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It is, in fact, easy to see how little the enemy respect truth and justice when speaking of their military operations, especially when, through inability or over-confidence, they meet with deserved failure.
If the result be all he desired, it can be said that
Major-Gen. Halleck is easily satisfied; it remains to be seen whether his Government and people will be of the like opinion.
I attest that all we lost at
Corinth and during the retreat would not amount to one day's expense of his army.
A few days after
Gen. Beauregard's movement from
Corinth, the city of
Memphis having been abandoned by the
Confederate garrison departing to another scene of action, was easily captured by the large Federal fleet in the
Mississippi River.
The capture was made on the 6th of June.
The evacuation of
Forts Pillow and
Randolph had taken place two days before.
In the river near
Memphis was a small fleet of Confederate boats.
It consisted of the
General Van Dorn, (flag-ship,)
General Price,
General Bragg,
Jeff. Thompson,
General Lovell,
General Beauregard,
Sumter, and Little Rebel, all under the command of Corn.
Montgomery. Each of these boats carried an armament of two guns, with the exception of the Jeff.
Thompson, which had four.
The Federal gunboats consisted of the following: the gunboat
Benton, (flag-ship of Corn.
Davis,) mounting fourteen guns; gunboat
St. Louis, thirteen guns; gunboat
Mound City, thirteen guns; gunboat
Louisville, thirteen guns; gunboat
Cairo, thirteen guns; gunboat
Carondelet, thirteen guns; three mortar-boats, and twenty rams and transports.
This overwhelming force advanced, with several of their rams in front, their iron-clad gunboats in the centre, two and three abreast, and their mortarboards and transports bringing up their rear.
The unequal fight lasted but a few hours.
The
Jeff. Thompson,
Beauregard,
Sumter, and
Bragg were respectively disabled, run ashore, or set on fire, their crews meanwhile escaping to the woods.
The
Jeff. Thompson was blown up, the
Beauregard sunk near the shore, her upper-works remaining above the surface.
The
Sumter and
Bragg were the only boats that could be brought off, and these were subsequently anchored in front of the city, with the odious flag of the invaders flying at their mast-heads.
The Confederate loss did not exceed fifty in killed and wounded, and one hundred prisoners. On the boats captured and destroyed, there was but a small quantity of stores and munitions, and everything in the city of value to the government had been removed.
Beyond the mere fact of obtaining possession of the position, the victory of the enemy was a barren one.
