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and our officers placed themselves in front of their men.
General Gardner then said to
General Andrews: “General, I will now formally surrender my command to you, and for that purpose will give the orders to ground arms.”
The order was given and the arms were grounded.
After that
General Andrews sent for the enemy's general officers, staff and field-officers.
The line-officers were left with their companies and guard, composed of the Twenty-second Louisiana and Seventy-fifth New-York, placed over them.
These formalities over, the glorious old flag of the
Union was unfolded to the breeze from one of the highest bluffs facing the river, by the men of the
Richmond — a battery thundered forth its salute, which rolled majestically up and down the broad surface of the
Mississippi — and
Port Hudson was ours!
What we obtained with it.
Five thousand prisoners, as stated by
General Gardner himself.
Serviceable: Three forty-two pound barbette guns; two thirty-two pound barbette guns; one thirty-two pound barbette gun, (rifled;) one eight-inch barbette gun; two ten-inch barbette guns; one twenty-four pound barbette gun; four twenty-four pound barbette guns, (rifled;) one twelve-pound barbette gun.
Disabled: One twenty-four pound barbette gun; one eight-inch barbette gun; one thirty-two pound barbette gun; one twenty-four pound barbette gun; one thirty-pound barbette gun.
Recapitulation: Fifteen heavy guns, in good condition; five complete field-batteries, thirty-one guns in good condition, besides disabled guns; one thousand nine hundred and eleven shot and shell for heavy guns, various calibres; seven hundred and seventy-five cartridges; twelve thousand pounds of powder, made up in cartridges, for heavy guns, various calibres; thirty-two thousand pounds cannon powder; one hundred and fifty thousand cartridges, small arms; five thousand muskets.
It was with no little delight that I found myself riding at last over every portion of this long-forbidden ground, noting the havoc which our cannon made not only in the ramparts but over the whole internal surface.
Not a square rood but bore some indisputable proof of the iron deluge that had fallen upon it, in earth ploughed up, trees with the bark almost completely torn off by rifle-shot, and some — twice the bulk of a man's body — fairly snapped in two by some solid ball, as easily as a walking-cane.
As to what they called the town of
Port Hudson — a miserable little conglomeration of two or wooden buildings, and a nondescript church among them — the destruction is so complete that I cannot see how they escaped being utterly swept away.
I went into the old church, looking out for any crazy timber that might fall from shattered roof or tumbling walls, with orifices made by cannon, larger than the windows, and found the whole floor strewed with beans, broken beams and laths, plaster, etc. If those were all the beans they had left, I don't think the quantity of their food exceeded the quality; and beans were what they had left to most depend upon.
Their river fortifications were terribly effective, and might have resisted any amount of attack had they been impregnable elsewhere.
Far down in the bowels of the lofty bluffs they had dug deep recesses, approached by steps cut out of the earth, and here their magazines were placed quite safe — owing to the enormous thickness of earth above — from any projectiles that could be sent against them.
One or two “quaker guns” were found.
On the fortifications to the land side, every thing told of the terrible efficiency of our artillery, which never did its work better.
Foremost among these were
Mack's,
Holcomb's, and
Rawle's batteries, the
Indiana battery, and the naval battery of heavy guns, under the gallant
Lieutenant Terry, of the
Richmond, and his fine crew, who sent desolation along with every shot from their large pieces.
The effect was, that soon after we began bombarding in earnest, every gun upon the front batteries was silenced; and they have so remained for weeks since; any one they replaced being knocked over as soon as we got the range of it. In speaking of how much we owe the artillery, we cannot speak too highly of the unsparing exertions and skilful dispositions of
General Arnold, under whom the whole of this arm of the service was placed.
Collateral praise must necessarily fall upon those faithful underworkers who, although unseen at the surface, have nevertheless the most mighty results depending upon the accuracy and promptness of their observations — I mean the
Topographical Engineers under
Major Houston.
Foremost among these were
Lieutenant Ulfers,
Mr. Olt mans,
Mr. Robins, and the lamented
Mr. Luce, who was killed a short time ago while in the act of taking an observation.
The enormous amount of personal hardships and dangers these gentlemen have to undergo, after going far ahead of the army and little exploring expeditions of their own in the enemy's country — the coolness and self-possession which their services require of them in every emergency, are things of which few people probably think, but which, nevertheless, have the most momentous bearing upon the success or failure of a general's plan of. attack.
They are the real scouts and pioneers, who have first detected many a new move of the enemy, and who first espy every new earth-work thrown up silently over night — every new gun put in position.
As we rode along the earth-works inside, it was curious to mark the ingenious ways in which the enemy had burrowed holes to shelter themselves from shell and the intolerable rays of the sun. While at their work they must have looked like so many rabbits popping in and out of their warren.
The breastworks, instead of being straight at the top, present a continuous succession of little hills and valleys, from the perpetual ploughing up of our artillery.. As to the guns, there were many of them knocked clean away from their carriages, and looking as if some earthquake had heaved up the earth from under them.
The
