Part 9 (1/2)
The truth is, the insignificant appearance of a line of simple breastworks has almost always caused those general and staff-officers especially that viewed them through their field-gla.s.ses, with the diminis.h.i.+ng power of a long perspective, to forget that an a.s.sault upon an enemy behind entrenchments is not so much a battle as a battue, where one side stands to shoot and the other goes out to be shot, or if he stops to shoot it is in plain sight of an almost invisible foe. European examples, as usual misapplied or misunderstood, have contributed largely to the persistency of this fatal illusion, and Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos have served but as incantations to confuse many a mind to which these sounding syllables were no more than names; ignorant, therefore, of the stern necessities that drove Wellington to these victories, forgetful of their fearful cost, and above all ignoring or forgetting the axiom, on which rests the whole art and science of military engineering-that the highest and stoutest of stone walls must yield at last to the smallest trench through which a man may creep unseen. Vast, indeed, is the difference between an a.s.sault upon a walled town, delivered as a last resort after crowning the glacis and opening wide the breach, and any conceivable movement, though bearing the same name, made as the first resort, against earthworks of the very kind whereby walled towns are taken, approached over ground unknown and perhaps obstructed.
Even so, in the storm of Rodrigo the defenders struck down more than a third of their own numbers; Badajos was taken by a happy chance after the main a.s.sault had miserably failed; at both places the losses of the a.s.sailants were in proportion less, and in number but little greater, than at Port Hudson; yet, in the contemplation of the awful slaughter of Badajos, even the iron firmness of Wellington broke down in a pa.s.sion of tears.
(1) ”Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant,” pp. 530, 532.
CHAPTER XVIII. UNVEXED TO THE SEA.
With that quick appreciation of facts that forms so large a part of the character of the American soldier, even to the extent of exercising upon the fate of battles and campaigns an influence not always reserved for considerations derived from a study of the principles of the art of war, the men of the Army of the Gulf had now made up their minds that the end sought was to be attained by hard work on their part and by starvation on the part of the garrison. Criticism and denunciation, by no means confined to those officers whose knowledge of the art of war is drawn from books, have been freely pa.s.sed upon this peculiarity, yet both alike have been wasted, since no proposition can be clearer than that a nation, justly proud of the superior intelligence of its soldiers, cannot expect to reap the full advantage of that intelligence and at the same time escape every disadvantage attending its exercise. Among these drawbacks, largely overbalanced by the obvious gains, not the least is the peculiar quality that has been aptly described in the homely saying, ”They know too much.” When, therefore, the American volunteer has become a veteran, and has reached his highest point of discipline, endurance, and the simple sagacity of the soldier, it is often his way to stay his hand from exertions that he deems needless and from sacrifices that he considers useless or worse than useless, although the same exertions and the same sacrifices would, but a few months earlier in the days of his inexperience, have been met by him with the same alacrity that the ignorant peasant of Europe displays in obeying the orders of his hereditary chief in the service of the king.
After the 14th of June the siege progressed steadily without farther attempt at an a.s.sault. This was now deferred to the last resort. At four points a system of comparatively regular approaches was begun, and upon these labor was carried on incessantly, night and day; indeed, as is usual with works of this character, the greatest progress was made in the short hours of the June nights. The main approach led from Duryea's battery No. 12 toward the priest-cap, following the winding of the ravines and the contour of the hill. When at last the sap had, with great toil and danger, been carried to the crest facing the priest-cap, and only a few yards distant, the trench was rapidly and with comparative ease extended toward the left, in a line parallel with the general direction of the defences. The least distance from this third parallel, as it was called by an easy stretch of the language, to the enemy's parapet was about twenty yards, the greatest about forty-five.
About two hundred yards farther to the right of the elbow of the main sap, a zigzag ran out of the ravine on the left flank of Bainbridge's battery, No. 8, toward the bastion. Upon this approach, because of its directness, the use of the sap-roller, or some equivalent for it, could never be given up until the ditch was gained.
From the extreme left, after the northern slope of Mount Pleasant had been gained, a main approach was extended from the flank of Roy's battery of 20-pounder Parrotts, No. 20, almost directly toward the river, until the trench cut the edge of the bluff, forming meanwhile a covered way that connected all the batteries looking north from the left flank. Of these No. 24 was the seventeen-gun battery, including two 9-inch Dahlgrens removed from the naval battery of the right wing, and commanded by Ensign Swann. On the 2d of July, Lieutenant-Commander Terry took command of the Richmond and turned over the command of the right naval battery to Ensign Shepard. These ”blue-jacket” batteries, with their trim and alert gun crews, were always bright spots in the sombre line. From the river bank the sap ran with five stretches of fifty or sixty yards, forming four sharp elbows, to the foot and well up the slope of the steep hill on the opposite side of the ravine, where the Confederates had constructed the strong work known to both combatants as the Citadel. From the head of the sap to the nearest point of the Confederate works the distance was about ninety-five yards.
From the ravine in front of the mortar battery of the left wing, No. 18, a secondary approach was carried to a parallel facing the advanced lunette, No. XXVII., and distant from it 375 yards. The object of this approach was partly to amuse the enemy, partly to prevent his breaking through the line, now drawn out very thin, and partly also to serve as a foothold for a column of attack in case of need.
From the ravine near Slaughter's house a zigzag, constructed by the men of the 21st Maine, under the immediate direction of Colonel Johnson, led to the position of battery No. 16, where were posted the ten guns of Rails and Baines. The distance from this battery to the defences was four hundred yards.
On the 15th of June, on the heels of the b.l.o.o.d.y repulse of the previous day, Banks issued a general order congratulating his troops upon the steady advance made upon the enemy's works, and expressed his confidence in an immediate and triumphant issue of the contest:
”We are at all points on the threshold of his fortifications,” the order continues. ”Only one more advance, and they are ours!
”For the last duty that victory imposes, the Commanding General summons the bold men of the corps to the organization of a storming column of a thousand men, to vindicate the flag of the Union, and the memory of its defenders who have fallen! Let them come forward!
”Officers who lead the column of victory in this last a.s.sault may be a.s.sured of the just recognition of their services by promotion; and every officer and soldier who shares its perils and its glory shall receive a medal to commemorate the first great success of the campaign of 1863 for the freedom of the Mississippi. His name will be placed in General Orders upon the Roll of Honor.”
Colonel Henry W. Birge, of the 13th Connecticut, at once volunteered to lead the stormers, and although the whole project was disapproved by many of the best officers and men in the corps, partly as unnecessary and partly because they conceived that it implied some reflection upon the conduct of the brave men that had fought and suffered and failed on the 27th and the 14th, yet so general was the feeling of confidence in Birge that within a few days the ranks of the stormers were more than filled. As nearly as can now be ascertained, the whole number of officers who volunteered was at least 80; of enlisted men at least 956. Of these, 17 officers and 226 men belonged to the 13th Connecticut. As the different parties offered and were accepted, they were sent into camp in a retired and pleasant spot, in a grove behind the naval battery on the right. On the 15th of June Birge was ordered to divide his column into two battalions, and to drill it for its work. On the 28th this organization was complete. The battalions were then composed of eight companies, but two companies were afterwards added to the first battalion. To Lieutenant-Colonel Van Petter, of the 160th New York, Birge gave the command of the first battalion, and to Lieutenant-Colonel Bickmore, of the 14th Maine, that of the second battalion. On that day, 67 of the officers and 826 men-in all, 893, were present for duty in the camp of the stormers. Among those that volunteered for the forlorn hope but were not accepted were 54 non-commissioned officers and privates of the 1st Louisiana Native Guards, and 37 of the 3d. From among the officers of the general staff and staff departments that were eager to go, two were selected to accompany the column and keep up the communication with headquarters and with the other troops; these were Captain Duncan S. Walker, a.s.sistant adjutant-general, and Lieutenant Edmund H. Russell, of the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves, acting signal officer.
Then the officers and men quietly prepared themselves for the serious work expected of them. Those that had any thing to leave made their wills in the manner sanctioned by the custom of armies, and all confided to the hands of comrades the last words for their families or their friends.
Meanwhile an event took place, trifling in itself, yet accenting sharply some of the more serious reasons that had, in the first instance, led Banks to resist the repeated urging to join Grant with his whole force, and afterward had formed powerful factors in determining him to deliver and to renew the a.s.sault. Early on the morning of the 18th of June a detachment of Confederate cavalry rode into the village of Plaquemine, surprised the provost guard, captured Lieutenant C. H. Witham and twenty-two men of the 28th Maine, and burned the three steamers lying the bayou, the Sykes, Anglo-American, and Belfast. Captain Albert Stearns, of the 131st New York, who was stationed at Plaquemine as provost marshal of the parish, made his escape with thirteen men of his guard. The Confederates were fired upon by the guard and lost one man killed and two wounded. In their turn they fired upon the steamboats, and wounded two of the crew. Three hours later the gunboat Winona, Captain Weaver, came down from Baton Rouge, and, sh.e.l.ling the enemy, hastened their departure. In the tension of greater events, little notice was taken at the moment of this incident; yet it was not long before it was discovered that the raiders were the advance guard of the little army with which Taylor was about to invade La Fourche, intent upon the bold design of raising the siege of Port Hudson by blockading the river and threatening New Orleans.
Thus Banks was brought face to face with the condition described in his letter of the 4th of June to Halleck:
”The course to be pursued here gives me great anxiety. If I abandon Port Hudson, I leave its garrison, some 6,000 or 7,000 men, the force under Mouton and Sibley, now threatening Brashear City and the Army of Mobile, large or small, to threaten or attack New Orleans. If I detach from my command in the field a sufficient force to defend that city, which ought not to be less than 8,000 or 10,000, my a.s.sistance to General Grant is unimportant, and I leave an equal or larger number of the enemy to reinforce Johnston. If I defend New Orleans and its adjacent territory, the enemy will go against Grant. If I go with a force sufficient to aid him, my rear will be seriously threatened. My force is not large enough to do both. Under these circ.u.mstances, my only course seems to be to carry this post as soon as possible, and then to join General Grant. If I abandon it I cannot materially aid him.”
Taylor's incursion caused Banks some anxiety and appreciable inconvenience, without, however, exercising a material influence on the fortunes of the siege; accordingly, it will be better to reserve for another chapter the story of this adventure.
About the same time, Logan again became troublesome. At first he seems to have thought of retiring on Jackson, Mississippi; but this Johnston forbade, telling him to stay where he was, to observe and annoy the besiegers, and if pressed by too strong a force, to fall back only so far as necessary, hindering and r.e.t.a.r.ding the advance of his a.s.sailants. By daylight, on the morning of the 15th of June, Logan dashed down the Clinton road, surprised the camp of the 14th New York cavalry, who made little resistance, and the guard of the hospital at the Carter House, who made none. In this raid Logan took nearly one hundred disabled prisoners, including six officers, and carried off a number of wagons. However, finding Grierson instantly on his heels, Logan promptly ”fell back as far as necessary.” On the evening of the 30th of June, while hovering in the rear of Dwight, Logan captured and carried off Brigadier-General Dow, who, while waiting for his wound to heal, had taken up his headquarters in a house some distance behind the lines. At daylight, on the morning of the 2d of July, Logan surprised the depot at Springfield Landing, guarded by the 162d New York, Lieutenant-Colonel Blanchard, and a small detachment of the 16th New Hamps.h.i.+re, under Captain Henry. Careless picket duty was the cause, and a great stampede the consequence, but Logan hardly stayed long enough to find out exactly what he had accomplished, since he reports that, besides burning the commissary and quartermasters' stores, he killed and wounded 140 of his enemy, captured 35 prisoners, fought an entire brigade, and destroyed 100 wagons, with a loss on his part of 4 killed and 10 wounded; whereas, in fact, the entire loss of the Union army was 1 killed, 11 wounded, 21 captured or missing, while the stores burned consisted of a full supply of clothing and camp and garrison equipment for about 1,000 men. The wagons mentioned by Logan were part of a train met in the road, cut out, and carried off as he rapidly rode away, and the number may be correct.
The end of June was now drawing near, and already the losses of the besiegers in the month of constant fighting exceeded 4,000. At least as many more were sick in the hospitals, while the reinforcements from every quarter barely numbered 3,000. There were no longer any reserves to draw from; the last man was up. The effective strength of all arms had at no time exceeded 17,000.(1) Of these less than 12,000 can be regarded as available for any duty directly connected with the siege, and now every day saw the command growing smaller in numbers, as the men fell under the fire of the sharp-shooter, or succ.u.mbed to the deadly climate, or gave out exhausted by incessant labor and privation. The heat became almost insupportable, even to those who from time to time found themselves so fortunate as to be able to s.n.a.t.c.h a few hours' rest in the dense shade of the splendid forest, until their tour of duty should come again in the trenches, where, under the June sun beating upon and baking all three surfaces, the parched clay became like a reverberating furnace. The still air was stifling, but the steam from the almost tropical showers was far worse. Merely in attempting to traverse a few yards of this burning zone many of the strongest men were sunstruck daily. The labor of the siege, extending over so wide a front, pressed so severely upon the numbers of the besieging army, always far too weak for such an undertaking in any climate at any season, above all in Louisiana in June, that the men were almost incessantly on duty, either in digging, as guards of the trenches, as sharp-shooters, or on outpost service; and as the number available for duty grew smaller, and the physical strength of all that remained in the ranks daily wasted, the work fell the more heavily. When the end came at last the effective force, outside of the cavalry, hardly exceeded 8,000, while even of this small number nearly every officer and man might well have gone on the sick-report had not pride and duty held him to his post.
This will seem the less remarkable when it is remembered that the garrison during the same period suffered in the same proportion, while from like causes less than a year before Breckinridge had, in a much shorter time, lost the use of half his division. Butler's experience had been nearly as severe.
To the suffering and labors that are inseparable from any operation in the nature of a siege were added insupportable torments, the least of which were vermin. As the summer days drew out and the heat grew more intense, the brooks dried up; the creek lost itself in the pestilential swamp; the wells and springs gave out; the river fell, exposing to the almost tropical sun a wide margin of festering ooze. The mortality and the sickness were enormous.
The animals suffered in their turn, the battery horses from want of exercise, the train horses and mules from over-work, and all from the excessive heat and insufficiency of proper forage. There was never enough hay; the deficiency was partly eked out by making fodder of the standing corn, but this resource was quickly exhausted, and after the 3d of July, when Taylor sealed the river by planting his guns below Donaldsonville, all the animals went upon half or quarter rations of grain, with little hay or none. At length, for two or three days, the forage depots fairly gave out; the poor beasts were literally starving when the place fell, nor was it for nearly a week after that event that, by the raising of Taylor's blockade below and the arrival of supplies from Grant above, the stress was wholly relieved.
The two colored regiments, the 1st and 3d Louisiana Native Guards, besides strongly picketing their front, were mainly occupied, after the 27th of May, in fatigue duty in the trenches on the right. While the army was in the Teche country, Brigadier-General Daniel Ullmann had arrived at New Orleans from New York, bringing with him authority to raise a brigade of colored troops. With him came a full complement of officers. A few days later, on the 1st of May, Banks issued, at Opelousas, an order, which he had for some time held in contemplation, for organizing a corps of eighteen regiments of colored infantry, to consist, at first, of five hundred men each. These troops were to form a distinct command, to which he gave the name of the Corps d'Afrique, and in it he incorporated Ullmann's brigade. By the end of May Ullmann had enrolled about 1,400 men for five regiments, the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. These recruits, as yet unarmed and undrilled, were now brought to Port Hudson, organized, and set to work in the trenches and upon the various siege operations.