriors; but his lineof communication was uncovered by their fall, and he was compelled toretire to the southern bank of the Tennessee River. From theenlighteners of public opinion a howl of wrath came forth, and Johnston, who had just been Alexander, Hannibal, Cæsar, Napoleon, was now amiserable dastard and traitor, unfit to command a corporal's guard. President Davis sought to console him, and some of the noblest linesever penned by man were written by Johnston in reply. They even wrungtears of repentance from the pachyderms who had attacked him, and willbe a text and consolation to future commanders, who serve a countrytolerant of an ignorant and licentious press. Like pure gold, he cameforth from the furnace above the reach of slander, the foremost man ofall the South; and had it been possible for one heart, one mind, and onearm to save her cause, she lost them when Albert Sidney Johnston fell onthe field of Shiloh. 

As soon after the war as she was permitted, the Commonwealth of Texasremoved his remains from New Orleans, to inter them in a land he hadlong and faithfully served. I was honored by a request to accompany thecoffin from the cemetery to the steamer; and as I gazed upon it therearose the feeling of the Theban who, after the downfall of the glory andindependence of his country, stood by the tomb of Epaminondas. 

"Amid the clash of arms laws are silent, " and so was Confederatestatesmanship; or at least, of its objects, efforts, and expectationslittle is known, save the abortive mission of Messrs. Stevens, Hunter, and Campbell to Fortress Monroe in the last months of the struggle, andabout this there has recently been an unseemly wrangle. 

The followers of the Calhoun school, who controlled the Government, heldthe right of secession to be too clear for discussion. The adverseargument of Mr. Webster, approved by a large majority of the Northernpeople, was considered to be founded on lust of power, not on reason. The governments of western Europe, with judgments unclouded byselfishness, would at once acknowledge it. France, whose policy sincethe days of the eleventh Louis had been one of intense centralization, and Germany and Italy, whose hopes and aspirations were in the samedirection, would admit it, while England would not be restrained byanti-slavery sentiment. Indeed, the statesmen of these countries haddevoted much time to the study of the Constitution of the UnitedStates, knew that it was a compact, and were in complete harmony withthe opinions of Mr. Calhoun. There was to be no revolution, for this, though justified by oppression, involved the recognition of some measureof obligation to the Union, from which the right to secede was manifest. Hence the haste to manufacture a paper constitution, in which the powersof different departments were as carefully weighed as are dangerousdrugs by dispensing chemists. Hence two houses of Congress, refuge formischievous twaddlers to worry the executive and embarrass the armies. Hence the Governor Browns, who, reasoning that one State had as muchright to disagree with eleven as eleven with twenty, declared each oftheir hamlets of more importance than the cities of others. While thesections were marching through the streets, with pikes crowned by goryheads, and clamoring for more, Sieyès had his pockets stuffed withconstitutions and felt that his country was safe. It is not pretendedthat these ideas were entertained by the larger part of the Southernpeople, or were confessed by the ruling minority; but they existed, nevertheless, under different forms. 

Aggrieved by the action and tendencies of the Federal Government, andapprehending worse in the future, a majority of the people of the Southapproved secession as the only remedy suggested by their leaders. Sotravelers enter railway carriages, and are dragged up grades and throughtunnels with utter loss of volition, the motive power, generated byfierce heat, being far in advance and beyond their control. 

We set up a monarch, too, King Cotton, and hedged him with a divinitysurpassing that of earthly potentates. To doubt his royalty and powerwas a confession of ignorance or cowardice. This potent spirit, at thenod of our Prosperos, the cotton-planters, would arrest every loom andspindle in New England, destroy her wealth, and reduce her population tobeggary. The power of Old England, the growth of eight hundred years, was to wither as the prophet's gourd unless she obeyed its behests. Anda right "tricksy spirit" it proved indeed. There was a complete mentalderangement on this subject. The Government undertook to own all cottonthat could be exported. Four millions of bales, belonging to manythousands of individuals, could be disposed of to better advantage bythe Government than by the proprietors; and this was enforced by ourauthorities, whose ancestors for generations had been resisting theintrusion of governments into private business. All cotton, as well asnaval stores, that was in danger of falling into the enemy's possession, was, by orders based on legislative enactment, to be burned; and thispolicy continued to the end. It was fully believed that this destructionwould appall our enemies and convince the world of our earnestness. Possibly there was a lurking idea that it was necessary to convinceourselves. 

In their long struggle for independence, the Dutch trafficked freelywith the Spaniards, got rich by the trade, paid enormous taxes tosupport the war, and achieved their liberty. But the Dutch fought to ridthemselves of a tyrant, while our first care was to set up one, Cotton, and worship it. Rules of common sense were not applicable to it. TheGrand Monarque could not eat his dinners or take his emetics likeordinary mortals. Our people were much debauched by it. I writeadvisedly, for during the last two and a half years of the war Icommanded in the State of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the greatproducing States. Out-post officers would violate the law, and trade. Invain were they removed; the temptation was too strong, and theirsuccessors did the same. The influence on the women was dreadful, and inmany cases their appeals were heartrending. Mothers with sufferingchildren, whose husbands were in the war or already fallen, wouldbeseech me for permits to take cotton through the lines. It was uselessto explain that it was against law and orders, and that I was withoutauthority to act. This did not give food and clothing to their children, and they departed, believing me to be an unfeeling brute. In fact, theinstincts of humanity revolted against this folly. 

It is with no pleasure that I have dwelt on the foregoing topics, butthe world can not properly estimate the fortitude of the Southern peopleunless it understands and takes account of the difficulties under whichthey labored. Yet, great as were their sufferings during the war, theywere as nothing compared to those inflicted upon them after its close. 

Extinction of slavery was expected by all and regretted by none, although loss of slaves destroyed the value of land. Existing since theearliest colonization of the Southern States, the institution wasinterwoven with the thoughts, habits, and daily lives of both races, andboth suffered by the sudden disruption of the accustomed tie. Bankstocks, bonds, all personal property, all accumulated wealth, haddisappeared. Thousands of houses, farm-buildings, work-animals, flocksand herds, had been wantonly burned, killed, or carried off. The landwas filled with widows and orphans crying for aid, which the universaldestitution prevented them from receiving. Humanitarians shuddered withhorror and wept with grief for the imaginary woes of Africans; but theirhearts were as adamant to people of their own race and blood. These hadcommitted the unpardonable sin, had wickedly rebelled against the Lord'sanointed, the majority. Blockaded during the war, and without journalsto guide opinion and correct error, we were unceasingly slandered by ourenemies, who held possession of every avenue to the world's ear. 

Famine and pestilence have ever followed war, as if our Mother Earthresented the defilement of her fair bosom by blood, and generated fataldiseases to punish humanity for its crimes. But there fell upon theSouth a calamity surpassing any recorded in the annals or traditions ofman. An article in the "North American Review, " from the pen of JudgeBlack, well describes this new curse, the carpet-baggers, as worse thanAttila, scourge of God. He could only destroy existing fruits, while, bythe modern invention of public credit, these caterans stole the labor ofunborn generations. Divines, moralists, orators, and poets throughoutthe North commended their thefts and bade them God-speed in spoiling theEgyptians; and the reign of these harpies is not yet over. Driven fromthe outworks, they hold the citadel. The epithet of August, firstapplied to the mighty Julius and to his successor Octavius, wascontinued, by force of habit, to the slobbering Claudius; and so of theSenate of the United States, which august body contained in March lastseveral of these freebooters. Honest men regarded them as monsters, generated in the foul ooze of a past era, that had escaped destructionto linger in a wholesomer age; and their speedy extinction was expected, when another, the most hideous of the species, was admitted. Thisspecimen had been kept by force of bayonets for four years upon thenecks of an unwilling people, had no title to a seat in the Senate, andwas notoriously despised by every inhabitant of the State which he wasseated to misrepresent. The Senators composing the majority by whichthis was done acted under solemn oaths to do the right; but the Jove ofparty laughs at vows of politicians. Twelve years of triumph have notserved to abate the hate of the victors in the great war. The lastpresidential canvass was but a crusade of vengeance against the South. The favorite candidate of his party for the nomination, though in theprime of vigor, had not been in the field, to which his eloquent appealssent thousands, but preferred the pleasanter occupation of making moneyat home. He had converted the power of his great place, that of Speakerof the House of Representatives, into lucre, and was exposed. By mingledchicanery and audacity he obtained possession of his own criminatingletters, flourished them in the face of the House, and, in the Cambysesvein, called on his people to rally and save the luster of his loyaltyfrom soil at the hands of rebels; and they came. From all the Northready acclaims went up, and women shed tears of joy, such as in KingArthur's day rewarded some peerless deed of Galahad. In truth, it was amanly thing to hide dishonorable plunder beneath the prostrate body ofthe South. The Emperor Commodus, in full panoply, met in the arenadisabled and unarmed gladiators. The servile Romans applauded his easyvictories. Ancient Pistol covers with patches the ignoble scabs of acorrupt life. The vulgar herd believes them to be wounds received in theGallic wars, as it once believed in the virtue and patriotism of Maratand Barrère. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Divine Moralist instructed his hearersto forgive those who had injured them; but He knew too well the maliceof the human heart to expect them to forgive those whom they hadinjured. The leaders of the radical masses of the North have inflictedsuch countless and cruel wrongs on the Southern people as to forbid anyhope of disposition or ability to forgive their victims; and the landwill have no rest until the last of these persecutors has passed intooblivion. 

During all these years the conduct of the Southern people has beenadmirable. Submitting to the inevitable, they have shown fortitude anddignity, and rarely has one been found base enough to take wages ofshame from the oppressor and maligner of his brethren. Accepting theharshest conditions and faithfully observing them, they have struggledin all honorable ways, and for what? For their slaves? Regret for theirloss has neither been felt nor expressed. But they have striven for thatwhich brought our forefathers to Runnymede, the privilege of exercisingsome influence in their own government. Yet we fought for nothing butslavery, says the world, and the late Vice-President of the Confederacy, Mr. Alexander Stephens, reëchoes the cry, declaring that it was thecorner-stone of his Government. 

CHAPTER XV. 

RECONSTRUCTION UNDER JOHNSON. 

The following considerations induced me to make a pilgrimage toWashington, where, by accident of fortune, I had a larger acquaintancewith influential politicians than other Southern commanders. When theWhig party dissolved, most of its Northern members joined theRepublicans, and now belonged to the reigning faction; and I hadconsorted with many of them while my father was President and afterward. 

Mention has been made of the imprisonment of Governors Clarke and Wattsfor adopting my advice, and it was but right for me to make an effort tohave them released. Moreover, Jefferson Davis was a prisoner in irons, and it was known that his health was feeble. Lee, Johnston, and I, withour officers and men, were at large, protected by the terms of oursurrenders--terms which General Grant had honorably prevented the civilauthorities from violating. If Mr. Davis had sinned, we all were guilty, and I could not rest without making an attempt for his relief. 

At the time, it was understood that prisoners on parole should notchange their residence without military permission, and leave to go toNew York was asked and obtained of General Canby. By steamer I reachedthat place in a week, and found that General Dix had just been relievedby General Hooker, to whom I at once reported. He uttered a shout ofwelcome (we were old acquaintances), declared that he was more pleasedto see me than to see a church (which was doubtless true), madehospitable suggestions of luncheon, champagne, etc. , and gave me apermit to go to Washington, regretting that he could not keep me withhim. A warm-hearted fellow is "fighting Joe, " who carried on war like asoldier. 

In Washington, at Willard's--a huge inn, filled from garret to cellarwith a motley crowd--an acquaintance, whom I chanced to meet, informedme that a recent disturbance had induced the belief of the existence ofa new plot for assassination, and an order had been published forbiddingrebels to approach the capital without the permission of the WarSecretary. Having been at sea for a week, I knew nothing of this, andHooker had not mentioned it when he gave me the permit to come toWashington. My informant apprehended my arrest, and kindly undertook toprotect me. Through his intervention I received from the President, Andrew Johnson, permission to stay or go where I chose, with aninvitation to visit him at a stated time. 

Presenting myself at the "White House, " I was ushered in to thePresident--a saturnine man, who made no return to my bow, but, afterlooking at me, asked me to take a seat. Upon succeeding to power Mr. Johnson breathed fire and hemp against the South, proclaimed that hewould make treason odious by hanging traitors, and ordered the arrest ofGeneral Lee and others, when he was estopped by the action of GeneralGrant. He had now somewhat abated his wolfish desire for vengeance, andasked many questions about the condition of the South, temper of thepeople, etc. I explained the conduct of Governors Clarke and Watts, howthey were imprisoned for following my advice, submitted to and approvedby General Canby, who would hardly have abetted a new rebellion; and hemade memoranda of their cases, as well as of those of many otherprisoners, confined in different forts from Boston to Savannah, all ofwhom were released within a short period. Fearing to trespass on histime, I left with a request that he would permit me to call again, as Ihad a matter of much interest to lay before him, and was told the hoursat which I would be received. 

Thence to the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, who in former Whig times, as Senator from New York, had been a warm supporter of my father'sadministration. He greeted me cordially, and asked me to dine. A loin ofveal was the _pièce de résistance_ of his dinner, and he calledattention to it as evidence that he had killed the fatted calf towelcome the returned prodigal. Though not entirely recovered from theinjuries received in a fall from his carriage and the wounds inflictedby the knife of Payne, he was cheerful, and appeared to sympathize withthe objects of my mission--at least, so far as I could gather hismeaning under the cloud of words with which he was accustomed to coverthe slightest thought. One or two other members of the Cabinet, to whomMr. Seward presented me, were also favorably inclined. One, the WarSecretary, I did not meet. A spy under Buchanan, a tyrant under Lincoln, and a traitor to Johnson, this man was as cruel and crafty as Domitian. I never saw him. In the end conscience, long dormant, came as Alecto, and he was not; and the temple of Justice, on whose threshold he stood, escaped profanation. 

In a second interview, President Johnson heard the wish I had so much atheart, permission to visit Jefferson Davis. He pondered for some time, then replied that I must wait and call again. 

Meantime, an opportunity to look upon the amazing spectacle presented bythe dwellers at the capital was afforded. The things seen by thePilgrims in a dream were at this Vanity Fair visible in the flesh: "allsuch merchandise sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, states, lusts, pleasures; and delights of all sorts, asbawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, greenbacks, pearls, precious stones, and what not. " Theeye of the inspired tinker had pierced the darkness of two hundredyears, and seen what was to come. The martial tread of hundreds ofvolunteer generals, just disbanded, resounded in the streets. Gorgedwith loot, they spent it as lavishly as Morgan's buccaneers after thesack of Panama. Their women sat at meat or walked the highways, resplendent in jewels, spoil of Southern matrons. The camp-followers ofthe army were here in high carnival, and in character and numbersrivaled the attendants of Xerxes. Courtesans swarmed everywhere, aboutthe inns, around the Capitol, in the antechambers of the "White House, "and were brokers for the transaction of all business. Of a tolerantdisposition and with a wide experience of earthly wickedness, I did notfeel called upon to cry aloud against these enormities, remembering thefate of Faithful; but I had some doubts concerning divine justice; forwhy were the "cities of the Plain" overthrown and this place suffered toexist?

The officers of the army on duty at Washington were very civil to me, especially General Grant, whom I had known prior to and during theMexican war, as a modest, amiable, but by no means promising lieutenantin a marching regiment. He came frequently to see me, was full ofkindness, and anxious to promote my wishes. His action in preventingviolation of the terms of surrender, and a subsequent report that hemade of the condition of the South--a report not at all pleasing to theradicals--endeared him to all Southern men. Indeed, he was in a positionto play a rôle second only to that of Washington, who founded therepublic; for he had the power to restore it. His bearing and conduct atthis time were admirable, modest and generous; and I talked much withhim of the noble and beneficent work before him. While his heart seemedto respond, he declared his ignorance of and distaste for politics andpoliticians, with which and whom he intended to have nothing to do, butconfine himself to his duties of commander-in-chief of the army. Yet heexpressed a desire for the speedy restoration of good feeling betweenthe sections, and an intention to advance it in all proper ways. Weshall see when and under what influences he adopted other views. 

The President put me off from day to day, receiving me to talk aboutSouthern affairs, but declining to give an answer to my requests. Ifound that he always postponed action, and was of an obstinate, suspicious temper. Like a badger, one had to dig him out of his hole;and he was ever in one except when on the hustings, addressing thecrowd. Of humble birth, a tailor by trade, nature gave him a strongintellect, and he had learned to read after his marriage. He hadacquired much knowledge of the principles of government, and madehimself a fluent speaker, but could not rise above the level of theclass in which he was born and to which he always appealed. He wellunderstood the few subjects laboriously studied, and affected to despiseother knowledge, while suspicious that those possessing such would takeadvantage of him. Self-educated men, as they are called, deprived of theside light thrown on a particular subject by instruction in cognatematters, are narrow and dogmatic, and, with an uneasy consciousness ofignorance, soothe their own vanity by underrating the studies of others. To the vanity of this class he added that of the demagogue (I use theterm in its better sense), and called the wise policy left him by hispredecessor "my policy. " Compelled to fight his way up from obscurity, he had contracted a dislike of those more favored of fortune, whom hewas in the habit of calling "the slave-aristocracy, " and becameincapable of giving his confidence to any one, even to those on whoseassistance he relied in a contest, just now beginning, with theCongress. 

President Johnson never made a dollar by public office, abstained fromquartering a horde of connections on the Treasury, refused to upholdrogues in high places, and had too just a conception of the dignity of achief magistrate to accept presents. It may be said that these arehumble qualities for a citizen to boast the possession of by a Presidentof the United States. As well claim respect for a woman of one's familyon the ground that she has preserved her virtue. Yet all whose eyes werenot blinded by partisanship, whose manhood was not emasculated byservility, would in these last years have welcomed the least of them asmanna in the desert. 

The President, between whom and the Congressional leaders the seeds ofdiscord were already sown, dallied with me from day to day, and atlength said that it would spare him embarrassment if I could induceStevens, Davis, and others of the House, and Sumner of the Senate, torecommend the permission to visit Jefferson Davis; and I immediatelyaddressed myself to this unpleasant task. 

Thaddeus Stevens received me with as much civility as he was capable of. Deformed in body and temper like Caliban, this was the Lord Hategood ofthe fair; but he was frankness itself. He wanted no restoration of theUnion under the Constitution, which he called a worthless bit of oldparchment. The white people of the South ought never again to be trustedwith power, for they would inevitably unite with the Northern"Copperheads" and control the Government. The only sound policy was toconfiscate the lands and divide them among the negroes, to whom, sooneror later, suffrage must be given. Touching the matter in hand, Johnsonwas a fool to have captured Davis, whom it would have been wiser toassist in escaping. Nothing would be done with him, as the executive hadonly pluck enough to hang two poor devils such as Wirtz and Mrs. Surratt. Had the leading traitors been promptly strung up, well; but thetime for that had passed. (Here, I thought, he looked lovingly at myneck, as Petit André was wont to do at those of his merry-go-rounds. ) Heconcluded by saying that it was silly to refuse me permission to visitJefferson Davis, but he would not say so publicly, as he had no desireto relieve Johnson of responsibility. 

There was no excuse for longer sporting with this radical Amarylliseither in shade or in sunshine; so I sought Henry Winter Davis. Like thefallen angel, Davis preferred to rule in hell rather than serve inheaven or on earth. With the head of Medusa and the eye of the Basilisk, he might have represented Siva in a Hindoo temple, and was even moreinaccessible to sentiment than Thaddeus Stevens. Others, too numerousand too insignificant to particularize, were seen. These were thecuttle-fish of the party, whose appointed duty it was to obscure popularvision by clouds of loyal declamation. As Sicilian banditti prepare forrobberies and murders by pious offerings on shrines of favorite saints, these brought out the altar of the "nation, " and devoted themselvesafresh, whenever "Crédits Mobiliers" and kindred enormities were afoot, and sharpened every question of administration, finance, law, taxation, on the grindstone of sectional hate. So sputtering tugs tow from hermoorings the stately ship, to send her forth to winds and waves ofocean, caring naught for the cargo with which she is freighted, but, grimy in zeal to earn fees, return to seek another. 

Hopeless of obtaining assistance from such statesmen, I visited Mr. Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts, who received me pleasantly. A rebel, a slave-driver, and, without the culture of Boston, ignorant, Iwas an admirable vessel into which he could pour the inexhaustiblestream of his acquired eloquence. I was delighted to listen to beautifulpassages from the classic as well as modern poets, dramatists, philosophers, and orators, and recalled the anecdote of the man sittingunder a fluent divine, who could not refrain from muttering, "That isJeremy Taylor; that, South; that, Barrow, " etc. It was difficult tosuppress the thought, while Mr. Sumner was talking, "That is Burke, orHoward, Wilberforce, Brougham, Macaulay, Harriet Beecher Stowe, ExeterHall, " etc. ; but I failed to get down to the particular subject thatinterested me. The nearest approach to the practical was hisdisquisition on negro suffrage, which he thought should be accompaniedby education. I ventured to suggest that negro education should precedesuffrage, observing that some held the opinion that the capacity of thewhite race for government was limited, although accumulated andtransmitted through many centuries. He replied that "the ignorance ofthe negro was due to the tyranny of the whites, " which appeared in hisview to dispose of the question of the former's incapacity. He seemedover-educated--had retained, not digested his learning; and beautifulflowers of literature were attached to him by filaments of memory, aslovely orchids to sapless sticks. Hence he failed to understand theforce of language, and became the victim of his own metaphors, mistakingthem for facts. He had the irritable vanity and weak nerves of a woman, and was bold to rashness in speculation, destitute as he was of theordinary masculine sense of responsibility. Yet I hold him to have beenthe purest and most sincere man of his party. A lover, nay, a devotee ofliberty, he thoroughly understood that it could only be preserved byupholding the supremacy of civil law, and would not sanction thegarrison methods of President Grant. Without vindictiveness, he forgavehis enemies as soon as they were overthrown, and one of the last effortsof his life was to remove from the flag of a common country all recordsof victories that perpetuated the memory of civil strife. 

Foiled in this direction, I worried the President, as old Mustard woulda stot, until he wrote the permission so long solicited. By steamer fromBaltimore I went down Chesapeake Bay, and arrived at Fortress Monroe inthe early morning. General Burton, the commander, whose civility wasmarked, and who bore himself like a gentleman and soldier, received meon the dock and took me to his quarters to breakfast, and to await thetime to see Mr. Davis. 

It was with some emotion that I reached the casemate in which Mr. Daviswas confined. There were two rooms, in the outer of which, near theentrance, stood a sentinel, and in the inner was Jefferson Davis. We metin silence, with grasp of hands. After an interval he said, "This iskind, but no more than I expected of you. " Pallid, worn, gray, bent, feeble, suffering from inflammation of the eyes, he was a painful sightto a friend. He uttered no plaint, and made no allusion to the irons(which had been removed); said the light kept all night in his room hurthis eyes a little, and, added to the noise made every two hours byrelieving the sentry, prevented much sleep; but matters had changed forthe better since the arrival of General Burton, who was all kindness, and strained his orders to the utmost in his behalf. I told him of myreception at Washington by the President, Mr. Seward, and others, of theattentions of Generals Grant and Humphreys, who promoted my wish to seehim, and that with such aid I was confident of obtaining permission forhis wife to stay with him. I could solicit favors for him, havingdeclined any for myself. Indeed, the very accident of position, thatenabled me to get access to the governing authorities, made indecenteven the supposition of my acceptance of anything personal while asingle man remained under the ban for serving the Southern cause; andtherefore I had no fear of misconstruction. Hope of meeting his familycheered him much, and he asked questions about the condition andprospects of the South, which I answered as favorably as possible, passing over things that would have grieved him. In some way he hadlearned of attacks on his character and conduct, made by some Southerncurs, thinking to ingratiate themselves with the ruling powers. I couldnot deny this, but remarked that the curse of unexpected defeat andsuffering was to develop the basest passions of the human heart. Had heescaped out of the country, it was possible he might have been made ascapegoat by the Southern people, and, great as were the sufferings thathe had endured, they were as nothing to coward stabs from beloved hands. The attacks mentioned were few, and too contemptible for notice; for nowhis calamities had served to endear him to all. I think that he derivedconsolation from this view. 

The day passed with much talk of a less disturbing character, and in theevening I returned to Baltimore and Washington. After some delay Mr. Davis's family was permitted to join him, and he speedily recoveredstrength. Later I made a journey or two to Richmond, Virginia, onbusiness connected with his trial, then supposed to be impending. 

The slight service, if simple discharge of duty can be so called, I wasenabled to render Mr. Davis, was repaid ten thousand fold. In the monthof March, 1875, my devoted wife was released from suffering, long andpatiently endured, originating in grief for the loss of her children andexposure during the war. Smitten by this calamity, to which all that hadgone before seemed as blessings, I stood by her coffin, ere it wasclosed, to look for the last time upon features that death had respectedand restored to their girlish beauty. Mr. Davis came to my side, andstooped reverently to touch the fair brow, when the tenderness of hisheart overcame him and he burst into tears. His example completelyunnerved me for the time, but was of service in the end. For manysucceeding days he came to me, and was as gentle as a young mother withher suffering infant. Memory will ever recall Jefferson Davis as hestood with me by the coffin. 

Duty to imprisoned friends and associates discharged, I returned to NewOrleans, and remained for some weeks, when an untoward event occurred, productive of grave consequences. The saints and martyrs who haveattained worldly success have rarely declined to employ the temporalmeans of sinners. While calling on Hercules, they put their ownshoulders to the wheel, and, in the midst of prayer, keep their powderdry. To prepare for the reëlection of President Lincoln in 1864, pretended State governments had been set up by the Federal military inseveral Southern States, where fragments of territory were occupied. Inthe event of a close election in the North, the electoral votes in thesemanufactured States would be under the control of the executiveauthority, and serve to determine the result. For some years theSouthern States were used as thimble-riggers use peas: now they wereunder the cup of the Union, and now they were out. During his reign inNew Orleans the Federal General Banks had prepared a Louisiana pea forthe above purpose. 

At this time negro suffrage, as yet an unaccomplished purpose, was inthe air, and the objective point of radical effort. To aid the movement, surviving accomplices of the Banks fraud were instigated to call a"State Convention" in Louisiana, though with no more authority so to dothan they had to call the British Parliament. The people of New Orleansregarded the enterprise as those of London did the proposed meeting oftailors in Tooley street; and just before this debating society was toassemble, the Federal commander, General Sheridan, selected especiallyto restrain the alleged turbulent population of the city, started on anexcursion to Texas, proving that he attached no importance to the matterand anticipated no disturbance. 

Living in close retirement, I had forgotten all about the "Convention. "Happening to go to the center of the town, from my residence in theupper suburb, the day on which it met, on descending from the carriageof the tramway I heard pistol shots and saw a crowd of roughs, Arabs, and negroes running across Canal Street. I walked in the direction ofthe noise to inquire the cause of excitement, as there was nothingvisible to justify it. The crowd seemed largely composed of boys of fromtwelve to fifteen, and negroes. I met no acquaintance, and could obtainno information, when a negro came flying past, pursued by a white boy, certainly not above fifteen years of age, with a pistol in hand. Istopped the boy without difficulty, and made him tell what he was up to. He said the niggers were having a meeting at Mechanics' Institute totake away his vote. When asked how long he had enjoyed that inestimableright of a freeman, the boy gave it up, pocketed his "Derringer, " andwalked off. 

By this time the row appeared to be over, so I went on my way withoutseeing the building called Mechanics' Institute, as it was around thecorner near which the boy was stopped. Speedily the town was filled withexcitement, and Baird, the Federal commander in the absence of Sheridan, occupied the streets with troops and arrested the movements of citizens. Many poor negroes had been killed most wantonly, indignation ran highamong decent people, and the perpetrators of the bloody deeds deservedand would have received swift, stern punishment had civil law beenpermitted to act. But this did not suit the purposes of the radicals, who rejoiced as Torquemada might have done when the discovery of a scoreof heretics furnished him an excuse to torment and destroy a province. Applying the theory of the detective police, that among thebeneficiaries of crime must be sought the perpetrators, one wouldconclude that the radical leaders prompted the assassination of Lincolnand the murder of negroes; for they alone derived profit from theseacts. 

From this time forth the entire white race of the South devoted itselfto the killing of negroes. It appeared to be an inherent tendency in aslave-driver to murder a negro. It was a law of his being, as of themonkey's to steal nuts, and could not be resisted. Thousands uponthousands were slain. Favorite generals kept lists in their pockets, proving time, place, and numbers, even to the smallest piccaninny. Nay, such was the ferocity of the slave-drivers, that unborn infants wereripped from their mothers' wombs. Probably these sable Macduffs wereinvented to avenge the wrongs of their race on tyrants protected bySatanic devices from injury at the hands of Africans of natural birth. Individual effort could not suffice the rage for slaughter, and theancient order of "assassins" was revived, with an "Old Man" of theswamps at its head. Thus "Ku-Klux" originated, and covered the land witha network of crime. Earnest, credulous women in New England had theirfeelings lacerated by these stories, in which they as fondly believed astheir foremothers in Salem witches. 

As crocodiles conceal their prey until it becomes savory and tender andripe for eating, so the Radicals kept these dark corpses to serve up tothe public when important elections approached, or some especialvillainy was to be enacted by the Congress. People who had never beensouth of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers knew all about this "Ku-Klux"; butI failed, after many inquiries, to find a single man in the South whoever heard of it, saving in newspapers. Doubtless there were many actsof violence. When ignorant negroes, instigated by pestilent emissaries, went beyond endurance, the whites killed them; and this was to beexpected. The breed to which these whites belong has for eight centuriesbeen the master of the earth wherever it has planted its foot. A handfulconquered and holds in subjection the crowded millions of India. Anotherand smaller bridles the fierce Caffre tribes of South Africa. Place buta score of them on the middle course of the Congo, and they will ruleunless exterminated; and all the armies and all the humanitarians cannot change this, until the appointed time arrives for Ham to dominateJaphet. 

Two facts may here be stated. Just in proportion as the whites recoveredcontrol of their local governments, in that proportion negroes ceased tobe killed; and when it was necessary to Radical success to multiplynegro votes, though no census was taken, formal statistics werepublished to prove large immigration of negroes into the very districtsof slaughter. Certainty of death could not restrain the colored lambs, impelled by an uncontrollable ardor to vote the radical ticket, fromtraveling to the wolves. Such devotion deserved the tenderestconsideration of Christian men and women, and all means of protectionand loving care were due to this innocent, credulous race. A greatbureau, the Freedmen's, was established, and in connection with it, atthe seat of government, a bank. It was of importance to teach thefreedmen, unused to responsibility, industry and economy; and the bankwas to encourage these virtues by affording a safe place of deposit fortheir small savings. To make assurance doubly sure, the "Christiansoldier of the United States army" was especially selected to keep themoney, and he did--so securely, in point of fact, that it is to beapprehended the unfortunate depositors will never see it more. After sobrilliant an experience in banking, prudence might have suggested tothis officer the wisdom of retiring from public view. Fortune issometimes jealous of great reputations and fresh laurels. The success ofhis first speech prevented "Single-speech Hamilton" from rising again inthe House of Commons; Frederick failed to repeat Rossbach, and Napoleon, Austerlitz; but the "Christian soldier" rushed on his fate, and met itat the hands of the Nez Percés. The profound strategy, the skillfultactics, the ready valor that had extinguished bank balances, all failedagainst this wily foe. 

While the excitement growing out of the untoward event mentioned was atits height, President Johnson summoned me to Washington, where Iexplained all the circumstances, as far as I knew them, of the recentmurders, and urged him to send General Hancock to command in NewOrleans. He was sent, and immediately restored order and confidence. Agentleman, one of the most distinguished and dashing officers of theUnited States army, General Hancock recognizes both the great duties ofa soldier of the Republic--to defend its flag and obey its laws, discharging the last with a fidelity equal to his devotion to the firstin front of battle. 

The contest between the Congress and the President now waxed fierce, andThaddeus Stevens, from his place in the House, denounced "the man at theother end of the avenue. " The President had gone back to wise, lawfulmethods, and desired to restore the Union under the Constitution; and inthis he was but following the policy declared in his last publicutterance by President Lincoln. Mr. Johnson could establish this fact bymembers of his predecessor's Cabinet whom he had retained, and thusstrengthen his position; but his vanity forbade him, so he called it "mypolicy, " as if it were something new. 

At his instance, I had many interviews with him, and consultedinfluential men from different parts of the country. His Secretary ofWar was in close alliance with his enemies in the Congress, andconstantly betraying him. This was susceptible of proof, and I soinformed the President, and pointed out that, so far from assisting thepeople of the South, he was injuring them by inaction; for the Congresspersecuted them to worry him. He was President and powerful; they wereweak and helpless. In truth, President Johnson, slave to his own temperand appetites, was unfit to control others. 

General Grant yet appeared to agree with me about "reconstruction, " asit was called; and I was anxious to preserve good feeling on his parttoward the President. In the light of subsequent events, it is curiousto recall the fact that he complained of Stanton's retention in theCabinet, because the latter's greed of power prevented theCommander-in-Chief of the army from controlling the most minute detailswithout interference. I urged this on the President as an additionalmotive for dismissing his War Secretary and replacing him by some oneagreeable to General Grant; but all in vain. This official "old man ofthe sea" kept his seat on the Presidential neck, never closing craftyeye nor traitorous mouth, and holding on with the tenacity of anoctopus. 

Many moderate and whilom influential Republicans determined to assemblein convention at Philadelphia, and invited delegates from all parts, North and South, to meet them. The object was to promote good feelingand an early restoration of the Union, and give aid to the President inhis struggle with extremists. Averse to appearing before the public, Iwas reluctant to go to this Convention; but the President, who felt adeep interest in its success, insisted, and I went. It was largelyattended, and by men who had founded and long led the Freesoil party. Ex-members of Lincoln's first Cabinet, Senators and members of theCongress, editors of Republican newspapers (among whom was Henry J. Raymond, the ablest political editor of the day and an eminent member ofCongress as well), Southern men who had fought for the Confederacy, werethere. Northern Republicans and Democrats, long estranged, buried thepolitical hatchet and met for a common purpose, to restore the Union. Negro-worshipers from Massachusetts and slave-drivers from SouthCarolina entered the vast hall arm in arm. The great meeting rose to itsfeet, and walls and roof shook with applause. General John A. Dix of NewYork called the Convention to order, and, in an eloquent and felicitousspeech, stated the objects of the assembly--to renew fraternal feelingbetween the sections, heal the wounds of war, obliterate bittermemories, and restore the Union of the fathers. Senator Doolittle ofWisconsin was chosen permanent president, and patriotic resolutions wereadopted by acclamation. All this was of as little avail as the waving ofa lady's fan against a typhoon. Radical wrath uprose and swept theseNorthern men out of political existence, and they were again taught thelesson that is ever forgotten, namely, that it is an easy task toinflame the passions of the multitude, an impossible one to arrest them. From selfish ambition, from thoughtless zeal, from recklesspartisanship, from the low motives governing demagogues in a country ofuniversal suffrage, men are ever sowing the wind, thinking they cancontrol the whirlwind; and the story of the Gironde and the Mountain hasbeen related in vain. 

The President was charmed with the Convention. Believing the people--hisgod--to be with him, his crest rose, and he felt every inch a President. Again I urged him to dismiss his War Secretary and replace Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, now in disfavor with his own creation, the Radicalparty, by General Dix, who was rewarded for his services at Philadelphiaby the appointment of Naval Officer at New York. He was an exception tothe rule above mentioned. A more cautious pilot than Palinurus, thisrespectable person is the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics; and likethat eminent divine, his creeds sit so lightly as to permit him to takeoffice under all circumstances. Secretary of the Treasury in the closingweeks of President Buchanan, he aroused the North by sending hisimmortal dispatch to the commander of a revenue cutter: "If any manattempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot. " Thisbespoke the heart of the patriot, loving his country's banner, and thearm of the hero, ready to defend it; and, clad in this armor of proof, he has since been invulnerable. The President took kindly to theproposition concerning General Dix, and I flattered myself that it wouldcome off, when suddenly the General was appointed MinisterPlenipotentiary to France. I imagine that Mr. Seward had got wind of theproject and hurried Dix out of the way. Thus, in a few days General Dixhad the offer of the Netherlands, Naval Office, and France. "Glamis, andthane of Cawdor"; and his old age is yet so green, mayhap "the greatestis behind. "

To air his eloquence and enlighten the minds of his dear people, thePresident made a tour through the North and West, in which his conductand declarations were so extraordinary as to defeat any hopes of successfor "my policy. "

A circumstance connected with the Philadelphia Convention made animpression on me at the time. Mr. Raymond was editor of the "New YorkTimes, " the most powerful Republican journal in the North. Among manywho had gained large wealth by speculations during the war was Mr. Leonard Jerome, a Republican in politics. This gentleman spent hisfortune so lavishly that his acquaintances and the public shared itsenjoyment. With other property, Mr. Jerome owned the controllinginterest in the "Times, " then very valuable. Dining in New York with himand Mr. Raymond, the latter told me it was useless to support thePresident, who was daily becoming more unpopular, and that thecirculation and influence of his paper were rapidly diminishing inconsequence of his adherence to "my policy. " Whereupon Mr. Jeromereplied: "I know but little about politics; but if you think it right tostand by the President, I will pay all losses that the 'Times' maysuffer to the other proprietors. " This was unselfish and patriotic; andI record it with the more pleasure, because Mr. Jerome has lost much ofhis wealth, and I fear, like many another Timon, some friends with it. 

After this period I saw little of President Johnson, who fought hisfight in his own way, had his hands completely tied, and barely escapedimpeachment; the Congress, meanwhile, making a whipping-post of theSouth, and inflicting upon it every humiliation that malignity coulddevise. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

RECONSTRUCTION UNDER GRANT. 

Before the conventions to nominate candidates for the Presidency met in1868, I had much intercourse with General Grant, and found him evermodest and determined to steer clear of politics, or at least not permithimself to be used by partisans; and I have no doubt that he wassincere. But the Radical Satan took him up to the high places andpromised him dominion over all in view. Perhaps none but a divine beingcan resist such temptation. He accepted the nomination from theRadicals, and was elected; and though I received friendly messages fromhim, I did not see him until near the close of his first administration. As ignorant of civil government as of the characters on the Moabitishstone, President Grant begun badly, and went from bad to worse. Theappointments to office that he made, the associates whom he gatheredaround him, were astounding. All his own relatives, all his wife'srelatives, all the relatives of these relatives, to the remotestcousinhood, were quartered on the public treasury. Never, since KingJamie crossed the Tweed with the hungry Scotch nation at his heels, hasthe like been seen; and the soul of old Newcastle, greatest of Englishnepotists, must have turned green with envy. The influence of this onthe public was most disastrous. Already shortened by the war, thestandard of morality, honesty, and right was buried out of sight. 

For two or three years I was much in the North, and especially in NewYork, where I had dear friends. The war had afforded opportunity andstimulated appetite for reckless speculation. Vast fortunes had beenacquired by new men, destitute of manners, taste, or principles. Thevulgar insolence of wealth held complete possession of public places andcarried by storm the citadels of society. Indeed, society disappeared. As in the middle ages, to escape pollution, honorable men and refinedwomen (and there are many such in the North) fled to sanctuary anddesert, or, like early Christians in the catacombs, met secretly and infear. The masses sank into a condition that would disgrace Australiannatives, and lost all power of discrimination. 

The Vice-President of the United States accepted bribes, and perjuredhimself in vain to escape exposure. President Grant wrote him a letterto assure him of his continued esteem and confidence, and thisVice-President has since lectured before "Young Men's ChristianAssociations. " Plunderings by members of the Congress excited noattention so long as they were confined to individuals or corporations. It was only when they voted themselves money out of taxes paid by thepeople, that these last growled and frightened some of the statesmeninto returning it. A banker, the pet of the Government, holding the sameespecial relation to it that the Bank of England held to William ofOrange, discovered that "a great national debt was a blessing, " and wascommended and rewarded therefor. With a palace on the shores of theDelaware, this banker owned a summer retreat on a lovely isle amid thewaters of Lake Erie. A pious man, he filled this with many divines, whoblessed all his enterprises. He contributed largely, too, to the supportof an influential Christian journal to aid in disseminating truth toJew, Gentile, and heathen. The divines and the Christian journal wereemployed to persuade widows and weak men to purchase his rottensecurities, as things too righteous to occasion loss. 

The most eloquent preacher in the land, of a race devoted to adorationof negroes, as Hannibal to hatred of Rome, compromised the wife of amember of his congregation. Discovered by the husband, he groveledbefore him in humiliation as before "his God" (his own expression). Brought before the public, he swore that he was innocent, and denied themeaning of his own written words. The scandal endured for months andgave an opportunity to the metropolitan journals to display theirenterprise by furnishing daily and minute reports of all details totheir readers. The influence of the preacher was increased by this. Hiscongregation flocked to him as the Anabaptists to John of Leyden, andshopkeepers profitably advertised their wares by doubling theirsubscriptions to augment his salary. Far from concealing this woundinflicted on his domestic honor, the injured husband proclaimed it fromthe housetops, clothed himself in it as in a robe of price, and hassuccessfully used it to become a popular lecturer. 

To represent the country at the capital of an ancient monarchy, a manwas selected whom, it is no abuse of language to declare, Titus Oatesafter his release from the pillory would have blushed to recognize. Onthe eve of his departure, as one may learn from the newspapers of theday, all that was richest and best in New York gathered around a banquetin his honor, congratulated the country to which he was accredited, andlamented the misfortune of their own that it would be deprived, eventemporarily, of such virtue. Another was sent to an empire which isassured by our oft-succeeding envoys that it is the object of ourparticular affection. To the aristocracy of the realm this genial persontaught the favorite game of the mighty West. A man of broad views, feeling that diplomatic attentions were due to commons as well as tocrown and nobles, he occasionally withdrew himself from the socialpleasures of the "West End" to inform the stags of Capel Court of thevalue of American mines. Benefactors are ever misjudged. Aristocracy andthe many-antlered have since united to defame him; but Galileo in thedungeon, Pascal by his solitary lamp, More, Sidney, and Russell on thescaffold, will console him; and in the broad bosom of his native Ohio hehas found the exception to the rule that prophets are not without honorbut in their own country. 

The years of Methuselah and the pen of Juvenal would not suffice toexhaust the list, or depict the benighted state into which we hadfallen; but it can be asserted of the popular idols of the day thatunveiled, they resemble Mokanna, and can each exclaim:

 "Here, judge if hell, with all its power to damn, Can add one curse to the foul thing I am!"

The examples of thousands of pure and upright people in the North wereas powerless to mitigate the general corruption as song of seraphim topurify the orgies of harlots and burglars; for they were not in harmonywith the brutal passions of the masses. 

In Boston, July, 1872, as co-trustees of the fund left by the late Mr. Peabody for the education of the poor in the Southern States, PresidentGrant and I met for the first time since he had accepted the nominationfrom the Radical party. He was a candidate for reëlection, and muchworshiped; and, though cordial with me, his general manner had somethingof "I am the State. " Stopping at the same inn, he passed an evening inmy room, to which he came alone; and there, avoiding public affairs, wesmoked and chatted about the Nueces, Rio Grande, Palo Alto, etc. --thingstwenty-five years agone, when we were youngsters beginning life. He wasreëlected in November by a large majority of electoral votes; but thepeople of Louisiana elected a Democratic Governor and Assembly. When, inJanuary following, the time of meeting of the Assembly arrived, thecountry, habituated as it was to violent methods, was startled by thesucceeding occurrences. 

The night before the Assembly was to meet, the Federal Judge in the cityof New Orleans, a drunken reprobate, obtained from the commander of theUnited States troops a portion of his force, and stationed it in theState House. In the morning the members elect were refused admittance, and others not elected, many not even candidates during the election, were allowed to enter. One Packard, Marshal of the Federal Court, abitter partisan and worthy adjunct of such a judge, had provided for anAssembly to suit himself by giving tickets to his friends, whom thesoldiers passed in, excluding the elected members. The ring-streaked, spotted, and speckled among the cattle and goats, and the brown amongthe sheep, were turned into the supplanters' folds, which were filledwith lowing herds and bleating flocks, while Laban had neither horn norhoof. There was not a solitary return produced in favor of this Packardbody, nor of the Governor subsequently installed; but the Radicalsasserted that their friends would have been elected had the people votedas they wished, for every negro and some whites in the State upheldtheir party. By this time the charming credulity of the negroes hadabated, and they answered the statement that slave-drivers weremurdering their race in adjacent regions by saying that slave-drivers, at least, did not tell them lies nor steal their money. 

All the whites and many of the blacks in Louisiana felt themselvescruelly wronged by the action of the Federal authorities. Two Assemblieswere in session and two Governors claiming power in New Orleans. Excitement was intense, business arrested, and collision between theparties imminent. As the Packard faction was supported by Federaltroops, the situation looked grave, and a number of worthy people urgedme to go to Washington, where my personal relations with the Presidentmight secure me access to him. It was by no means a desirable mission, but duty seemed to require me to undertake it. 

Accompanied by Thomas F. Bayard, Senator from Delaware, my first step inWashington was to call on the leader of the Radicals in the Senate, Morton of Indiana, when a long conversation ensued, from which I derivedno encouragement. Senator Morton was the Couthon of his party, and thissingle interview prepared me for one of his dying utterances to warn thecountry against the insidious efforts of slave-driving rebels to regaininfluence in the Government. The author of the natural history ofIreland would doubtless have welcomed one specimen, by describing whichhe could have filled out a chapter on snakes; and there is temptation todwell on the character of Senator Morton as one of the few Radicalleaders who kept his hands clean of plunder. But it may be observed thatone absorbing passion excludes all others from the human heart; and thesmall portion of his being in which disease had left vitality was set onvengeance. Death has recently clutched him, and would not be denied;and he is bewailed throughout the land as though he had possessed theknightly tenderness of Sir Philip Sidney and the lofty patriotism ofChatham. 

The President received me pleasantly, gave much time to the Louisianadifficulty, and, in order to afford himself opportunity for fullinformation, asked me frequently to dine with his immediate family, composed of kindly, worthy people. I also received attention andhospitality from some members of his Cabinet, who with him seemeddesirous to find a remedy for the wrong. More especially was this trueof the Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, with whom and whose refinedfamily I had an acquaintance. Of a distinguished Revolutionary race, possessor of a good estate, and with charming, cultivated surroundings, this gentleman seemed the Noah of the political world. Perhaps hisretention in the Cabinet was due to a belief that, under the new andmilder dispensation, the presence of one righteous man might avert thedoom of Gomorrah. An exception existed in the person of theAttorney-General, a man, as eminent barristers declare, ignorant of lawand self-willed and vulgar. For some reason he had much influence withthe President, who later appointed him Chief Justice of the UnitedStates; but the Senatorial gorge, indelicate as it had proved, rose atthis, as the easy-shaving barber's did at the coal-heaver, and rejectedhim. 

Weeks elapsed, during which I felt hopeful from the earnestnessmanifested in my mission by the President and several of his Cabinet. Parties were in hostile array in New Orleans, but my friends wererestrained by daily reports of the situation at Washington. Only myopinion that there was some ground for hope could be forwarded. Conversations at dinner tables or in private interviews with theExecutive and his advisers could not, then or since, be repeated; andthis of necessity gave room for misconstruction, as will appear. Atlength, on the day before the Congress was by law to adjourn, thePresident sent a message to the Senate, informing that body that, in theevent the Congress failed to take action on the Louisiana matter, heshould esteem it his duty to uphold the Government created by theFederal Judge. I left Washington at once, and did not revisit it fornearly four years. 

I believe that President Grant was sincere with me, and went as far ashe felt it safe. No doubt the Senatorial hyenas brought him tounderstand these unspoken words: "We have supported your acts, confirmedyour appointments, protected and whitewashed your friends; but there arebones which we can not give up without showing our teeth, and Louisianais one of them. "

The failure to obtain relief for the State of my birth, and whose soilcovered the remains of all most dear, was sad enough, and the attempthad involved much unpleasant work; but I had my reward. Downfall ofhope, long sustained, was bitter to the people, especially to theleaders expectant of office; and I became an object of distrust. "Nothing succeeds like success, " and nothing fails like failure, and theworld is quite right to denounce it. The British Ministry shot anadmiral for failing to relieve Minorca--to encourage others, as Voltaireremarked. Byng died silent, without plaint, which was best. The drunkenFederal Judge, author of the outrages, was universally condemned, withone exception, of which more anon. Both branches of the Congress, controlled by Radicals, pronounced his conduct to have been illegal andunjust, and he was driven from the bench with articles of impeachmenthanging over him. Nevertheless, the Government evolved from hisunjudicial consciousness was upheld by President Grant with Federalbayonets. 

Two years later the people of Louisiana elected an Assembly, a majorityof whose members were opposed to the fraudulent Governor, Kellogg. ThePresident sent United States soldiers into the halls of the Assembly toexpel members at the point of the bayonet. Lieutenant-General Sheridan, the military maid of all (such) work, came especially to superintendthis business, and it was now that he expressed the desire toexterminate "banditti. " The destruction of buildings and food in theValley of Virginia, to the confusion of the crows, was his Salamanca;but this was his Waterloo, and great was the fame of theLieutenant-General of the Radicals. 

This _Governor_ Kellogg is the Senator recently seated, of whom mentionhas been made, and, if a lesser quantity than zero be conceivable, witha worse title to the office than he had to that of Governor ofLouisiana. So far as known, he is a commonplace rogue; but his party hasalways rallied to his support, as the "Tenth Legion" to its eagles. Indeed, it is difficult to understand the qualities or objects thatenlist the devotion and compel the worship of humanity. Travelers in theOrient tell of majestic fanes, whose mighty walls and countless columnsare rich with elaborate carvings. Hall succeeds hall, each morebeautifully wrought than the other, until the innermost, the holy ofholies, is reached, and there is found enshrined--a shriveled ape. 

The sole exception referred to in the case of the drunken Federal Judgewas a lawyer of small repute, who had been Democratic in his politicaltendencies. Languishing in obscurity, he saw and seized his opportunity, and rushed into print in defense of the Judge and in commendation of thePresident for upholding such judicial action. It is of record that thislawyer, in the society of some men of letters, declared Dante to be theauthor of the Decameron; but one may be ignorant of the Italian poetsand thoroughly read in French memoirs. During the war of the Spanishsuccession, the Duke of Vendôme, filthiest of generals, not exceptingSuvaroff, commanded the French army in Italy. To negotiate protectionfor their States, the Italian princes sent agents to Vendôme; but theagents sent by the Duke of Parma were so insulted by the bestialities ofthe French commander as to go back to their master without negotiating, and no decent man would consent to return. A starving little abbévolunteered for the service, and, possessing a special aptitude forbaseness, succeeded in his mission. Thus Alberoni, afterward Cardinaland Prime Minister of Spain, got his foot on the first rung of theladder of fame. The details of the story are too gross to repeat, andthe Memoirs of the Duke of St. Simon must be consulted for them; butour lawyer assuredly had read them. Many may imitate Homer, howeverfeebly; one genius originated his epics. 

Having entered on this lofty career, our Alberoni stuck to it with thetenacity of a ferret in pursuit of rabbits, and was rewarded, though notat the time nor to the extent he had reason to expect. The mission toEngland was promised him by the reigning powers, when, on the very eveof securing his prize, a stick was put in the wheels of his progress, and by a brother's hand. Another legal personage, practicing at the samebar, that of New York, and a friend, did the deed. "Chloe was false, Chloe was common, but constant while possessed"; but here Chloe waswithout the last quality. In 1868, General Grant's election pending, Chloe was affiliated with the Democratic party, and had been chosen oneof the captains of its citadel, a sachem of Tammany. Scenting successfor Grant, with the keenness of the vulture for his prey, he attended aRadical meeting and announced his intention to give twenty thousanddollars to the Radical election fund. This sum appears to have been themarket value of a seat in the Cabinet, to which ultimately he wascalled. When the English mission became vacant by the resignation of theincumbent, disgusted by British ingratitude, Chloe quitted the Cabinetto take it, and Alberoni was left wearing weeds. Yet much allowance isdue to family affection, the foundation of social organization. Descended from a noble stock, though under a somewhat different name, Chloe from mystic sources learned that his English relatives pined forhis society, and devotion to family ties tempted him to betray hisfriend. Subsequently Alberoni was appointed to a more northern country, where he may find congenial society; for, in a despotism tempered onlyby assassination, the knees of all become pliant before power. 

It is pleasant to mark the early steps of nascent ambition. In the timeof the great Napoleon every conscript carried the baton of a marshal inhis knapsack; and in our happy land every rogue may be said to have anappointment to office in his pocket. This is also pleasant. 

Since the spring of 1873, when he gave himself up to the worst elementsof his party, I have not seen President Grant; but his career suggestssome curious reflections to one who has known him for thirty-odd years. What the waiting-woman promised in jest, Dame Fortune has seriouslybestowed on this Malvolio, and his political cross-garterings not onlyfind favor with the Radical Olivia, but are admired by the Sir Tobys ofthe European world. Indeed, Fortune has conceits as quaint as those ofHaroun al-Raschid. The beggar, from profound sleep, awoke in theCaliph's bed. Amazed and frightened by his surroundings, he slowlygained composure as courtier after courtier entered, bowing low, toproclaim him King of kings, Light of the World, Commander of theFaithful; and he speedily came to believe that the present had alwaysexisted, while the real past was an idle dream. Of a nature kindly andmodest, President Grant was assured by all about him that he was thedelight of the Radicals, greatest captain of the age, and saviour of thenation's life. It was inevitable that he should begin by believing someof this, and end by believing it all. Though he had wasted but littletime on books since leaving West Point, where in his day the curriculumwas limited, he had found out to the last shilling the various sumsvoted by Parliament to the Duke of Wellington, and spoke of them in amanner indicating his opinion that he was another example of theingratitude of republics. The gentle temper and sense of justice ofOthello resisted the insidious wiles of Iago; but ignorance andinexperience yielded in the end to malignity and craft. President Grantwas brought not only to smother the Desdemona of his early preferencesand intentions, but to feel no remorse for the deed, and take to hisbosom the harridan of radicalism. As Phalaris did those of Agrigentumopposed to his rule, he finished by hating Southerners and Democrats. 

During the struggle for the Presidency in the autumn of 1876, hepermitted a member of his Cabinet, the Secretary of the Interior, tobecome the manager of the Radicals and use all the power of his office, established for the public service, to promote the success of hisparty's candidate. 

Monsieur Fourtou, Minister of the Interior, removed prefects and mayorsto strengthen the power of De Broglie; whereupon all the newspapers inour land published long essays to show and lament the ignorance of theFrench and their want of experience in republican methods. One mightsuppose these articles to have been written by the "seven sleepers, " soforgetful were they of yesterday's occurrences at home; but beams nearat hand are ever blinked in our search of distant motes. The electionover, but the result in dispute, President Grant, in Philadelphia, alarmed thoughtful people by declaring that "no man could take the greatoffice of President upon whose title thereto the faintest shadow ofdoubt rested, " and then, with all the power of the Government, successfully led the search for this non-existing person. To insurefairness in the count, so that none could carp, he requested eminentstatesmen to visit South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, the electoralvotes of which were claimed by both parties; but the statesmen were, without exception, the bitterest and most unscrupulous partisans, personally interested in securing victory for their candidate, and havesince received their hire. Soldiers were quartered in the capitals ofthe three States to aid the equitable statesmen in reaching a correctresult by applying the bayonet if the figures proved refractory. Withequity and force at work, the country might confidently expect justice;and justice was done--that justice ever accorded by unscrupulous powerto weakness. 

But one House of the Congress was controlled by the Democrats, andthese, Herod-like, were seeking to slay the child, the Nation. To guardagainst this, President Grant ordered other troops to Washington and aship of war to be anchored in the Potomac, and the child was preserved. Again, the 4th of March, appointed by law for the installation ofPresidents, fell on Sunday. President Grant is of Scotch descent, anddoubtless learned in the traditions of the land o' cakes. The example ofKirkpatrick at Dumfries taught him that it was wise to "mak sicker"; sothe incoming man and the Chief Justice were smuggled into the WhiteHouse on the sabbath day, and the oath of office was administered. Ifthe chair of George Washington was to be filched, it were best doneunder cover. The value of the loot inspired caution. 

In Paris, at a banquet, Maître Gambetta recently toasted ourex-President "as the great commander who had sacredly obeyed andpreserved his country's laws. " Whether this was said in irony orignorance, had General Grant taken with him to Paris his late Secretaryof the Interior, the accomplished Z. Chandler, the pair might havefurnished suggestions to Marshal MacMahon and Fourtou that would havechanged the dulcet strains of Maître Gambetta into dismal howls. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Dismissing hope of making my small voice heard in mitigation of the woesof my State, in May, 1873, I went to Europe and remained many months. Returned to New York, I found that the characters on the wall, so longinvisible, had blazed forth, and the vast factitious wealth, like thegold of the dervish, withered and faded in a night. The scenes depictedof Paris and London, after the collapse of Mississippi schemes and SouthSea bubbles, were here repeated on a greater scale and in moreaggravated form. To most, the loss of wealth was loss of ancestry, repute, respectability, decency, recognition of their fellows--all. Small wonder that their withers were fearfully wrung, and their wailspiteous. Enterprise and prosperity were frozen as in a sea ofeverlasting ice, and guardians of trusts, like Ugolino, plunged theirrobber fangs into the scalps and entrails of the property confided tothem. 

A public journal has recently published a detailed list, showing thatthere has been plundered by fiduciaries since 1873 the amazing amount ofthirty millions of money; and the work goes on. Scarce a newspaper isprinted in whose columns may not be found some fresh instance of breachof trust. As poisoning in the time of Brinvilliers, stealing isepidemic, and the watch-dogs of the flocks are transformed into wolves. 

Since the tocsin sounded we have gone from bad to worse. During the pastsummer (1877) laborers, striking for increased wages or to resistdiminution thereof, seized and held for many days the railway linesbetween East and West, stopping all traffic. Aided by mobs, they tookpossession of great towns and destroyed vast property. At Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, State troops attempting to restore order were attackedand driven off. Police and State authorities in most cases provedimpotent, and the arm of Federal power was invoked to stay the evil. 

Thousands of the people are without employment, which they seek in vain;and from our cities issue heartrending appeals in behalf of thesuffering poor. From the Atlantic as far to the west as the young Stateof Nebraska, there has fallen upon the land a calamity like thatafflicting Germany after the Thirty Years' War. Hordes of idle, vicioustramps penetrate rural districts in all directions, rendering propertyand even life unsafe; and no remedy for this new disease has beendiscovered. Let us remember that these things are occurring in a countryof millions upon millions of acres of vacant lands, to be had almost forthe asking, and where, even in the parts first colonized, density ofpopulation bears but a small relation to that of western Europe. Yet wedaily assure ourselves and the world that we have the best governmentunder the canopy of heaven, and the happiest land, hope and refuge ofhumanity. 

Purified by fire and sword, the South has escaped many of these evils;but her enemies have sown the seeds of a pestilence more deadly thanthat rising from Pontine marshes. Now that Federal bayonets have beenturned from her bosom, this poison, the influence of three fourths of amillion of negro voters, will speedily ascend and sap her vigor andintelligence. Greed of office, curse of democracies, will impeldemagogues to grovel deeper and deeper in the mire in pursuit ofignorant votes. Her old breed of statesmen has largely passed awayduring and since the civil war, and the few survivors are naturallydistrusted, as responsible for past errors. Numbers of her gentry fellin battle, and the men now on the stage were youths at the outbreak ofstrife, which arrested their education. This last is also measurablytrue of the North. Throughout the land the experience of the activeportion of the present generation only comprises conditions of discordand violence. The story of the six centuries of sturdy effort by whichour English forefathers wrought out their liberties is unknown, certainly unappreciated. Even the struggles of our grandfathers areforgotten, and the names of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jay, Marshall, Madison, and Story awaken no fresher memories in our minds, no deeperemotions in our hearts, than do those of Solon, Leonidas, and Pericles. But respect for the memories and deeds of our ancestors is security forthe present, seed-corn for the future; and, in the language of Burke, "Those will not look forward to their posterity who never look backwardto their ancestors. "

Traditions are mighty influences in restraining peoples. The light thatreaches us from above takes countless ages to traverse the awful chasmseparating us from its parent star; yet it comes straight and true toour eyes, because each tender wavelet is linked to the other, receivingand transmitting the luminous ray. Once break the continuity of thestream, and men will deny its heavenly origin, and seek its source inthe feeble glimmer of earthly corruption. 

INDEX. 

Acadian exiles in Attakapas, 105; their descendants, 106. 

Alabama delegates retire from Charleston Convention, 12. 

Alberoni, Abbé, 263. 

Andersonville Prison, 216. 

Antietam a drawn battle, 95. 

Antipathy to the South, 238. 

Anti-slavery agitation, 10. 

Army, Confederate, of Virginia moved to Gordonsville, 42. 

Ashby, General Turner, during march to Harrisonburg, 69; his death, 71; no disciplinarian, 72. 

Attakapas, home of the Acadians, 105. 

Bank of Tennessee, its treasure restored, 224. 

Banks, General N. P. , his ignorance and arrogance, 164; retreats to Alexandria, 182; his army demoralized, 187; his misleading dispatches, 135, 137, 146, 151, 174, 181. 

Baton Rouge, Confederates repulsed, 107. 

Bayou des Allemands surprised, 111. 

Beauregard, General P. G. T. , his coolness and courage at Manassas, 19. 

Berwick's Bay captured by Confederates, 141; the prisoners and spoil, 143. 

Bisland attacked by Federals, 130. 

Blunders of Confederates in first Richmond campaign, 86. 

Bourbeau Bayou, Confederate success there, 150. 

Boyd, Belle, Confederate spy, 51. 

Bragg, General B. , occupies Pensacola, 15; services in United States army, 99; a strong disciplinarian, 100; invades Kentucky, _ib. _; his petulance, _ib. _

Brent, Major J. L. , Taylor's chief of artillery, 117; his fertility of resource, 118. 

Brown, Joseph, Governor of Georgia, 212. 

Bugeaud's "Maxims, " 39. 

Burton, General, commandant of Fortress Monroe, 246. 

Butler, General B. F. , in the Charleston Convention, 11: puts a stop to marauding, 112. 

Canby, General E. R. S. , invests the Mobile forts, 221; the city occupied, 222. 

Carpet-baggers, 236. 

Cavalry, Confederate, its indiscipline, 60. 

Charleston Convention, 10. 

Civil War, causes of the, 9. 

Cobb, Howell, and the defenses of Macon, 211; his death, 213. 

Cold Harbor, battle of, 84. 

Collapse of the Confederacy, 230. 

Confederate government at Montgomery, its vacillation, 15. 

Conventions called to repeal secession ordinances, 227; this action punished as rebellion, 228. 

Corruption, political and social, 257. 

Cotton, Confederate gunboat, 121. 

Courtesy to a wounded prisoner, 151. 

Creoles of Louisiana not an effete race, 109. 

Cushing, Caleb, in the Charleston Convention, 11. 

Davis, Henry Winter, 244. 

Davis, Jefferson, his amiability, 24; a prisoner in Fortress Monroe, 246. 

Disease in the Confederate Army of Virginia, 23. 

Diana, gunboat, captured by Confederates, 128. 

"District of Louisiana, " its military resources, 108. 

Dix, General John A. , in the Philadelphia Convention, 253; the "Vicar of Bray" of American politics, 253. 

Embezzlement and breach of trust, 268. 

Engineer service unfits for command, 98. 

Ewell, Lieutenant-General R. S. , his services in the United States army, 37; his manner and personal appearance, _ib. _; his absence of mind, 78. 

Farragut, Admiral D. G. , opens the Mississippi to Vicksburg, 125. 

Fessenden, General, his account of the Pleasant Hill battle, 171. 

Fish, Hamilton, 261. 

Forrest, General, by nature a great soldier, 199; secret of his success, 200; his kindly disposition, _ib. _

Fort Butler unsuccessfully attacked, 144. 

Fort de Russy captured, 155. 

Frazier's Farm, 91. 

Freedmen's Bureau and Bank, 251. 

Fremont routed at Strasburg, 65; beaten at Cross Keys, 73. 

Front Royal captured by Taylor, 53. 

Fuller, Captain, improvises a gunboat, 119; delays Federal advance up the Teche, 121. 

Fusilier, Leclerc, his gallantry and munificence, 109. 

Gettysburg battle, 230. 

Gibson, General R. L. , his defense of Spanish Fort, 221. 

Governments set up by the military in Southern States, 248. 

Grant, General, opposed to advance on Richmond by land, 33; testimony concerning this point, 34, _note_; begins operations against Vicksburg, 121; classed with Marshal Villars and the Duke of Cumberland, 149; his error at Vicksburg, 149; his modesty and generosity, 242; opposed to reconstruction at first, 256; his part in the election of 1876, 266. 

Green, Major-General Thomas, killed, 177. 

Gunboats, the terror they at first inspired, 118. 

Hancock, Major-General W. S. , restores order at New Orleans, 251. 

Hardee, Major-General, his modesty, 215. 

Hood, Lieutenant-General, his losses at Franklin, 216; superseded by Taylor, 217; his army after defeat, _ib. _

Horsemen strapped to their steeds, 55. 

Ignorance claims its victims, 93. 

Immigration, how it determined the events of 1860, 10. 

Indianola, iron-clad, passes Vicksburg, 123; sunk by the Confederates, 125. 

"Initiative" and "defensive, " 20. 

Irishmen as soldiers, 76. 

Jackson, General T. J. (Stonewall), his appearance and manner, 49; his care for the ammunition trains, 56; routs Banks at Winchester, 59; his inner nature, 79; ranked with Nelson and Havelock, 80. 

Jerome, Leonard, and the New York "Times, " 254. 

Johnson, Andrew, 240, 242. 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney, his services in the United States Army, 231; character, 232; his death an irreparable loss, 233. 

Johnston, General Joseph E. , his estrangement from Jefferson Davis, 26; moves his army to Orange Court House, 35; services in United States army, _ib. _; a master of logistics, 43; his neglect of opportunity, _ib. _

Kellogg, William Pitt, 263. 

Kentucky, invasion of, 101. 

"King Cotton" a tyrant, 235. 

Ku-Klux assassinations, 250. 

Labor troubles in the North, 268. 

Lee, General R. E. , his force at opening of first Richmond campaign, 86; his strategy commended, _ib. _; place in Southern history, 96; his mistakes, 97; his tactics inferior to his strategy, _ib. _; his surrender proclaimed to Taylor's army, 222. 

Lee, General A. L. , his account of the battle of Pleasant Hill, 173. 

Louisiana secedes from the Union, 13; temper of the people, _ib. _

Louisiana Brigade, 78; its losses at Cold Harbor, 85. 

Louisiana, the State government overturned, 259-262. 

Louisiana, Western, its topography and river systems, 103. 

Malvern Hill battle, 91. 

Manassas, first battle of, encourages the Confederates, 18; effect at the North, 31. 

Mansfield, battle of, 162. 

Mechanical resources wanting to the South, 202. 

Missouri compromise, 9. 

Mobile, its defenses, 201; occupied by General Canby, 222. 

Moore, Thomas O. , Governor of Louisiana, 102. 

Morton, Senator, 260. 

Mouton, Alexander, president of Louisiana Convention, 12; his zeal for the Southern cause, 108. 

McClellan, General George B. , assumes command of Potomac army, 31; his work as an organizer, 32; his strategy, 33; his force at beginning of Richmond campaign, 86; in battle of Cold Harbor, 87; his topographical knowledge, _ib. _; as a commander, 93; lacked audacity, 95. 

McDowell, Major-General Irvin, his plan of battle at Manassas, 19. 

Magruder, General, as a commander, 93. 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 92. 

Negro slaves, their fidelity, 210. 

Office-seeking, the curse of democracies, 269. 

Pemberton, General, his services in the United States army, 116; his unfitness for independent command, 117; his blunder at Vicksburg, 148. 

Philadelphia Convention, 252. 

Pleasant Hill, battle of, 168. 

Polignac, Prince Charles, 154. 

Pope, General, his incapacity, 95. 

Port Hudson taken by Federals, 145. 

Port Republic, Federal repulse, 16. 

Porter, Admiral D. D. , ascends Red River, 155; assists in taking Fort de Russy, _ib. _; his report on battle of Pleasant Hill, 174; his losses in descending Red River, 185; report on Banks's retreat to Alexandria, 187. 

Presidential election of 1876, 266. 

Provost-marshals, their exactions, 208. 

Queen of the West, gunboat, runs the Vicksburg batteries, 122; captured by Confederates, 124. 

Railroads, inefficiency of the Southern, 203. 

Red River opened by the Federals, 136. 

Richmond, Dean, in the Charleston Convention, 11. 

River systems of Western Louisiana, 103. 

Salt mines at Petit Anse, 114. 

Selma taken by Federals, 219. 

Seward, W. H. , 240. 

Seymour, Colonel, killed at Cold Harbor, 85. 

Sheridan, General P. H. , in New Orleans, 262; his course approved by a renegade Democrat, 263. 

Sherman, General W. T. , his way of making war, 195. 

Shiloh, battle of, 231. 

Slavery not the cause of the civil war, 10. 

Smith, Lieutenant-General E. Kirby, in command of the "Trans-Mississippi Department, " 126; his military record, 127; orders reënforcement of Pemberton, 138; his administration, 153; his anxiety about safety of Shreveport, 176; allows Banks and Porter to escape, 190; compared to Quintilius Varus, 192. 

South Carolina delegates in Charleston Convention, 11. 

Southern leaders after Lee's surrender, 223. 

"Southern Outrages, " 249. 

Southrons have no aptitude for marching, 36. 

Stanton, E. M. , 241. 

Statesmanship lacking to the Confederacy, 233. 

Stephens, Alexander H. , his character, 29; his views concerning military matters, _ib. _; his tergiversation, _ib. _; neglect of Jefferson Davis, 30. 

Stevens, Thaddeus, 243. 

Straggling in the Southern army, 36. 

Strasburg, affair at, 65. 

Sufferings of the people after the war, 236. 

Sumner, Charles, 245. 

Tactical mistakes of Confederate generals, 93. 

Taylor, R. (the author), a delegate to Charleston, 10; his efforts to promote harmony, 12; sees war to be inevitable, 13; commissioned colonel, 16; brigadier, 23; habit of noting topography and resources of districts, 40; disposition for meeting or making an attack, _ib. _; his Louisiana brigade, 47; major-general, 93; in command of District of Louisiana, 102; lieutenant-general, 196; supersedes Hood, 217; his army sent into North Carolina, 218; his surrender, 226; return home, 228; visits Jeff. Davis in Fortress Monroe, 246. 

Teche country, 105; military operations in, 131, 135. 

Tents, useless _impedimenta_, 40. 

Toombs, General Robert, takes Georgia "home-guards" out of their State, 215. 

Topography, ignorance of, among Confederates, 86. 

"Trans-Mississippi Department, " its last hours, 229. 

Troopers strapped to their horses, 55; protected by breastplates, _ib. _

Truce concluded between Generals Canby and Taylor, 224. 

Turenne, anecdote of, 64. 

Universal suffrage, its effects on a people, 209. 

Valley of Virginia, its opulence, 45; laid waste by General Sheridan, 46. 

Vicksburg, attempts to relieve it, 138. 

Vicksburg and Fort Hudson, importance of, to the Confederates, 116. 

Walker, General W. H. T. , his services in the United States army, 22; joins forces with Taylor, 150. 

War, its demoralizing effects on the North, 257. 

Washington City after the war, 241. 

Weitzel, General, ascends the Teche, 120; his successes, 121. 

Western Louisiana, its topography, 103. 

Wheat, Major, his turbulent battalion, 25; his checkered career, 26. 

Wilson, General, captures Selma, 220. 

Winchester, battle of, 56. 

Winder, General Charles, 79. 

Winston, ex-Governor, his conservatism, 12; his change of views, _ib. _

Wirtz, his efforts to better the condition of prisoners, 216. 

Wyndham, Colonel Percy, 26. 

Yancey, William L. , his influence in the Charleston Convention, 11. 

THE END. 

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WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT'SPOETICAL WORKS. 

Illustrated 8vo Edition of Bryant's Poetical Works. 100 Engravings byBirket Foster, Harry Fenn, Alfred Fredericks, and other Artists. 1 vol. , 8vo. Cloth, gilt side and edge, $4. 00; half calf, marble edge, $6. 00;full morocco, antique, $8. 00; tree calf, $10. 00. 

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The Poet and Painter;OR, GEMS OF ART AND SONG. 

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The Household Book of Poetry. BY CHARLES A. DANA. 

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Fitz-Greene Halleck's Poetical Works. EDITED BY JAMES GRANT WILSON. 

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Appletons' Library of the British PoetsFROM CHAUCER TO TENNYSON AND THE LATER POETS. EDITED BY ROSSITER JOHNSON. 

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