Camp Fire and Cotton Field by Thomas W. Knox

T >> Thomas W. Knox >> Camp Fire and Cotton Field

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31

"Certainly we are," responded another; "but who will represent us?"

"Hold an election to-morrow, and choose our man."

"Who will we send? None of us would be received. There isn't a man in
the district who could swear he has taken no part in the Rebellion."

"I have it," said the individual who first proposed an election.
Turning to me, he made a somewhat novel proposition:

"You can represent us in Congress. We've all been so d----d disloyal
that we can't go; but that is no reason why we should not send a loyal
men. Say yes, and we'll meet to-morrow, a dozen of us, and elect you."

Here was an opportunity for glory. Only four days in a State from
which I could go to Congress! I was offered all necessary credentials
to insure my reception. My loyalty could be clearly and easily
proved. My only duties would be to assist in fastening slavery upon
my congressional district. Much as I felt honored at the offer of
distinction, I was obliged to decline it. A similar proposition was
made to another journalist. He, like myself, was governed by modesty,
and begged to be excused from serving.

The desire of this people to be represented in Congress, was a partial
proof that they expected the national authority restored throughout
the country. They professed to believe that our occupation would be
temporary, but their actions did not agree with their words.

They were greatly mortified at the inability of their army to oppose
our advance, and frequently abused the Rebel Government without stint.
They had anticipated an easy victory from the outset, and were greatly
disappointed at the result, up to that time.

"Just see how it is," said a Mississippian one day; "we expected to
whip you without the slightest trouble. We threw the war into the
Border States to keep it off our soil. Mississippi was very earnest
for the Rebellion when Kentucky was the battle-ground. We no more
expected you would come here, than that we should get to the moon.
It is the fortune of war that you have driven us back, but it is very
severe upon the cotton States."

I ventured to ask about the possibilities of repudiation of the Rebel
debt, in case the Confederacy was fairly established.

"Of course we shall repudiate," was the response. "It would be far
better for the Confederacy to do so than to attempt to pay the debt,
or even its interest. Suppose we have a debt of a thousand millions,
at eight per cent. This debt is due to our own people, and they have
to pay the interest upon it. In twelve years and a half they would
have paid another thousand millions, and still be as deeply in debt as
ever. Now, if they repudiate the whole, the country will be a thousand
millions richer at the end of twelve years and a half, than it
otherwise would."

In Mississippi, as well as in other Southern States, I frequently
heard this argument. It is not surprising that the confidence of the
people in their currency was shaken at a very early period.

In its days of prosperity, Holly Springs boasted of two rival papers,
each of them published weekly. One of these died just as the war broke
out. The proprietor of the other, who was at the same time its editor,
went, with his two sons, into the Rebel army, leaving the paper in
charge of his wife. The lady wielded the pen for nearly a year, but
the scarcity of printing-paper compelled her to close her office, a
few months before our arrival.

One afternoon, I accompanied Mr. Colburn, of _The World_, on a visit
to the ex-editress. The lady received our cards and greeted us very
cordially. She spoke, with evident pride, of her struggles to sustain
her paper in war-time and under war prices, and hoped she could soon
resume its publication. She referred to the absence of her husband
and sons in the Rebel service, and was gratified that they had always
borne a good record. She believed in the South and in the justness of
its cause, but was prompt to declare that all the wrong was not on one
side. She neither gave the South extravagant praise, nor visited the
North with denunciation.

She regretted the existence of the war, and charged its beginning upon
the extremists of both sides. Slavery was clearly its cause, and
she should look for its complete destruction in the event of the
restoration of national authority. Through justice to itself, the
North could demand nothing less, and the South must be willing to
abide by the fortune of war.

This woman respected and admired the North, because it was a region
where labor was not degrading.

She had always opposed the Southern sentiment concerning labor, and
educated her children after her own belief. While other boys were
idling in the streets, she had taught her sons all the mysteries of
the printing-office, and made them able to care for themselves. She
was confident they would vindicate the correctness of her theory, by
winning good positions in life. She believed slavery had assisted the
development of the South, but was equally positive that its effect
upon the white race was ruinous in the extreme.

She had no word of abuse for the Union, but spoke of it in terms of
praise. At the same time she expressed an earnest hope for the
success of the Rebellion. She saw the evil of slavery, but wished the
Confederacy established. How she could reconcile all her views I was
unable to ascertain. I do not believe she will take seriously to heart
the defeat of the scheme to found a slaveholders' government. In the
suppression of the Rebellion she will doubtless discover a brilliant
future for "the land of the cypress and myrtle," and bless the day
that witnessed the destruction of slavery.

At Oxford, our forces found the residence of the ex-Hon. Jacob
Thompson, who has since figured prominently as the Rebel agent in
Canada. In his office a letter-book and much correspondence were
secured--the letters showing that the design of a rebellion dated
much further back than the first election of Mr. Lincoln. Some of this
correspondence was given to the public at the time, and proved quite
interesting. The balance was sent to the War Department, where it was
expected to be of service. The books in Mr. Thompson's library found
their way to various parts of the Union, and became scattered where it
will be difficult for their owner to gather them, should he desire to
restore his collection. If "misery loves company," it was doubtless
gratifying to Mr. Thompson to know of the capture of the library and
correspondence of Jefferson Davis, several months later.

Our advance into Mississippi was being successfully pushed, early in
December, 1862. There was a prospect that it would not accomplish
the desired object, the capture of Vicksburg, without some
counter-movement. A force was sent from Helena, Arkansas, to cut the
railway in rear of the Rebel army. Though accomplishing its immediate
object, it did not make a material change in the military situation.
The Rebels continued to hold Grenada, which they had strongly
fortified. They could only be forced from this position by a movement
that should render Grenada of no practical value.

General Grant detached the right wing of his army, with orders to make
a rapid march to Memphis, and thence to descend the Mississippi by
steamboats to Vicksburg. This expedition was commanded by General
Sherman. While the movement was in progress, General Grant was to
push forward, on the line he had been following, and attempt to join
General Sherman at the nearest practicable point on the Yazoo River
above Vicksburg. The fall of Vicksburg was thus thought to be assured,
especially as General Sherman's attack was to be made upon the
defenses in its rear.

General Sherman moved, to Memphis with due celerity. The garrison of
that city was reduced as much as possible to re-enforce his column.
The Army of Arkansas, then at Helena, was temporarily added to his
command. This gave a force exceeding twenty-eight thousand strong
to move upon Vicksburg. It was considered sufficiently large to
accomplish the desired object--the garrison of Vicksburg having been
weakened to strengthen the army in General Grant's front.

I was in Holly Springs when General Sherman began to move toward
Memphis. Thinking there would be active work at Vicksburg, I prepared
to go to Columbus by rail, and take a steamboat thence to Memphis. By
this route it was nearly four hundred miles; but it was safer and
more expeditious to travel in that way than to attempt the "overland"
journey of fifty miles in a direct line.

There were rumors that the Rebels contemplated a raid upon Holly
Springs, for the purpose of cutting General Grant's communications and
destroying the supplies known to be accumulated there. From the most
vague and obscurely-worded hints, given by a Secessionist, I inferred
that such a movement was expected. The Rebels were arranging a cavalry
force to strike a blow somewhere upon our line of railway, and
there was no point more attractive than Holly Springs. I attached no
importance to the story, as I had invariably known the friends of the
Rebels to predict wonderful movements that never occurred.

Meeting the post-commandant shortly afterward, I told him what I had
heard. He assured me there was nothing to fear, and that every thing
was arranged to insure a successful defense. On this point I did not
agree with him. I knew very well that the garrison was not properly
distributed to oppose a dash of the enemy. There were but few men
on picket, and no precautions had been taken against surprise. Our
accumulation of stores was sufficiently large to be worth a strong
effort to destroy them. As I was about ready to leave, I concluded to
take the first train to Columbus.

Less than forty-eight hours after my departure, General Van Dorn, at
the head of five thousand men, entered Holly Springs with very slight
opposition. He found every thing nearly as he could have arranged it
had he planned the defense himself. The commandant, Colonel Murphy,
was afterward dismissed the service for his negligence in preparing to
defend the place after being notified by General Grant that the enemy
was moving to attack him.

The accumulation of supplies at the railway depot, and all the railway
buildings, with their surroundings, were burned. Two trains of cars
were standing ready to move, and these shared a similar fate. In the
center of the town, a building we were using as a magazine was blown
up. The most of the business portion of Holly Springs was destroyed by
fire, communicated from this magazine.

During the first year of the war, Holly Springs was selected as the
site of a "Confederate States Arsenal," and a series of extensive
buildings erected at great expense.

We had converted these buildings into hospitals, and were fitting
them up with suitable accommodations for a large number of sick and
wounded.

After ordering our surgeons to remove their patients, the Rebels set
fire to the hospitals while the yellow flag was floating over them.
General Grant subsequently denounced this act as contrary to the
usages of war.

The Rebels remained in Holly Springs until five o'clock in the
afternoon of the day of their arrival. At their departure they moved
in a northerly direction, evidently designing to visit Grand Junction.
At Davis's Mill, about half-way between Holly Springs and Grand
Junction, they found a small stockade, garrisoned by two companies
of infantry, protecting the railway bridge. They sent forward a
flag-of-truce, and demanded the instant surrender of the stockade.

Their demand was not complied with. That garrison, of less than two
hundred men, fought Van Dorn's entire command four hours, repulsed
three successive charges, and finally compelled the Rebels to retreat.
Van Dorn's northward movement was checked, and our stores at Grand
Junction and Lagrange were saved, by the gallantry of this little
force. General Grant subsequently gave special compliment to the
bravery of these soldiers and their officers, in an order which was
read to every regiment in the Army of the Tennessee.

Our plans were completely deranged by this movement of the enemy. The
supplies and ammunition we had relied upon were destroyed, and
our communications severed. It was impossible to push further into
Mississippi, and preparations were made for immediate retreat.
The railway was repaired and the heavy baggage sent to the rear as
speedily as possible. When this was accomplished the army began to
fall back. Oxford, Abbeville, and Holly Springs were abandoned, and
returned to the protection of the Rebel flag. Northern Mississippi
again became the field for guerrilla warfare, and a source of supply
to the Rebels in the field. The campaign for the capture of Vicksburg
took a new shape from the day our lines were severed.

A few days before the surrender of Vicksburg, General Grant,
in conversation with some friends, referred to his position in
Mississippi, six months before. Had he pressed forward beyond Grenada,
he would have been caught in midwinter in a sea of mud, where the
safety of his army might have been endangered. Van Dorn's raid
compelled him to retreat, saved him from a possible heavier reverse,
and prepared the way for the campaign in which Vicksburg finally
capitulated. A present disaster, it proved the beginning of ultimate
success.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE BATTLE OF CHICKASAW BAYOU.

Leaving Memphis.--Down the Great River.--Landing in the Yazoo.--
Description of the Ground..--A Night in Bivouac.--Plan of Attack.--
Moving toward the Hills.--Assaulting the Bluff.--Our Repulse.--New
Plans.--Withdrawal from the Yazoo.

On arriving at Memphis, I found General Sherman's expedition was ready
to move toward Vicksburg. A few of the soldiers who escaped from the
raid on Holly Springs had reached Memphis with intelligence of that
disaster. The news caused much excitement, as the strength of the
Rebels was greatly exaggerated. A few of these soldiers thought Van
Dorn's entire division of fifteen or twenty thousand men had
been mounted and was present at the raid. There were rumors of a
contemplated attack upon Memphis, after General Sherman's departure.

Unmilitary men thought the event might delay the movement upon
Vicksburg, but it did not have that effect. General Sherman said he
had no official knowledge that Holly Springs had been captured, and
could do no less than carry out his orders. The expedition sailed, its
various divisions making a rendezvous at Friar's Point, twelve miles
below Helena, on the night of the 22d of December. From this place
to the mouth of the Yazoo, we moved leisurely down the Mississippi,
halting a day near Milliken's Bend, almost in sight of Vicksburg. We
passed a portion of Christmas-Day near the mouth of the Yazoo.

On the morning of the 26th of December, the fleet of sixty transports,
convoyed by several gun-boats, commenced the ascent of the Yazoo. This
stream debouches into the Mississippi, fifteen miles above Vicksburg,
by the course of the current, though the distance in an airline is not
more than six miles. Ten or twelve miles above its mouth, the Yazoo
sweeps the base of the range of hills on which Vicksburg stands, at a
point nearly behind the city. It was therefore considered a feasible
route to the rear of Vicksburg.

In a letter which I wrote on that occasion, I gave the following
description of the country adjoining the river, and the incidents of
a night bivouac before the battle:--"The bottom-land of the Yazoo
is covered with a heavy growth of tall cypress-trees, whose limbs
are everywhere interlaced. In many places the forest has a dense
undergrowth, and in others it is quite clear, and affords easy passage
to mounted men. These huge trees are heavily draped in the 'hanging
moss,' so common in the Southern States, which gives them a most
gloomy appearance. The moss, everywhere pendent from the limbs of the
trees, covers them like a shroud, and in some localities shuts out
the sunlight. In these forests there are numerous bayous that form a
net-work converting the land into a series of islands. When separated
from your companions, you can easily imagine yourself in a wilderness.
In the wild woods of the Oregon there is no greater solitude."

* * * * *

"On the afternoon of the 27th, I started from the transports, and
accompanied our left wing, which was advancing on the east side of
Chickasaw Bayou. The road lay along the crest of the levee which had
been thrown up on the bank of the bayou, to protect the fields on
that side against inundation. This road was only wide enough for the
passage of a single wagon. Our progress was very slow, on account of
the necessity for removing heavy logs across the levee. When night
overtook us, we made our bivouac in the forest, about three miles from
the river.

"I had taken with me but a single blanket, and a haversack containing
my note-book and a few crackers. That night in bivouac acquainted me
with some of the discomforts of war-making on the Yazoo. The ground
was moist from recent rains, so that dry places were difficult to
find. A fellow-journalist proposed that we unite our blankets, and
form a double bed for mutual advantage. To this I assented. When
my friend came forward, to rest in our combined couch, I found his
'blanket' was purely imaginary, having been left on the steamer at
his departure. For a while we 'doubled,' but I was soon deserted, on
account of the barrenness of my accommodations.

"No fires were allowed, as they might reveal our position to the
watchful enemy. The night was cold. Ice formed at the edge of the
bayou, and there was a thick frost on the little patches of open
ground. A negro who had lived in that region said the swamp usually
abounded in moccasins, copperheads, and cane-snakes, in large numbers.
An occasional rustling of the leaves at my side led me to imagine
these snakes were endeavoring to make my acquaintance.

"Laying aside my snake fancies, it was too cold to sleep. As fast as
I would fall into a doze, the chill of the atmosphere would steal
through my blanket, and remind me of my location. Half-sleeping and
half-waking, I dreamed of every thing disagreeable. I had visions
of Greenland's icy mountains, of rambles in Siberia, of my long-past
midwinter nights in the snow-drifted gorges of Colorado, of shipwreck,
and of burning dwellings, and of all moving accidents by flood and
field! These dreams followed each other with a rapidity that far
outstripped the workings of the electric telegraph.

"Cold and dampness and snakes and fitful dreams were not the only
bodily discomforts. A dozen horses were loose in camp, and trotting
gayly about. Several times they passed at a careless pace within a
yard of my head. Once the foremost of the _caballada_ jumped
directly over me, and was followed by the rest. My comments on these
eccentricities of that noble animal, the horse, provoked the derision
rather than the sympathy of those who heard them.

"A teamster, who mistook me for a log, led his mules over me. A negro,
under the same delusion, attempted to convert me into a chair, and
another wanted to break me up for fuel, to be used in making a
fire after daylight. Each of these little blunders evoked a gentle
remonstrance, that effectually prevented a repetition by the same
individual.

"A little past daylight a shell from the Rebel batteries exploded
within twenty yards of my position, and warned me that it was time to
rise. To make my toilet, I pulled the sticks and leaves from my
hair and beard, and brushed my overcoat with a handful of moss. I
breakfasted on a cracker and a spoonful of whisky. I gave my horse a
handful of corn and a large quantity of leaves. The former he ate, but
the latter he refused to touch. The column began to move, and I was
ready to attend upon its fortunes."

General Sherman's plan was to effect a landing on the Yazoo, and,
by taking possession of the bluffs, sever the communication between
Vicksburg and the interior. It was thought the garrison of Vicksburg
had been greatly weakened to re-enforce the army in General Grant's
front, so that our success would be certain when we once gained the
bluffs.

A portion of our forces effected a landing on the 26th, but the whole
command was not on shore till the 27th. Fighting commenced on the
27th, and became more earnest on the 28th, as we crowded toward the
bluffs.

In moving from the steamboat landing to the base of the bluffs on the
28th, our army encountered the enemy at several points, but forced him
back without serious loss on either side. It appeared to be the Rebel
design not to make any resistance of magnitude until we had crossed
the lower ground and were near the base of the line of hills
protecting Vicksburg.

Not far from the foot of the bluffs there was a bayou, which formed an
excellent front for the first line of the Rebel defenses. On our right
we attempted to cross this bayou with a portion of Morgan L. Smith's
Division, but the Rebel fire was so severe that we were repulsed. On
our extreme right a similar attempt obtained the same result.

On our left the bayou was crossed by General Morgan's and General
Steele's Divisions at two or three points, and our forces gained a
position close up to the edge of the bluff.

At eleven A. M. on the 29th, an assault was made by three brigades
of infantry upon the works of the enemy on this portion of the line.
General Blair and General Thayer from Steele's Division, pushed
forward through an abatis which skirted the edge of the bayou, and
captured the first line of Rebel rifle-pits. From this line the
brigades pressed two hundred yards farther up the hillside, and
temporarily occupied a portion of the second line. Fifty yards beyond
was a small clump of trees, which was gained by one regiment, the
Thirteenth Illinois, of General Blair's Brigade.

[Illustration: GENERAL BLAIR'S BRIGADE ASSAULTING THE HILL AT
CHICKASAW, BAYOU.]

The Rebels massed heavily against these two brigades. Our assaulting
force had not been followed by a supporting column, and was unable to
hold the works it captured. It fell back to the bayou and re-formed
its line. One of General Morgan's brigades occupied a portion of the
rifle-pits at the time the hill was assaulted by the brigades from
General Steele's Division.

During the afternoon of the 29th, preparations were made for another
assault, but the plan was not carried out. It was found the Rebels had
been re-enforced at that point, so that we had great odds against us.
The two contending armies rested within view of each other, throwing a
few shells each hour, to give notice of their presence.

After the assault, the ground between the contending lines was covered
with dead and wounded men of our army. A flag-of-truce was sent out
on the afternoon of the 29th, to arrange for burying the dead and
bringing away the wounded, but the Rebels would not receive it.
Sunrise on the 30th, noon, sunset, and sunrise again, and they lay
there still. On the 31st, a truce of five hours was arranged, and the
work of humanity accomplished. A heavy rain had fallen, rendering the
ground unfit for the rapid moving of infantry and artillery, in front
of the Rebel position.

On the evening of the 31st, orders were issued for a new plan of
attack at another part of the enemy's lines. A division was to be
embarked on the transports, and landed as near as possible to the
Rebel fortifications on Haines's Bluff, several miles up the Yazoo.
The gun-boats were to take the advance, engage the attention of the
forts, and cover the landing. Admiral Porter ordered Colonel Ellet
to go in advance, with a boat of his ram fleet, to remove the
obstructions the Rebels had placed in the river, under the guns of the
fort. A raft was attached to the bow of the ram, and on the end of the
raft was a torpedo containing a half ton of powder.

Admiral Porter contended that the explosion of the torpedo would
remove the obstructions, so that the fleet could proceed. Colonel
Ellet expressed his readiness to obey orders, but gave his opinion
that the explosion, while effecting its object, would destroy his boat
and all on board. Some officers and civilians, who knew the admiral's
antipathy to Colonel Ellet, suggested that the former was of the same
opinion, and therefore desirous that the experiment should be made.

Every thing was in readiness on the morning of the 1st of January, but
a dense fog prevented the execution of our new plan. On the following
day we withdrew from the Yazoo, and ended the second attack upon
Vicksburg. Our loss was not far from two thousand men, in all
casualties.

General Sherman claimed to have carried out with exactness, the
instructions from his superior officers respecting the time and manner
of the attack. Van Dorn's raid upon General Grant's lines, previous to
Sherman's departure from Memphis, had radically changed the military
situation. Grant's advance being stopped, his co-operation by way
of Yazoo City could not be given. At the same time, the Rebels were
enabled to strengthen their forces at Vicksburg. The assault was a
part of the great plan for the conquest of the Mississippi, and was
made in obedience to positive orders. Before the orders were carried
out, a single circumstance had deranged the whole plan. After the
fighting was ended and the army had re-embarked, preparatory to
leaving the Yazoo, General Sherman was relieved from command by
General McClernand. The latter officer carried out the order for
withdrawal. The fleet steamed up the Mississippi to Milliken's Bend,
where it remained for a day or two. General McClernand directed that
an expedition be made against Arkansas Post, a Rebel fortification on
the Arkansas River, fifty miles above its mouth.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31