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Chapter 28: passage of the fleet by Vicksburg and capture of Grand Gulf.--capture of Alexandria, etc.
- Plans for running the batteries.
-- the fleet underway.
-- the batteries open fire.
-- the transport Henry Clay sunk.
-- a Grand scene.
-- the batteries run.
-- the fleet anchors below the city.
-- McClernand confronted with “Quaker guns.”
-- Grant pushes on to Grand Gulf.
-- the Price in front of the batteries.
-- insubordination of McClernand.
-- Grand Gulf described.
-- the gunboats commence the attack.
-- the fight fiercely contested.
-- the Benton's wheel disabled.
-- damages to the vessels.
-- the gun-boats tie up at hard times.
-- burying the dead.
-- the attack renewed.
-- the Confederates stand to their guns.
-- so-called “history.”
-- Grant's brightest chapter.
-- attack on Haines' Bluff.
-- Captain Walke captures sharpshooters.
-- Grand Gulf captured.
-- Porter confers with Farragut.
-- up the Red River.
-- Fort Derussy partially destroyed.
-- capture of Alexandria.
-- General Banks takes possession
-- up the Black River.
-- Harrisonburg shelled.
-- operations of the Mississippi squadron summarized.
The Army had already moved on the 15th of April, 1863, and that night was selected for the naval vessels to pass the batteries of
Vicksburg.
Orders had been given that the coal in the furnaces should be well ignited, so as to show no smoke, that low steam should be carried, that not a wheel was to turn except to keep the vessel's bow down river, and to drift past the enemy's works fifty yards apart.
Most of the vessels had a coal barge lashed to them on the side away from the enemy, and the wooden gun-boat
General Price, was lashed to the off side of the iron-clad
Lafayette.
When all was ready the signal was made to get under way and the squadron started in the following order:
Benton (flag-ship)
Lieutenant-Commander James A. Greer;
Lafayette,
Commander Henry Walke;
General Price,
Lieutenant-Commander Selim Woodworth;
Louisville,
Lieutenant-Commander E. K. Owen;
Mound City,
Lieutenant-Commander Byron Wilson;
Pittsburg, Volunteer-
Lieutenant Hoel;
Carondelet.
Lieutenant-Commander J. McL.
Murphy, and
Tuscumbia.
Lieutenant-Commander J. W. Shirk.
The tug
Ivy was lashed to the
Benton, three army transports were in the rear and the
Tuscumbia was at the end of the line to take care of them.
The
Benton, passed the first battery without receiving a shot, but as she came up with the second.
the railroad station on the right bank of the river was set on fire, and tar barrels were lighted all along the
Vicksburg shore, illuminating the river and showing every object as plainly as if it was daylight.
Then the enemy opened his batteries all along the line, and the sharpshooters in rifle-pits along the levee commenced operations at the same instant.
The fire was returned with spirit by the vessels as they drifted on. and the sound of falling buildings as the shells burst within them attested the efficiency of the gun-boats' fire.
The vessels had drifted perhaps a mile when a shell exploded in the cotton barricades of the transport
Henry Clay, and almost immediately the vessel was in a blaze; another shell soon after bursting in her hull, the transport went to pieces and
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sank.
The
Forest Queen, another transport, was also disabled by the enemy.
but she was taken in tow by the
Tuscumbia and conveyed safely through.
The scene while the fleet was passing the batteries was grand in the extreme, but the danger to the vessels was more apparent than real.
Their weak points on the sides were mostly protected by heavy logs which prevented many shot and shells going through the iron.
Some rents were made but the vessels stood the ordeal bravely and received no damage calculated to impair their efficiency.
The management of the vessels on this occasion was virtually in the hands of the pilots, who handled them beautifully and kept them in line at the distance apart ordered.
The enemy's shot was not well aimed; owing to the rapid fire of shells, shrapnel, grape and canister from the gun-boats, the sharpshooters were glad to lay low, and the men at the great guns gave up in disgust when they saw the fleet drift on apparently unscathed.
They must have known that
Vicksburg was doomed, for if the fleet got safely below the batteries their supplies of provisions from
Texas would be cut off and they would have to depend on what they could receive from
Richmond.
General Steele had been sent up to the
Steele's Bayou region to destroy all the provisions in that quarter, and
Pemberton knew that if
Grant's Army once got below
Vicksburg it would eat up everything in the way of food between
Warrenton and Bruensburg.
Although the squadron was under fire from the time of passing the first battery until the last vessel got by, a period of two hours and thirty minutes, the vessels were struck in their hulls but sixty-eight times by shot and shells, and only fifteen men were wounded.
At 2.30 A. M., all the vessels were safely anchored at
Carthage, ten miles below
Vicksburg, where was encamped the advanced division of the Army under
General McClernand.
The plantation at this place was owned by an ultra Confederate who exulted over the expected loss of all the gun-boats when he heard that they were to attempt the passage of the batteries, but when at two o'clock he saw them one after another heave in sight their night numbers up and signaling to the flag-ship, “all's well,” he went off in despair,
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got drunk, set fire to his house and all the negro cabins, and departed to parts unknown.
The negroes had already joined the
Union Army, having no attachment to their brutal master, who had become so debased that he scarcely bore resemblance to a man.
When the day broke after the arrival of the squadron at
Carthage, some four hundred men, the advance guard of
McClernand's division, were found behind intrenchments hastily thrown up with a log on a pair of cart-wheels, to represent a field piece, while less than a thousand yards infront of them was a formidable looking set of earth-works with four large guns in position; and
Generals McClernand and
Osterhaus were momentarily expecting an attack.
|
Lieut.-Commander (now Captain) James A. Greer, commanding Flag-ship Benton. |
The enemy's works appeared to be full of men, and as the
Union troops had been under arms all night, the arrival of the gun-boats was a great relief to them.
The
Tuscumbia was sent down to shell the enemy out, but the latter scampered off as soon as they saw the gun-boat coming.
The Confederates had been playing a “bluff game” with
McClernand, and held him in check until part of their force could get away with some light field-pieces.
The frowning guns on the parapet proved on examination to be nothing but logs — such are the devices in war!
The advance of
General Grant's Army moved but slowly on its way to
Carthage.
The roads were in wretched condition, and the artillery and wagons were continually stalled.
The soldiers had therefore to “corduroy” the roads so that those coming after could get along faster, but it was terrible marching at the best.
From the little damage that had been inflicted on the gun-boats,
General Grant felt satisfied he could send transports by the batteries of
Vicksburg, and shortly afterwards six of these, on a dark night, passed down in charge of their pilots — a daring set of men who never shrunk from any dangerous service,--only one steamer was sunk by the enemy's shot.
A sufficient number of gun boats had been left at the mouth of the
Yazoo River to take care of the
upper Mississippi, and to look out for two formidable rams that were building at
Yazoo City, forty miles from the mouth of the river.
Sherman remained with his division at
Young's Point, ready to make another attack from the
Yazoo if opportunity offered, and also to protect the supplies at
Milliken's Bend from
General Sterling Price, who with a large Confederate force was encamped some thirty miles away on the west bank of the
Mississippi.
The Mississippi Marine Brigade, consisting of two thousand men, under
Brigadier-General Alfred Ellet, in six or seven large steamers, was left there.
These flying troops were attached to the Navy.
Every precaution had been taken to prevent a surprise from the
Confederates, or any attempt on their part to fortify the river banks again in the absence of the Army.
General McClernand had been ordered by
Grant to push forward with his division, and with the help of the Navy, to seize upon
Grand Gulf.
Had it not been for the great overflow at that time, the
Union Army might have landed on the east side of the river, but
Vicksburg was now almost surrounded by water, which obliterated all roads except those on the high lands,which could only be reached by going further down the
Mississippi.
Hence it was that after a careful examination of the left bank of the river,
Grant decided to push on to
Grand Gulf, a long and tedious march.
General McClernand had been given the advance to satisfy his ambition, but he was not equal to the occasion, and this desire of
General Grant to show
McClernand that he was anxious to give him an opportunity for distinction, might have hazarded the success of the campaign.
Had
McClernand pushed on at once with the Navy to back him
Grand Gulf and its batteries would have easily fallen into Federal hands;
Big Black River, which led up to the rear of
Jackson, would have been kept open by the gun-boats; and the main Army instead of having to land at Bruensburg, eight or ten miles below
Grand Gulf, could have disembarked
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at the latter point and marched to the rear of
Vicksburg by favorable roads.
Instead of carrying out his instructions,
McClernand advanced only to
Perkins' Landing, where he pitched his tents (although he had been directed to leave these behind on account of the difficulties of transportation), and called upon
General McPherson for rations, of which he had failed to provide himself a sufficient supply.
Perkins' Landing seemed to have such a fascination for
McClernand that he remained there until
Grant ordered him to move on.
Admiral Porter proceeded in the wooden gun-boat
General Price to reconnoitre
Grand Gulf,and ascertained that large numbers of troops were engaged in constructing extensive fortifications.
Some guns were already mounted and others lying on the ground.
The
Price had but two guns and with these
Lieutenant-Commander Woodworth was ordered to proceed within twelve hundred yards of the upper battery, and open fire.
The shells exploded in the battery, and the workers sought the shelter of the hills.
The
Price kept up a fire for over an hour, the
Confederates firing only two shots from a Whitworth field-piece; for, as was afterwards ascertained, they had at that time received no ammunition for the great guns.
The
Admiral having satisfied himself that the works could be easily carried by assault under cover of the fire of the gun-boats, hastened back to
Perkins' Landing, and stated the case to
General McClernand, urging the co-operation of two thousand soldiers to enable him to occupy
Grand Gulf, but no heed was given to the application; for
McClernand, wrapped in his dignity, scorned all advice.
Failing in that direction, the
Admiral wrote to
General Sherman, detailing the state of affairs and begged him to induce
General Grant to come to the front and take charge in person, before the favorable opportunity should pass away.
Grant was then at
Milliken's Bend, forty miles distant. It took
Sherman twenty hours to get the dispatch to him, and twenty-four hours more for
Grant to reach
Perkins' Landing, where he assumed command of the advance in spite of
McClernand's objections, which were manifested in such an insubordinate way that most commanding generals would have at once relieved him from duty.
Three or four days had passed since the reconnoissance of
Grand Gulf by the
Admiral and time was lost which could never be regained.
The Confederates concluded from the reconnoissance that measures were on foot to attack
Grand Gulf, and they worked incessantly to strengthen the defences.
Men and munitions of war were poured in from
Vicksburg, and the enemy were prepared to make a strong resistance to the gun-boats or to any assault from the land forces.
Grand Gulf was by nature as strong as
Vicksburg, the
Confederates in their pride called it “the Little Gibraltar.”
The principal work called
Bald Head, was on a bold bluff promontory at a bend in the river commanding a view for miles up and down the
Mississippi.
The current of the river, which ran here five miles an hour with innumerable eddies, had cut away the shore until beneath the fort was a perpendicular wall more than eighty feet in height, while in the rear hills rising three hundred and fifty feet above the river were dotted with field works to protect the flanks of
Bald Head, which fort mounted four heavy guns,
Brooke rifles and 8-inch Columbiads.
In front of this the river formed a large circular bay or gulf from which the place took its name.
Black River emptied into the gulf and the approach to it was commanded by two 8-inch Columbiads.
The lower forts were half a mile below
Bald Head, and were connected with the latter by intrenchments by which troops could pass under cover from one fort to another.
The lower batteries mounted nine heavy guns situated on the brow of a hill eight hundred yards from the river and one hundred and fifty feet above it. The guns were mostly long 32-pounders and 8-inch. There were some smaller batteries in which were rifled field pieces.
All these batteries were more formidable from the fact that they were in very elevated positions, giving them a plunging fire, while it was difficult to elevate the guns afloat so that their shot would reach the enemy.
After
Grant had got his Army in motion part of
McClernand's division was embarked on transports, the rest of the troops being obliged to march to Hard Times, twenty-two miles from
Perkins' Landing.
Five barges and a steamer were sunk by the batteries at
Vicksburg when the last six transports ran the blockade, which made transportation by water for all of the troops out of the question.
When the troops arrived at the point abreast of
Bald Head, and the soldiers on the transports were ready to land as soon as the batteries should be silenced,
Admiral Porter got under way with the squadron and commenced the attack at 8 A. M., on the 29th of April, 1863.
The
Pittsburg Louisville,
Mound City, and
Carondelet attacked the lower batteries, while the
Benton,
Tuscumbia, and
Lafayette attacked Bald Head battery, the two former as close as they could get, and the
Lafayette lying
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in an eddy four hundred yards above the fort where she could enfilade it.
As the vessels approached the works the enemy opened fire and in ten minutes the battle was raging all along the line.
The fight was severely contested, and it was not until three hours after the first gun was fired, that the enemy deserted his guns at the lower batteries, and then only after the
Lafayette had been ordered from her first position to reinforce the gun-boats below.
In the meantime the flag-ship
Benton, and the
Tuscumbia were doing their best to silence the upper battery, getting close
under the guns and endeavoring to knock
|
Batteries at “Grand Gulf” captured by the U. S. Mississippi Squadron, May 3, 1863. |
off their muzzles, when they were run out to fire.
The current was so strong, however, that it was impossible to keep the two vessels in position and they sheered about very much.
In one of these sheers, a shot entered the
Benton's pilot house, disabled the wheel and cut
Pilot Williams' foot nearly off. Though the brave pilot never left his post it was impossible to manage the vessel and she was accordingly run into the bank to repair damages.
The gun-boats at the lower batteries had been signalled to double up on
Bald Head, the
Lafayette to resume her old position, and the
Pittsburg, Volunteer-
Lieutenant Hoel, arrived opportunely to take the
Benton's place.
During the time the latter vessel was out of action--twenty-five minutes--the
Pittsburg lost six killed and had twelve wounded.
After all the vessels concentrated their fire on
Bald Head, there was less resistance, although the
Confederates still stood to their guns.
When the battle had lasted more than five hours,
General Grant, who from a tug up the river, was looking on, made signal to the
Admiral that he wished to communicate, and the
Benton joined him two miles above the forts.
The Confederates had now ceased firing, but the gun-boats maintained their position around
Bald Head, occasionally firing a shell to keep the enemy out of the works.
When
General Grant went on board the flag-ship, he decided that it would be too hazardous to attempt to land troops, as it did not appear that the guns in the enemy's works were dismounted and the gunners would therefore jump to their batteries again, open on the unprotected transports and destroy many of the troops.
For the same reason the general concluded not to send the transports past the batteries with the soldiers on board but to march the latter around by land.
In this he was quite right, as afterwards appeared.
As there was no longer any object in keeping the gun-boats under the batteries, all but the
Lafayette were recalled, and the latter was left in her old position to keep the enemy from reoccupying the works and repairing damages.
This
duty Commander
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Walke effectually performed, firing a shell every five minutes into the works until darkness set in.
The engagement was fought under great disadvantages; the current around the pro montory of
Bald Head ran with great rapidity, and it was as much as the gun-boats could do to stem it. Clumsy vessels at best, the iron-clads would frequently be turned completely round, presenting their weak points to the enemy, of which the expert Confederate gunners were not slow to take advantage, and seldom missed their mark so close were the
Federals to the forts.
The light armor plates of most of the vessels offered but an imperfect resistance to the heavy missiles of the enemy, and, in consequence, the list of killed and wounded in the squadron was large.
The
Tuscumbia, on which vessel great reliance was placed to resist heavy shot, proved herself the weakest iron-clad in the squadron, although
Lieutenant-Commander Shirk stood up to his work manfully.
In the beginning of the engagement, a rifle shell struck the outer edge of the shutter of the midship port — she fought three 11-inch guns in the bow — opened the port and entered the casemate, killing six men and wounding several others.
Another shell jammed the shutters of the same port so tightly.
that the gun could not be used for the remainder of the action.
A shell from the lower battery entered the stern port, disabling every man at the 9-inch gun, and yet this vessel was supposed to be shot proof!
Some of the armor on the forward casemate fell overboard from repeated blows, and all of it was started from its seat.
The
Tuscumbia was struck eighty-one times by shot and shells, and was completely riddled; one engine was disabled, six men killed and twenty-four wounded, some of them mortally.
The flag-ship
Benton, although the strongest of the gun-boats, was badly cut up. A shell passed through her armor on the starboard quarter and exploded in a stateroom, setting fire to the vessel.
The
Benton was struck forty-seven times in the casemates, and seventy times in all by heavy shot, the three-quarter inch iron was perforated twelve times, the two and-a-half inch, four times.
A hundred pound shot passed through the pilot-house, smashing the wheel and severely wounding the pilot, nine men were killed and nineteen wounded.
The
Lafayette,
Commander Walke, proved herself an excellent fighting vessel.
She was struck by cannon shot forty-five times, but only five shots did any serious damage.
She had only one officer wounded.
The
Pittsburg, Volunteer-
Lieutenant-Commander Hoel, was struck in the hull thirty-five times, and had six killed and thirteen wounded.
The other vessels, although considerably cut up, were not materially damaged, and all reported “ready for service” half an hour after the action, when the gun-boats tied up to the bank at Hard Times.
Then came the melancholy duty of burying the dead, who were followed mournfully to their graves by their messmates and friends.
Three hours afterwards the squadron got underway and again attacked the batteries, while the transports all passed in safety below Hard Times.
Some of the
Confederate gunners fired at the gun-boats but did no damage.
During the whole engagement the
Confederates stood to their guns manfully, and certainly pointed them to some purpose.
Colonel Wade, the
commanding officer at
Bald Head, was killed; his chief-of-staff also, and eleven men were reported killed by the
Confederates, although more graves than that were counted.
The enemy had many wounded, but the number was not mentioned in the returns.
Rear-Admiral Porter, in his report, speaks in the highest terms of
Commander Walke,
Greer,
Lieutenant-Commander Murphy,
Lieutenant-Commanders Shirk and
Owen,
Lieutenants-Commanding Hoel and
Wilson, some of whom had already distinguished themselves on the
upper Mississippi.
The remarks on this battle of
Grand Gulf by military historians show how reluctant they are to give the Navy credit.
The following quotation from a well known writer, is an instance in point.
Speaking of
Grand Gulf he says:
The vessels were handled with skill and boldness, but the rebel batteries were too elevated for Porter to accomplish anything.
He was not able to dismount a solitary piece and it would have been madness to attempt a landing under unsilenced guns like these.
No serious injury was sustained by any of the fleet. [!] The Admiral withdrew after the utter futility of his effort had been amply demonstrated.
The enemy also suspended fire.
Such are the statements that have for years passed for “history,” one “historian” repeating another only changing a little the language of his predecessor to make it pass for his own. The above quotation reads like an excuse for the Army not landing, although no excuse was needed.
It was
General Grant's opinion that it would be wiser to land the Army lower down, in which opinion the naval commanding officer concurred.
Grant had too few men with him to run the risk of losing any of them, and there was no particular advantage to be gained by landing immediately at
Grand Gulf, as was afterwards proven.
The military historian whom we have
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quoted has not stated the case truthfully, but his statements are in keeping with those of many other writers who seem to fear that by giving credit to the Navy, they may detract from that which is due the other arm of the service.
An intelligent reader will readily understand that a campaign such as is here described must have been a failure without the assistance of the Navy.
In default of credit from the “military historians,” the officers and men of the Navy must rely on the reports of their own chiefs to do them justice.
The night following the attack on
Grand Gulf information was obtained from a negro, that there was a good landing at Bruensburg, six miles below
Grand Gulf, and that from Bruensburg an excellent road led to
Port Gibson. twelve miles in the interior.
In consequence of this information the gun-boats and transports were next morning crowded with troops, and steamed down the river.
About noon,
Grant disembarked thirty-two thousand men with four days rations, and without transportation determined to live upon the enemy, as he was satisfied the supply of provisions in the district was ample to meet all his requirements.
Here
Grant started on that remarkable march against an enemy who outnumbered numbered his forces two to one; he outgeneraled the
Confederates, fought battle after battle and finally reached the rear of
Vicksburg, shutting
General Pemberton inside the fortifications and causing
General Joseph E. Johnston to evacuate
Jackson and retreat.
Grant's conduct of this campaign forms the brightest chapter in his military record and can only be appreciated by those who know the difficulties with which he had to contend, and particularly the nature of the country through which he had to march his Army.
General Grant had made arrangements for
Sherman's division to make a feint up
Yazoo River the same day the gun-boats attacked
Grand Gulf.
Accordingly, on that day
Sherman moved up the
Yazoo in transports preceeded by “the gun-boats,” as the military historian puts it. Most of these gun-boats were what were called “workshops,”
i. e., the machine vessel, carpenter shop, store vessel, powder vessel and hospital vessel.
These were simply river steamers painted black.
The naval forces were led by
Lieutenant-Commander K. R. Breese in the
Black Hawk and comprised the
Baron DeKalb,
Lieutenant-Commander John G. Walker,
Choctaw,
Lieutenant-Commander F. M. Ramsay,
Taylor.
Lieutenant-Commander Prichett,
Signal,
Romeo,
Linden and
Petrel with three 13-inch mortars.
The naval demonstration was really a fine one, calculated to impress the
Confederates, who had seen so many nondescripts pass
Vicksburg that they hardly knew a gun-boat from a transport.
While
Pemberton was making his preparations to meet
Grant's Army on
Big Black River, he received a dispatch informing him that
Haines' Bluff was the real point of attack and that a large Army supported by numerous gun-boats was moving against that place.
It was desirable that the
Confederates should be encouraged in the belief that
Haines' Bluff was the real point of attack, and the
DeKalb,
Choctaw and
Taylor, approaching as near as they could get, opened a heavy fire on the works while
Sherman disembarked his troops.
There was but one narrow road which led along the levee, and this was wide enough for but four men to march abreast.
As
Sherman advanced along this road towards Haines' Bluff the three gun-boats maintained their incessant fire and confirmed the
Confederates in their belief that this was really the point of attack, although the condition of the country ought to have assured them that no Army would be likely to attack a place so strongly fortified, under the circumstances.
The fire of the gun-boats was kept up as long as possible, and videttes and skirmishers were thrown out by the Army on the road leading to the
Bluff; upon this road the enemy opened with heavy guns and apparently could have swept away any force approaching from that direction.
At dark,
General Sherman re-embarked his men, having accomplished the object of his movement, which was simply to deceive the
Confederates.
Notwithstanding the movement was but a feint, the three gun-boats,
Choctaw,
DeKalb, and
Taylor, together with the
Black Hawk, kept up a hot fire for three hours as well as they could — wedged in a stream which was here not over forty yards wide; as, since the demonstration was considered of such importance by
General Sherman, it was necessary to do everything that would make the attack appear a real one.
The morning after these transactions actions, it was discovered that new works had been thrown up by the
Confederates during the night, that the old ones had been extended, and several additional heavy guns had been placed in position.
This feint against Haines' Bluff continued for several days, and
Pemberton was obliged, in answer to solicitations, to send re-inforcements, thus weakening his Army below.
Ox teams were observed hauling heavy guns to mount at Haines' Bluff, to check the advance of the
Federal forces,
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showing that the enemy was exerting all his energy to strengthen the threatened position.
During this movement, the
DeKalb, while temporarily dropping out of action was attacked by sharpshooters from some buildings on the eastern bank.
Lieutenant-Commander Walker immediately ran the vessel into the bank and landed twenty-five men under command of
Acting-Master C. S. Kendrick, who dislodged the enemy and chased them into the swamp, killing one officer and three privates, and taking a lieutenant of the Third Louisiana Infantry prisoner.
This officer was captured in a hand-to-hand fight by
Mr. Kendrick, who knocked him down with a pistol.
In two days firing, the
DeKalb expended two hundred rounds of shot and shells, did not suffer materially in her hull, and had only one casualty.
The
Choctaw,
Lieutenant-Commander Ramsay, had an opportunity of showing her fighting qualities.
She was a sister ship to the
Lafayette, and had lately joined the squadron.
She was struck forty-seven times in her hull, and had thirteen shots through her smoke-stack.
The turret was struck six times.
A ten-inch shot penetrated the crown, and a six inch rifle shot buried itself in the iron plating.
Two shots struck below the water line on the starboard side forward of the turret.
With the exception that the good order of the vessel was rather marred, no great injury was done, and, fortunately, no one was killed.
The
Taylor, being a wooden vessel, could only take an occasional part in the bombardment.
She was struck below the water line with a rifle shot, and made to leak so badly that she had to withdraw from action to repair damages.
At one time the fire of the gun-boats was so effective that the enemy's fire almost ceased, and but for a raft which blocked the further advance of the vessels, the latter would have endeavored to get close enough to use grape and canister, which might have made quite a difference in the state of affairs.
As it was, everything turned out to
General Sherman's satisfaction, and returning to
Young's Point, he started with his division to join
General Grant, crossing the river at
Grand Gulf and overtaking the main body of the Army in time to be present during the important events which laid
Vicksburg at the mercy of the
Federal Army.
After
General Grant and his troops landed at Bruensburg,
Admiral Porter returned the same night to
Grand Gulf with the intention of trying to get possession of the enemy's works.
As seven o'clock, on the following morning, the
Lafayette was sent up to draw the fire of the forts.
As she approached, the magazine in the lower battery blew up, throwing a vast cloud of dust into the air. Several other magazines in the smaller forts followed, and the
Confederate troops evacuated all the works.
The fort at
Bald Head, on
Point of Rocks, was left intact, and a tiny Confederate flag was left sticking in a flower-pot to show that the enemy did not surrender.
There is no other instance during the war of a fort holding out so determinedly as this one at
Bald Head.
The destruction wrought inside the work was marvellous--one would suppose that no living thing could have continued there under such a fire.
The military historian whom we have quoted was wrong, for every gun in the fort was rendered useless by the shot and shells from the gun-boats; only one gun could be fired and that could not be trained, owing to the destruction of its carriage.
Some of the guns in the lower batteries were still intact, and these opened on the fleet.
In the evening, the guns were all dismounted by the sailors and laid along the levee, where they could be shipped to
Cairo.
The following is a copy of a report made by
T. M. Farrell, U. S. N., May, 1863:
These batteries mounted one 100-pounder, two 64-pounders, two 7-inch rifles, one 30-pounder Parrott, two 30-pounder Parrotts in battery, two 20-pounder Parrotts in main magazine, three 10-pounder Parrotts on the hills.
Batteries engaged by the gun-boats for five hours and thirty-five minutes, the lower battery silenced in three hours, the upper battery silenced with the exception of one gun. The Lafayette laid opposite this battery and kept the people from working until dark, when it was partially repaired.
The defences were all earthworks.
In addition to the above, four or five small field-pieces were used by the rebels and shifted about from place to place.
Admiral Farragut was still at the mouth of
Red River in the flag-ship
Hartford, where he had remained ever since he had made the passage by
Port Hudson, and
Admiral Porter having left
Lieutenant-Commander Owen in charge at
Grand Gulf with the
Louisville and
Tuscumbia, proceeded down the river to meet
Farragut and relieve him of the command of that part of the river.
On the 3d of May, 1863,
Admiral Porter reached the mouth of
Red River and after conferring with
Admiral Farragut, proceeded up that stream with the
Benton.
Lafayette,
Pittsburg,
General Price, tug
Ivy and ram
Switzerland.
Meeting two of
Admiral Farragut's vessels, the
Arizona and the
Estella, they were turned back and accompanied
Admiral Porter's squadron which arrived next morning at Fort DeRussy.
This work was a casemated battery built in the most substantial manner and plated after the style of the rams with railroad
[
318]
iron.
On the rumored approach of the gun-boats the
Confederates hastily dismounted and carried off all the guns except one 64-pounder.
There were at Fort DeRussy, three casemates intended for two guns each, and a flanking battery at right angles to the casemates calculated to mount seven guns more.
There was also a large square earthwork eight hundred yards inland not yet ready for guns.
These works would have been very formidable had they been finished, and it was as well they were not completed and manned.
They were a monument of the energy and determination of the enemy, which seemed to be without limit.
After partially destroying the works at Fort DeRussy, the squadron proceeded up to
Alexandria which place submitted without a dissenting voice, many of the inhabitants professing themselves
Unionists.
The day after the arrival of the gun-boats
Major-General Banks marched into
Alexandria and the town was turned over to him by the Navy.
The following day the squadron returned down the
Red River with the exception of the
Lafayette,
Estella and
Arizona, and the ram
Switzerland which were left to co-operate with
General Banks in case he should require the assistance of the Navy.
While in
Red River,
Lieutenant-Commander Woodworth was sent up
Black River, a branch of the former stream, to make a reconnaissance with the
General Price,
Pittsburg,
Estella, and
Arizona.
These vessels ascended as far as
Harrisonburg which was found to be strongly fortified.
The works were shelled for some time with little apparent effect and after destroying a large amount of Confederate Army stores, amounting to three hundred thousand dollars in value, the gun-boats returned to
Red River, and the
Benton and consorts proceeded to
Grand Gulf to co-operate with
General Grant in any of his plans where the Navy could be useful.
Thus within ten days the flag-ship and her consorts, after dismantling the fortifications at
Grand Gulf, had ascended
Red River, had destroyed the works at Fort DeRussy, broken up an immense raft intended to obstruct
Red River, captured
Alexandria, destroyed a large amount of the enemy's stores on
Black River, and returned to
Grand Gulf, where it was found that
General Grant had moved his Army towards
Vicksburg.
The whole squadron then ascended the river to a point two miles below
Vicksburg and the admiral again hoisted his flag on board the
Black Hawk, at
Young's Point, ready to communicate with
General Grant the moment his Army should arrive in the rear of the besieged city.
In less than a month, the Mississippi squadron had passed through a sharp and exciting campaign, had failed in nothing it had undertaken, and had given the Army the assistance necessary to enable it to reach a position which ensured the
fall of Vicksburg.