John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

[219] had not been directly informed that the President's plans had been changed. In view of the further fact that McClernand had been acting throughout the campaign with ill-concealed impatience of restraint, if not in disregard of orders, the information sent by Dana to the secretary, and doubtless shown by him directly to the President, was of the greatest importance. There can be no doubt that it was so regarded, or that Stanton's straightforward and emphatic instructions gave to Grant specific authority for the action which he was daily becoming more and more confident he would be compelled to take finally. This authority, it will be observed, was not dated till several days after the battle of Port Gibson, and could not have reached him by steamer and courier from the end of the telegraph at Cairo till about the middle of May. It was, of course, communicated to Grant as soon as received, and it is known that it gave him great satisfaction.

Meanwhile, as soon as a sufficient number of troops had crossed the river to make good their lodgment on the Mississippi uplands, Dana also crossed, but without his horse or baggage, and made his way on foot towards the front, some ten miles away. On the road he overtook General Grant's son Frederick, then a lad of fourteen, who had also been left behind. Hearing the reverberation of cannon, they knew that the action was on, and, although the day was an unusually hot one, exerted themselves to the utmost to rejoin the general and staff. They got a lift from a quartermaster's wagon, and soon found themselves at a field hospital in the rear of the fighting line. Here they got sight of a pile of legs and arms which had just been amputated, and which gave them the first sign either had ever seen of an actual battle. Tarrying here but a few moments, they pushed along till they overtook an officer who had picked up a pair of old gray carriage horses, which he gave to them. They found a couple