An officer with
Banks's army relates, in a private letter, an incident which occurred during a temporary truce at
Port Hudson on the twenty-seventh of May.
He availed himself of the opportunity this afforded to ride up to the rebel works as close as he could, to get a good view of them, when he saw a regiment of the enemy throw down their arms, and heard them give three cheers and exclaim: “We surrender.”
The rebel officers at once approached them, and, with drawn swords and pistols, overpowered and controlled them, and compelled them to take up their arms and resume their position.
The same officer, at a truce entered into the next day for the purpose of looking after the dead and wounded, while riding as near to the rebel lines as he could get, was hailed by a confederate officer within the works with the question, whether he did not think; upon reflection, that he was coming nearer than was exactly proper.
Our officer replied in the negative, saying that he had men wounded and killed as near the enemy as he himself then was. A conversation then ensued, in which the rebel officer spoke of
Sherman's charge of the preceding day, and remarked that: “Inside they regarded it as the finest thing of the war.”
Our officer did not belong to
Sherman's division.
