[
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- Situation of the two armies near Corinth, 288.
-- the victory at Shiloh; and its fruits
-- public rejoicings, 289.
-- forward movements of the National Army checked by Halleck
-- Mitchel's troops driven from Tuscumbia and Decatur, 290.
-- Mitchel's operations in the direction of Chattanooga
-- Halleck moves cautiously toward Corinth, 291.
-- the Confederate Army at Corinth
-- National troops on detached service, 292.
-- the siege of Corinth
-- its evacuation
-- Halleck's surprise, 293.
-- Beauregard's flight southward, 294.
-- change of Conederate commanders
-- quiet of the National Army under General Halleck, 295.
-- operations on the Mississippi
-- the opposing fleets
-- siege of Fort Pillow, 296.
-- battle at Fort Pillow, 297.
-- evacuation of Fort Randolph
-- naval battle before Memphis, 29s.
-- capture of Memphis, 299.
-- expeditions sent out by General Mitchel, 300.
-- raid on the railway between Chattanooga and Atlanta, 301.
-- capture and execution of the raiders, 302.
-- battle at Chattanooga
-- capture of Cumberland Gap, 303.
-- Generals Buell and Mitchel, 304.
Viewing events in the light of fair analysis and comparison, it seems clear that a prompt and vigorous pursuit of the
Confederates from
Shiloh would have resulted in their capture or dispersion, and that the campaign in the
Mississippi Valley might have ended within thirty days after the battle we have just considered.
Within a few days afterward, the
Lower Mississippi, with the great city of
New Orleans on its banks, was in the absolute possession of the
National forces.
Mitchel was holding a line of unbroken communication across
Northern Alabama, from
Florence to the confines of
East Tennessee; and the
National gun-boats on the
Mississippi were preparing, though at points almost a thousand miles apart, to sweep victoriously over its waters, brush away obstructions to navigation, and meet, perhaps, at
Vicksburg, the next “
Gibraltar” of the
Valley.
Little was to be feared from troops coming from the
East.
They could not be spared, for at that time
General McClellan was threatening
Richmond with an immense force, and the
National troops.
were assailing the strongholds of the
Confederates all along the
Atlantic coast and the waters of the
Gulf of Mexico.
Beauregard's army was terribly smitten and demoralized, and he had sent an imploring cry to
Richmond for immediate help.
1 The way seemed wide open
for his immediate destruction; but the judgment of
General Halleck, the commander of both
[
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Grant and
Buell, counseled against pursuit, and for about three weeks the combined armies of the
Tennessee and
Ohio, not far from seventy-five thousand strong, rested among the graves of the loyal and the disloyal (who fought with equal gallantry) on the field of
Shiloh, while
Beauregard, encouraged by this inaction, was calling to his standard large re-enforcements, and was casting up around the important post of
Corinth a line of fortifications not less than fifteen miles in extent.
Meanwhile the people everywhere had become acquainted with the true outline history of the great
battle of Shiloh, and began to perceive its significance.
Jefferson Davis, who, on the reception of
Beauregard's dispatch of Sunday evening,
had sent an exultant message to the Confederate Senate,
3 had reason to change his tone of triumph; while the orders that went out from the
War and Navy Departments at
Washington4 on the 9th,
for demonstrations of thanksgiving and joy throughout the army and navy for the victories gained at
Pea Ridge, New Madrid,
Island Number10, and
Shiloh, and the proclamation from the Executive Department recommending the same in the houses of public worship throughout the land, were not stripped of their power by the fingers of truth.
They were substantial and most important victories for the
Government, over which the loyal people had reason to rejoice.
Yet the latter battle was a victory that carried terrible grief to the hearts of thousands, for in the fields and forests around
Shiloh hundreds of loved ones were buried, and the hospital vessels that went down the
Tennessee with their human freight, carried scores of sick and wounded soldiers who never reached their homes alive.
General Halleck arrived from
St. Louis, his Headquarters, on the 12th of April,
and took command in person of the armies near
Pittsburg Landing.
He found
General Grant busily engaged in preparations
[
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for an advance upon
Corinth while
Beauregard was comparatively weak and disheartened, not doubting that it would be ordered on the arrival of his chief.
He had sent
Sherman out in that direction with a body of cavalry on the day after the battle, who skirmished some with horsemen of
Breckinridge's rear-guard and drove them, and who found a general hospital with nearly three hundred sick and wounded in it. The roads, made miry by the recent rains, were strewn with abandoned articles of every kind, testifying to the precipitancy of the retreat.
Sherman returned the same night, and was sent up the
Tennessee, accompanied by the gun-boats as far as East-port, to destroy the Memphis and Charleston railway over
Big Bear Creek, between
Iuka and
Tuscumbia, and cut off
Corinth from the latter place, where
Colonel Turchin had large supplies.
This expedition was arranged before
Halleck arrived, and was successfully carried out, after which such demonstrations ceased for a while.
No movement of importance was again made toward
Corinth until about the first of May, when
Monterey, nine or ten miles in that direction, was occupied by National troops.
General Pope had arrived in the mean time,
with the Army of Missouri, twenty-five thousand strong, and these, with some regiments from
Curtis, in Arkansas, made
Halleck's forces a little over one hundred thousand in number.
General Mitchel, in the mean time, with his few troops and the cordial assistance of the negroes, who acted as spies and informers,
5 had been holding a hundred miles of the Memphis and Charleston railway, on
Beauregard's most important flank, tightly in his grasp.
Turchin held
Tuscumbia,
6 at the western end of his line, until the 24th of April, when a Confederate force advanced from
Corinth, for the purpose of seizing his stores (one hundred thousand rations, which had been sent to him by way of
Florence), in such strength that he was compelled to fly; but he carried away the coveted property and fell back to
Decatur, skirmishing on the way. He was yet hard pressed, so, burning a part of his provisions (forty thousand rations), he fled across the
Tennessee River at
Decatur, his rear-guard under
Colonel Lytle firing the magnificent railway bridge that spanned the stream at that place.
7 It was the only bridge over the
Tennessee between
Florence and
Chattanooga, excepting one at
Bridgeport, eastward of
Stevenson, which was then the eastern extremity of
Mitchel's occupation of the railway.
At this time
Mitchel's left was threatened by a considerable force under
General E. Kirby Smith, that came up from
Chattanooga; and the
Confederates were collecting here and there in his rear in alarming numbers.
His chief objective was now
Chattanooga, from which point he might operate
[
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against the great system of railways which connected the eastern and western portions of the
Confederacy, and by their destruction or control to isolate the active body of that organization beyond the mountains from the scheming head at
Richmond, and so paralyze its whole vitality.
Mitchel proposed to reach out from
Chattanooga a helping hand to
East Tennessee in destroying the Confederate forces at
Knoxville,
Greenville, and
Cumberland Gap; and another, as a destructive one, smiting the great founderies of the
Confederates at
Rome, and breaking up the railway connection between
Chattanooga and
Atlanta.
Already a secret expedition for the latter purpose had been set on foot; and it was more important for
Mitchel to extend his conquests to
Chattanooga than to hold the posts at
Decatur and
Tuscumbia.
Accordingly, when
Colonel Turchin was driven from the latter place,
Colonel Sill, at
Stevenson, was ordered to
Bridgeport, in the direction of
Chattanooga, at which point a fine railway bridge crossed the
Tennessee River.
When
Turchin fled from
Decatur, he was ordered to the support of
Sill.
Lytle's brigade of Ohioans joined that leader on the 28th, between
Stevenson and
Bridgeport, and, four miles from the latter place, a severe skirmish occurred the next day.
Mitchel, on hearing of the danger to his left, had hastened thither to take command in person.
The skirmish resulted favorably to the Nationals.
The Confederates were driven beyond the
Tennessee, at
Bridgeport, with a loss of sixty-three killed, many wounded, and two pieces of cannon.
They attempted to destroy the great bridge
8 there, but failed.
A detachment of
Mitchel's troops crossed it in pursuit, captured two cannon on the eastern side, and, pushing on as far as Shellmound station, destroyed a Confederate saltpeter manufactory in
Nickajack Cave, at the base of the mountain, half a mile southward of the railway.
9 Having secured the post at
Bridgeport,
Mitchel wrote to the
Secretary of War on the first of May,
“The campaign is ended, and I now occupy
Huntsville in perfect security, while in all
Alabama north of the
Tennessee River floats no flag but that of the
Union.”
Let us now return to a consideration of events in the vicinity of
Corinth.
General Halleck's army commenced a cautious forward movement on the 27th of April,
and. on the 3d of May his advance, under
Sherman, was in the vicinity of
Monterey, within six or seven miles of
Beauregard's lines.
It had been re-organized with the title of the
Grand Army of the Tennessee, and
Grant was made his second in command.
That General's army was placed in charge of
General George H. Thomas, and composed the right wing.
General Pope commanded the left, and
General Buell the center.
The reserves, composed of his own and
Wallace's divisions, were in charge of
General McClernand.
The whole force now slowly approaching
Corinth, and cautiously casting up breastworks, numbered about one hundred and eight thousand men.
Beauregard prepared to meet
Halleck.
He too had been re-enforced, and his army was re-organized.
Price and
Van Dorn had arrived with a large
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body of
Missouri and
Arkansas troops; and
General Mansfield Lovell, who had fled from New Orleans when
Butler's troops and the
National gun-boats approached that city,
had just arrived with his retreating force.
In addition to these, the army had been largely increased by militia who had been sent forward from
Alabama,
Mississippi, and
Louisiana, the States immediately threatened with invasion.
The organization of the corps of
Hardee,
Polk,
Breckinridge, and
Bragg, was continued.
The whole number of
Beauregard's troops was about sixty-five thousand.
Most of them were the best drilled and best tried fighting men in the
Confederacy.
Bragg was
Beauregard's second in rank, and commanded the
Army of the Mississippi.
Van Dorn was placed at the head of the re-enforcements, and
Breckinridge of the reserves.
The whole force was within intrenched lines.
10 Such was the condition and position of the contending armies on the 3d of May.
On that day
General Pope sent out
Generals Paine and
Palmer with detachments
11 on a reconnoissance in force toward the hamlet of
Farmington, an outpost of the
Confederates, about five miles northwest of
Corinth, and then in command of
General Marmaduke, of
Missouri.
12 His troops, about forty-five thousand strong, were in the woods around the little log meeting-house near the hamlet.
Marmaduke made very little resistance when attacked, but fled to the lines at
Corinth, leaving as spoils for the victors about thirty of his command slain and a hundred wounded; also his camp, with all its supplies, and two hundred prisoners. The National loss was two killed and eleven wounded. The cavalry and artillery pushed on to
Glendale, a little east of
Corinth, and destroyed the railway track and two important trestle-bridges there.
In the mean time,
General Wallace had sent out
Colonel Morgan L. Smith, with three battalions of cavalry and a brigade of infantry, upon the Mobile and Ohio railway, who fought the
Confederates in a wood, and destroyed an important bridge and the track not far from
Purdy, by which supplies and re-enforcements for
Beauregard, at
Jackson, Tennessee, were cut off.
13
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Pope left a brigade to hold
Farmington and menace
Beauregard's right.
Twenty thousand men, under
Van Dorn, fell upon them on the 9th,
and drove them back.
Eight days afterward,
Pope re-occupied the post with his whole force, and, at the same time,
Sherman moved forward and menaced the
Confederate left.
On the 20th,
Halleck's whole army was engaged in regular siege-operations, casting up field-work after field-work, so as to invest and approach
Corinth, and at the same time engaging in skirmishing with all arms, in force equal to that employed in battles at the beginning of the war. Steadily the army moved on, and, on the 28th, it was at an average distance of thirteen hundred yards from
Beauregard's works, with heavy siege-guns in position, and reconnoissances in great force in operation on flanks and center.
In these the
Confederates were driven back.
On the following day,
Pope expelled them from their advance batteries, and
Sherman planted heavy guns within a thousand yards of
Beauregard's left.
Halleck expected a sanguinary battle the next morning,
and prepared for it. He felt confident of success, and quite sure of capturing or dispersing the whole Confederate army, for he had a greatly superior force; had cut
Beauregard's railway communications on the north and east of
Corinth, and had sent
Colonel Elliott on the night of the 27th to strike the Mobile and Ohio railway in his rear.
Halleck's expectations were not realized.
All night the vigilant ears of his pickets and sentinels heard the continuous roar of moving cars at
Corinth, and reported accordingly.
At dawn skirmishers were thrown out, but no foe appeared.
How strange!
Then the earth was shaken by a series of explosions, and very soon heavy smoke rolled up from
Corinth.
What did all this mean?
“I cannot explain it,” said
Halleck to an inquiry by
Sherman; and then ordered that officer to advance and “feel the enemy if still in his front.”
This was done, but no enemy was found.
Beauregard had entirely evacuated
Corinth during the night.
For two or three days he had been sending toward
Mobile his sick and his most valuable stores; and twenty-four hours before, he had sent away in the same direction a part of his effective force, with nearly all of his ordnance.
The rear-guard had left for the south and west during the night, allowing many pickets, unsuspicious of the movement, to be captured.
They had blown up the magazines, and fired the town, store-houses, and railway station; and when the Nationals entered
they found the smoldering ruins of many
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dwellings, and warehouses filled with Confederate stores.
Thus ended the siege of
Corinth; and thus the boastful
Beauregard, whose performances generally fell far short of his promises, was utterly discomfited.
14 He staggered at
Shiloh and fell at
Corinth.
The fugitives were pursued by the brave
Gordon Granger from
Farmington to
Guntown, on the Mobile and Ohio railway, a little more than forty miles south of
Corinth, and there the chase ended.
Few captures were made, excepting of stragglers.
The expedition of
Colonel Elliott, with his
Iowa cavalry, had not materially intercepted
Beauregard in his flight, for he did not strike the road until two o'clock on the morning of the 30th, when the
Confederates were pressing southward in force.
He destroyed much property at
Boonville, and produced a panic, but the raid had little.
to do with the great.
result, except to expedite it.
17
Beauregard collected his scattered troops at
Tupelo, on a tributary of the Tombig-bee, in a strong position, and on the 13th of June reported to Headquarters at
Richmond that he was “doing all practicable to organize for defensive operations.”
He soon afterward turned over his army temporarily to
General Bragg, and sought
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repose and health for a few days at
Bladen Springs, in
Alabama.
Jefferson Davis, whose will was law in the
Confederacy, on hearing of this, directed
Bragg, his favorite, to take permanent command of that army, and he “passionately declared” that
Beauregard should not be reinstated, “though all the world should urge him to the measure.”
18 This was a fortunate circumstance for the
National cause.
Although the possession of
Corinth was of great military importance, and the news of it was hailed with delight by the loyalists, it could not be considered a victory, in its proper sense.
The Confederate army had escaped, with its cannon and most of its stores, thereby frustrating and deranging the plans of
Halleck; and it was soon again ready for offensive operations.
This result was charged to
Halleck's tardiness; and experts declared their belief that, if he had remained in
St. Louis a week
longer,
Grant, left free to act, would have captured
Beauregard's army, supplies, and munitions of war.
After the evacuation of
Corinth, no military operations of importance were undertaken by the
Grand Army of the Tennessee while
General Halleck was in personal command of it. The Confederate fortifications at
Corinth were much weaker than
Halleck supposed, and were indeed unworthy of
Beauregard, whose skill as an engineer was acknowledged by all. These
Halleck proceeded to strengthen for defense, and as the heat of summer would make the
Tennessee River too shallow for transportation for his supplies, the railways leading to
Columbus from
Corinth were put ill order.
A portion of the army was picketed along the railway between
Iuka and
Memphis; and
General Buell was sent with the Army of the Ohio toward
Chattanooga, where the active
Mitchel was keeping
General E. Kirby Smith, the
Confederate commander in
East Tennessee, in a state of continual alarm for the safety of his department.
Mitchel begged
Buell to march the combined forces into
East Tennessee, but the more cautious General declined to do so.
20
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McClernand's reserve corps, employed in keeping open communication with the
Tennessee River, was now broken up, and
General Wallace was sent to preserve and protect the Memphis and Ohio railway between Hum-bolt and the
City of Memphis.
He made his Headquarters at the latter place; and very soon afterward
Halleck was called to
Washington, to occupy the important position of
General-in-Chief of all the armies of the
Republic in the place of
McClellan, leaving
General Thomas at
Corinth, and
General Grant again in command of his old army, and with enlarged powers.
We have just observed that
Wallace made his Headquarters in
Memphis.
How came that city, one of the Confederate strongholds, and most important posts, to be in possession of the Nationals?
Let us see.
We left
Commodore Foote and his fleet, after the capture of
Island Number10, ready, at New Madrid,
21 for an advance down the
Mississippi River.
This was soon begun, with
General Pope's army on transports.
Memphis was the main object of the expedition; but above it were several formidable fortifications to be passed.
22 The first of these that was encountered was
Fort Wright (then named
Fort Pillow), on the first Chickasaw bluff, about eighty miles above
Memphis, and then in command of
General Villepigue, a creole of New Orleans, who was educated at
West Point as an engineer.
He was regarded as second only to
Beauregard.
His fort was a very strong one, and the entire works occupied a line of seven miles in circumference.
There
Memphis was to be defended from invasion by the river from above.
Jeff. Thompson was there, with about three thousand troops, and
Hollins had collected there a considerable flotilla of gun-boats.
The siege of
Fort Pillow was begun by
Foote with his mortar-boats on the 14th of April, and he soon drove
Hollins to shelter below the fort.
General Pope, whose troops had landed on the
Arkansas shore, was unable to co-operate, because the country was overflowed; and, being soon called by
Halleck to
Shiloh,
Foote was left to prosecute the work alone.
Finally, on the 9th of May, the painfulness of his ankle, because of the wound received at
Fort Donelson, compelled him to leave duty, and he was succeeded in command by
Captain C. H. Davis, whose important services with
Dupont at
Port Royal we have already observed.
23
Hollins, meanwhile, had reformed his flotilla, and early in the morning of the 10th
he swept around Point Craighead, on the
Arkansas shore, with armored steamers.
Several of them were fitted with strong bows, plated with iron, for pushing, and were called “rams.”
Davis's vessels were then tied up at the river banks, three on the eastern and four on the western side of the stream.
Hollins's largest gun-boat (
McRea), finished with a sharp iron prow, started for the mortar-boat No. 16, when its commander,
Acting-master Gregory, made a gallant fight, firing his single mortar no less than eleven times.
24 The gun-boats
Cincinnati and
Mound City, lying not far off, came
[
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to his assistance.
The
McRea then turned upon the former with great fury, striking her port quarter, and making a large hole.
The
Cincinnati gave the ram a broadside, when the latter drew off, struck the gun-boat again on her starboard side, making an ugly wound.
The assailed vessel gave its antagonist another broadside, when the ram
Van Dorn, that now came up, struck her in the stern.
The
Mound City hastened to help her companion, and as she bore down she hurled a heavy shot at the
McRea, which dismounted its bow gun, which was about to be discharged at her. Seeing this, another ram (the
Sumter) hastened to the support of the
McRea, and, in spite of two broadsides from the
Mound City, she pressed on and struck the bow of the latter vessel with such force, that a breach was made in her through which the water poured in large streams.
The
Sumter was about to strike its victim again, when the gun-boat
Benton gave her a broadside with telling effect.
The Confederate gun-boats were lying on the
Tennessee shore, meanwhile, and firing at the
National vessels every few minutes, while the howitzers of
Fort Pillow were throwing shells, but without effect.
Finally, the
Benton sent a shell that pierced the
McRea. Hot steam instantly enveloped the vessel, killing and scalding many of its people, and causing its flag to be struck in token of surrender.
The conflict, which had continued for an hour, now ceased.
The
McRea floated away and escaped; the
Cincinnati and
Mound City were too much injured to give chase, and the former soon sunk to the bottom of the
Mississippi.
The Union loss in the engagement was four men wounded.
That of the
Confederates was said to have been heavy, especially on the
McRea, by the steam.
Among the wounded was
Captain Stembel, of the
Cincinnati, very severely, a ball having entered his body at the right shoulder, and passing out at his throat.
For more than three weeks the two flotillas lay off
Fort Pillow, watching each other, and in the mean time that of
Davis had been re-enforced by a ram squadron under
Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr., the eminent civil engineer, who built the
Niagara Suspension Bridge.
He had recommended the use of such vessels and had been constructing them under the authority of the
Secretary of War.
25 But when, with this addition, the
National fleet was ready for another trial of strength, at the beginning of June, there was no foe to encounter at
Fort Pillow.
The flight
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of
Beauregard from
Corinth had filled the garrison with alarm, and on the night of the 4th
they evacuated that post in great haste, leaving every thing behind them, blowing up their magazines, and burning their barracks and stores.
The National standard was hoisted over the works the next morning.
The fugitives went down the river in transports, accompanied by the Confederate fleet.
Fort Randolph was also evacuated, and
Colonel Ellet, whose ram fleet was in advance of the now pursuing flotilla, raised the flag over that stronghold likewise.
The same evening the flotilla of gun-boats
26 anchored at about a mile and a half above
Memphis, and the ram fleet
27 a little farther up the river.
The Confederate fleet,
28 now commanded by “
Commodore”
Montgomery, in place of
Hollins, was then lying on the
Arkansas shore, opposite
Memphis, with steam up, and ready for action.
At dawn on the morning of the 6th,
the
National vessels, with the
Cairo in the advance, moved slowly toward the Confederate fleet, in battle order.
When within long range, the
Little Rebel hurled a shot from her rifled cannon at the
Cairo, to which the latter answered by a broadside.
So the conflict was opened in front of the populous city of
Memphis, whose inhabitants, suddenly aroused from repose,, quickly covered the bluffs and roofs as most anxious spectators of what soon became a severe naval battle.
This was waged for a time between the gunboats, when two of the Confederate rams (
Beauregard and
Price) pushed swiftly forward to engage in the affray.
The watchful
Colonel Ellet saw this movement, and instantly took a position in front of the gun-boats with his flag-vessel, the ram
Queen of the West, followed by the ram
Monarch,
Captain Dryden.
They both made for the two Confederate rams, when the latter, unwilling to fight, tried to get away.
The
Queen dashed first at the
Beauregard (which opened fire), and missed her, but was more successful in chasing the
Price. She struck the wheel-house of that vessel with her iron prow, crushing it, and so damaging the hull that she was compelled to run for the
Arkansas shore, to avoid sinking in deep water.
The
Beauregard now turned furiously upon the
Queen, when both vessels rushed toward each other at full speed.
The skillful pilot of the former so managed his vessel as to avoid a blow from the latter, but gave one to the
Queen so heavily that she was disabled.
Her consort, the
Monarch, hastened to her relief.
Dashing at the
Beauregard, she stove in her bow, and caused her to sink in the space of a few minutes, but in water so shallow that her upper works were above it. A white flag waved over the ruined vessel, and the fight of the terrible rams ceased.
The
Monarch found the
Queen in the midst of the smoke, badly wounded, and towed her to a place of safety at the shore.
The National gun-boats continued pressing hard upon those of the Cons federates, which were steadily falling back.
A conquering blow was soon given by the
Benton, whose 50-pound rifled Parrott gun hurled a ball at the
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Lovell with such precision and effect that she was made a wreck in an instant, and began to sink In less than four minutes she went to the bottom of the
Mississippi, where the water was seventy-five feet in depth.
A greater portion of the officers and crew of the
Lovell went down with her, or were drowned before help could reach them.
The battle continued only a short time after this, when the
Confederates, having only four vessels afloat (
Thompson, Bragg, Sumter, and
Van Dorn), and these badly injured, made for the shore, where they abandoned all their craft but one, and fled for life and liberty.
The
Van Dorn escaped down the river, the sole survivor of the Confederate fleet.
Not a man had been killed on board the
National gun-boats during the action.
What the
Confederate loss was, in killed and wounded, is not known.
About one hundred of them were made captives.
Jeff. Thompson, then in command in
Memphis, after providing for the safe flight of his troops, had stood upon the bluff and watched the strange naval battle.
When he saw his friends vanquished, he galloped away and joined his retreating troops.
The National fleet was now drawn up in front of
Memphis, and
Commodore Davis sent a request to the
Mayor of the city to surrender it. That officer (
John Park29) replied, that, as the civil authorities had no means for defense, the city was in his hands.
The National flag had already been raised there.
Colonel Ellet, at the conclusion of the ram fight, informed that
a white flag was waving in the city, approached the shore on his vessel, and sent his son,
Charles R. Ellet,, with a message to the
Mayor, saying, that the bearer would place the
National ensign on the
Custom-house and Post-office “as evidence of the return of the city to the care and protection of the
Constitution.”
The
Mayor made a reply to this note, substantially the same as that to
Commodore Davis; and young
Ellet, with
Lieutenant Crankell, of the Fifty-ninth Illinois, and two men of the boat-guard, unfurled the Stripes and Stars over the Post-office, in the midst of an excited and threatening populace.
Immediate military possession of
Memphis followed the reply of
Mayor Park to
Commodore Davis, and
Colonel Fitch, of the Forty-sixth Indiana, was appointed Provost-marshal.
So it was that
General Wallace, of
Grant's. army, was permitted to enter and occupy
Memphis without resistance.
His advent was hailed with joy by the
Indiana regiment there and the
Union citizens, for they were not strong enough to repress the secessionists, or guard the city against the incursions of
Jeff. Thompson's guerrillas.
All
Kentucky,
Western Tennessee, and
Northern Mississippi and
Alabama were now in the possession of the
National authorities, and it was confidently expected that
East Tennessee would almost immediately be in the same-position.
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When
General Buell joined
Mitchel, after the close of the siege of
Corinth, the latter, as we have observed, urged that officer to march directly into the great valley between the
Cumberland and Alleghany Mountains, by way of
Chattanooga and
Cleveland, for it then seemed an easy matter to do so.
Buell would not consent, and again
East Tennessee, made confident of speedy liberation by so large an army on its borders, was doomed to bitter disappointment, and the endurance of still greater afflictions than it had yet suffered.
Although
Mitchel had assured the
Secretary of War that his campaign was ended,
30 and that he occupied
Huntsville in perfect security, he was not idle nor less vigilant than before.
He not only watched, but worked, and scouts and raiders were continually out on special duties, the chief object being to keep danger from his rear, and the door open into
East Tennessee and
Northern Georgia.
Colonels Turchin and
Lytle were sent northward along the line of the Nashville and Decatur railway, while
General Negley was operating in that vicinity, and farther eastward, dispersing the Confederate forces at various points.
On the 13th of May, the latter went out from
Pulaski on that railway, and, supported by
Colonel Lytle, at
Athens below, drove a gathering force of Confederates from
Rogersville, in Alabama, across the
Tennessee River.
31
Later,
Colonel Turchin, who was at
Athens, was attacked by Confederates
and driven away.
In the assault and pursuit, many of the citizens of that village joined.
With re-enforcements
Turchin returned, and drove the
Confederate troops out of the town, when his exasperated soldiers sacked and pillaged the houses of secessionists there, because of their active complicity in the hostile movements.
For this
Colonel Turchin was tried by a court martial, and acquitted.
He was promoted to brigadier-general while the investigation was going on.
On the same day,
General Negley, who, in a forced march of twenty miles, had climbed over an almost impassable mountain, northeastward of
Stevenson, surprised a Confederate camp of cavalry under
General Adams at its foot, at a place called
Sweeden's Cove, on the road between
Winchester and
Jasper, and drove them from it. After a very severe skirmish near
Jasper, in which
Colonel Hambright led the Nationals, the
Confederates were routed and dispersed, leaving as spoils their ammunition and commissary wagons with supplies; also arms scattered along the pathway of their flight, and twelve prisoners.
Adams escaped without his hat, sword, or horse, borrowing one of the latter from a negro on which to fly.
Negley lost two killed and seven wounded.
32
But one of the most important of the expeditions sent out by
Mitchel, and, indeed, one of the most daring of the war, was the secret one, already alluded to, sent to break up the railway between
Chattanooga and
Atlanta.
This expedition was composed of twenty-two picked men,
33 led by
J. J. Andrews, who had been for several months in the secret service under
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General Buell.
He had proposed the expedition to
Buell at
Nashville, and that officer directed
General Mitchel, then at
Murfreesboro, to furnish him with the means for carrying it out.
34 Mitchel did so with alacrity, for it promised to be of vast service to him in executing his designs against the
Confederates beyond the
Tennessee River; and that band of young men left in detachments on their perilous errand at about the time when that daring general commenced his march for
Alabama.
They passed within the
Confederate lines at
Wartrace, on the Nashville and Chattanooga railway, thirteen miles from
Murfreesboro, traveling on foot as Confederate citizens making their way from oppression in
Kentucky to freedom in
Georgia.
In this disguise they went over the rugged
Cumberland mountains.
Most of them met at
Chattanooga, on the day that
Mitchel took possession of
Huntsville.
Some, who had arrived sooner, had gone by railway to
Marietta, in Georgia, the final rendezvous of the party before commencing operations.
On the same evening the whole party were at the latter place.
The designated point at which to begin their bold raid on the
Georgia State road was at Big Shanty, eight miles above
Marietta, and a short distance from the foot of the
Great Kenesaw Mountain, where several regiments of Confederate troops were stationed.
With an early train the next morning, all but two of the party, who were accidentally left behind, started for that place.
While the conductor and engineer were at breakfast, the raiders uncoupled the engine and three empty box-cars from the passenger cars, and started at full speed up the road,
35 leaving behind them wonderers who could scarcely believe the testimony of their own eyes.
On they went with the fleetness of the wind, answering all questions satisfactorily, where they were compelled to stop, with the assurance that it was a powder-train for
Beauregard.
After going five miles on their journey, they cut the telegraph wires and picked up about fifty cross-ties.
Before reaching
Adamsville, at a curve on the summit of a high embankment, they tore up the rails of the road, and placed some of the ties in such position on the bank that a passing train was hurled off and down the precipice.
At this point
Andrews said, exultingly, “Only one more train to pass, boys, and then we will put our engine to full speed, burn the bridges after us, dash through
Chattanooga, and on to
Mitchel at
Huntsville.”
But more than one train had to be, passed before they could commence their destructive work; and just as they had begun it, well up toward
Calhoun, they were made to desist and flee by the sound of the whistle of a pursuing train.
When this came to the break in the road just mentioned, the engineer of the train they had passed, made acquainted with the circumstances, reversed his engine, and it became a pursuer.
Then occurred one of the most thrilling races on record.
Both engines were put at full speed, and away they went, thundering along, to the amazement of the inhabitants,
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who had no conception of the urgency of the errand of both.
That of the pursued, having the less burden, was fleetest, but its time was consumed by stopping to cut telegraph wires and tear up rails.
The latter, and also ties, were cast upon the track; but very soon the pursuers were too close to allow the pursued to do this, or to allow them to take in a supply of fuel and water.
Their lubricating oil became exhausted; and, such was the speed of the machine, that the brass journals on which the axles revolved were melted.
Fuel failing, the fugitives despaired; and, when within fifteen miles of
Chattanooga,
Andrews ordered them to leave the train, and every man to seek his own safety.
They jumped from the train while it was in motion, and fled for shelter to the tangled forests of
Georgia, around the sinuous
Chickamauga Creek.
Notice of this chase had been telegraphed to
Chattanooga, and produced great consternation.
A stupendous man-hunt was at once organized.
Rewards were offered; every ford, ferry, cross-road, and mountain pass was picketed; and thousands of horsemen and foot soldiers and citizens, and several blood-hounds, scoured the country in all directions.
The whole party were finally captured and imprisoned; and thus ended one of the most adventurous incidents in history.
36 Twelve of them, after being confined at
Chattanooga, were taken to
Knoxville for trial, and kept in the iron cages there in which
Brownlow and his friends had suffered, in the county jail.
37 Andrews, the leader, soon afterward escaped from the prison at
Chattanooga, but, after intense suffering on the shores and little islands of the
Tennessee River, was re-captured, taken to
Atlanta with eight of his comrades, and
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Entrance to the Cave. |
was there hanged without trial.
Seven of those who were taken to
Knoxville had been tried by a court-martial as spies, when the cannon of
General Mitchel, thundering near
Chattanooga, broke up the court, and the prisoners, against whom there was not a particle of evidence to support the charge, were soon afterward conveyed to
Atlanta.
After a brief confinement, the seven who had been arraigned at
Knoxville were taken out and hanged.
Eight of those bold and patriotic young men thus gave their lives to their country.
38 Eight of their companions afterward escaped from confinement, and six were exchanged as prisoners of war in March, 1863.
To each of the survivors of that raid, the
Secretary of War afterward presented a medal of honor.
39 When the writer visited tie National cemetery at
Chattanooga,
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in May, 1866, he saw, in the cave that forms the receiving vault,
40 seven coffins, containing the remains of the seven young men who were hanged at
Atlanta, and which had lately been brought from that city for re-interment.
41
Before
General Buell's arrival,
General Mitchel had made an effort to seize
Chattanooga.
His force was too small to effect it, for
Kirby Smith, commanding the
Confederates in
East Tennessee, was skillful, active, and watchful.
Mitchel had asked for re-enforcements, but they were not afforded.
Finally,
General Negley, three days after his successful attack on
Adams, near
Jasper, having made his way rapidly over the rugged ranges of the
Cumberland Mountains, suddenly appeared opposite
Chattanooga.
It was on the morning of the 7th of June when he arrived.
Toward evening he had heavy guns in position; and for two hours he cannonaded the town and the
Confederate works on Cameron's Hill and at its base.
The guns of his enemy were silenced; and that night the inhabitants fled from the town.
During the darkness
Smith was re-enforced, and some of his infantry took positions to annoy
Negley greatly.
The latter opened his batteries again at nine o'clock, and before noon the
Confederates had all been driven from the town and their works, and had commenced burning railway bridges, eastward of
Chattanooga, to impede a pursuit.
Considering the inferiority of his numbers, and the approach of re-enforcements for
Smith,
Negley prudently withdrew.
Reporting to the
military governor of
Tennessee, he said, “The Union people in
East Tennessee are wild with joy.”
Here, it now seems, was presented a golden moment in which to accomplish great results, but it was not improved.
With a few more regiments,
Negley might have captured and held
Chattanooga; and
Buell and
Mitchel could doubtless have marched into
East Tennessee with very little resistance, and so firmly established the
National power there that it might not have been broken during the remainder of the war. But
General Buell would not consent to such movement, even when the thunder of
Negley's cannon at
Chattanooga made the
Confederates in all that region so fearful, that they were ready to abandon every thing at the first intimation of an advance of their adversary.
See how precipitately they fled from
Cumberland Gap, their “Gibraltar of the mountains,” and the fortified heights around it, when, ten days after the assault on
Chattanooga,
General George W. Morgan, with a few
Ohio and
Kentucky troops, marched against it
from
Powell's Valley. Twenty miles his soldiers traveled that day, climbing the
Cumberland Mountains, dragging their cannon up the precipices by block and tackle, and skirmishing all the way without losing a man. They were cheered by rumors that the foe had fled.
At sunset they were at the main works, and the flags of the Sixteenth Ohio and Twenty-second Kentucky were floating over those fortifications in the twilight.
The Confederate rear-guard had departed four hours before; and the whole force had fled so hastily that they left almost every thing behind them.
They had been supplied with food chiefly by plunderers of the
Union
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people.
They saw a prospect of a sudden cessation of that supply, so they fled while a way of escape was yet open.
The cautious
Buell and the fiery
Mitchel did not work well together, and the latter was soon called to
Washington City and assigned to the command of the Department of the South, with his Headquarters at
Hilton Head, leaving his troops in the
West in charge of
General Rousseau.
For a short
time afterward there was a lull in the storm of war westward of the
Alleghany Mountains, but it was the precursor of a more furious tempest.
During that lull, let us observe and consider events on the
Atlantic coast, along the northern shores of the
Gulf of Mexico, and on the
Lower Mississippi.
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Tail-piece — a Canon in the Mountains. |