Part 20 (1/2)
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RECRUITING OFFICE.
Negroes enlisting in the army, and being examined by surgeons.]
As early as June, 1863, General Grant was compelled, in order to show a bold front to Gens. Pemberton and Johnston at the same time, while besieging Vicksburg, to draw nearly all the troops from Milliken's Bend to his support, leaving three infantry regiments of the black Phalanx and a small force of white cavalry to hold this, to him an all important post. Milliken's Bend was well fortified, and with a proper garrison was in condition to stand a siege. Brigadier-General Dennis was in command, and the troops consisted of the 9th and 11th Louisiana Regiments, the 1st Mississippi and a small detachment of white cavalry, in all about 1,400 men, raw recruits. General Dennis looking upon the place more as a station for organizing and drilling the Phalanx, had made no particular arrangements in antic.i.p.ation of an attack. He was surprised, therefore, when a force of 3,000 men, under General Henry McCulloch, from the interior of Louisiana, attacked and drove his pickets and two companies of the 23d Iowa Cavalry, (white) up to the breastworks of the Bend. The movement was successful, however, and the confederates, holding the ground, rested for the night, with the expectation of marching into the fortifications in the morning, to begin a ma.s.sacre, whether a resistance should be shown them or not. The knowledge this little garrison had of what the morrow would bring it, doubtless kept the soldiers awake, preparing to meet the enemy and their own fate. About 3 o'clock, in the early grey of the morning, the confederate line was formed just outside of the intrenchments; suddenly with fixed bayonets the men came rus.h.i.+ng over the works, driving everything before them and shouting, ”No quarter! No quarter to negroes or their officers!” In a moment the blacks formed and met them, and now the battle began in earnest, hand to hand. The gunboats ”Choctaw” and ”Lexington” also came up as the confederates were receiving the bayonets and the bullets of the Unionists, and lent material a.s.sistance. The attacking force had flanked the works and was pouring in a deadly, enfilading musketry fire. The defenders fell back out of the way of the gunboat's sh.e.l.ls, but finally went forward again with what was left of their 150 white allies, and drove the enemy before them and out of the captured works. One division of the enemy's troops hesitated to leave a redoubt, when a company of brave black men dashed forward at double-quick time and engaged them.
The enemy stood his ground, and soon the rattling bayonets rang out amid the thunders of the gunboats and the shouts of enraged men; but they were finally driven out, and their ranks thinned by the ”Choctaw” as they went over the works. The news reached General Grant and he immediately dispatched General Mower's brigade with orders to re-enforce Dennis and drive the confederates beyond the Tensas river.
A battle can be best described by one who observed it. Captain Miller, who not only was an eye-witness, but partic.i.p.ated in the Milliken's Bend fight, writes as follows:
”We were attacked here on June 7, about three o'clock in the morning, by a brigade of Texas troops, about two thousand five hundred in number. We had about six hundred men to withstand them, five hundred of them negroes. I commanded Company I, Ninth Louisiana. We went into the fight with thirty-three men. I had sixteen killed, eleven badly wounded, and four slightly. I was wounded slightly on the head, near the right eye, with a bayonet, and had a bayonet run through my right hand, near the forefinger; that will account for this miserable style of penmans.h.i.+p.
”Our regiments had about three hundred men in the fight. We had one colonel wounded, four captains wounded, two first and two second lieutenants killed, five lieutenants wounded, and three white orderlies killed, and one wounded in the hand, and two fingers taken off. The list of killed and wounded officers comprised nearly all the officers present with the regiment, a majority of the rest being absent recruiting.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: BATTLE OF MILLIKEN'S BEND]
”We had about fifty men killed in the regiment and eighty wounded; so you can judge of what part of the fight my company sustained. I never felt more grieved and sick at heart, than when I saw how my brave soldiers had been slaughtered,--one with six wounds, all the rest with two or three, none less than two wounds. Two of my colored sergeants were killed; both brave, n.o.ble men, always prompt, vigilant, and ready for the fray. I never more wish to hear the expression, 'The n.i.g.g.e.rs won't fight.' Come with me, a hundred yards from where I sit, and I can show you the wounds that cover the bodies of sixteen as brave, loyal, and patriotic soldiers as ever drew bead on a rebel.
”The enemy charged us so close that we fought with our bayonets, hand to hand. I have six broken bayonets to show how bravely my men fought. The Twenty-third Iowa joined my company on the right; and I declare truthfully that they had all fled before our regiment fell back, as we were all compelled to do.
”Under command of Col. Page, I led the Ninth and Eleventh Louisiana when the rifle-pits were retaken and held by our troops, our two regiments doing the work.
”I narrowly escaped death once. A rebel took deliberate aim at me with both barrels of his gun; and the bullets pa.s.sed so close to me that the powder that remained on them burnt my cheek. Three of my men, who saw him aim and fire, thought that he wounded me each fire; One of them was killed by my side, and he fell on me, covering my clothes with his blood; and, before the rebel could fire again, I blew his brains out with my gun.
”It was a horrible fight, the worst I was ever engaged in,--not even excepting s.h.i.+loh. The enemy cried, 'No quarter!' but some of them were very glad to take it when made prisoners.
”Col. Allen, of the Sixteenth Texas, was killed in front of our regiment, and Brig.-Gen. Walker was wounded. We killed about one hundred and eighty of the enemy. The gunboat ”Choctaw” did good service sh.e.l.ling them. I stood on the breastworks after we took them, and gave the elevations and direction for the gunboat by pointing my sword; and they sent a sh.e.l.l right into their midst, which sent them in all directions. Three sh.e.l.ls fell there, and sixty-two rebels lay there when the fight was over.
”This battle satisfied the slave-masters of the South that their charm was gone; and that the negro as a slave, was lost forever. Yet there was one fact connected with the battle of Milliken's Bend which will descend to posterity, as testimony against the humanity of slave-holders; and that is, that no negro was ever found alive that was taken a prisoner by the rebels in this fight.”
The Department of the Gulf contained a far greater proportion of the Phalanx than did any other Department, and there were very few, if any, important engagements fought in this Department in which the Phalanx did not take part.
It is unpleasant here, in view of the valuable services rendered by the Phalanx, to be obliged to record that the black soldiers were subjected to many indignities, and suffered much at the hands of their white fellow comrades in arms. Repeated a.s.saults and outrages were committed upon black men wearing the United States' uniform, not only by volunteers but conscripts from the various States, and frequently by confederate prisoners who had been paroled by the United States; these outrages were allowed to take place, without interference by the commanding officers, who apparently did not observe what was going on.
At s.h.i.+p Island, Miss., there were three companies of the 13th Maine, General Neal Dow's old regiment, and seven companies of the 2nd Regiment Phalanx, commanded by Colonel Daniels, which const.i.tuted the garrison at that point. s.h.i.+p Island was the key to New Orleans. On the opposite sh.o.r.e was a railroad leading to Mobile by which re-enforcements were going forward to Charleston. Colonel Daniels conceived the idea of destroying the road to prevent the transportation of the confederate troops. Accordingly, with about two hundred men he landed at Pascagoula, on the morning of the 9th of April. Pickets were immediately posted on the outskirts of the town, while the main body marched up to the hotel.
Before long some confederate cavalry, having been apprised of the movement, advanced, drove in the pickets, and commenced an attack on the force occupying the town. The cavalry made a bold dash upon the left of the negroes, which was the work of but a moment; the brave blacks met their charge manfully, and emptied the saddles of the front rank, which caused the rear ones first to halt and then retire. The blacks were outnumbered, however, five to one, and finally were forced to abandon the town; they went, taking with them the stars and stripes which they had hoisted upon the hotel when entering it. They fell back towards the river to give the gunboat ”Jackson” a chance to sh.e.l.l their pursuers, but the movement resulted in an apparently revengeful act on the part of the crew of that vessel, they having previously had some of their number killed in the course of a difficulty with a black sentry at s.h.i.+p Island.
The commanding officer of the land force, doubtless from prudential reasons, omitted to state in his report that the men fought their way through the town while being fired upon from house-tops and windows by boys and women. That the gunboat opened fire directly on them when they were engaged in a hand to hand conflict, which so completely cut off a number of the men from the main body of the troops that their capture appeared certain. Major Dumas, however, seeing the condition of things, put spurs to his horse and went to their succor, reaching them just as a company of the enemy's cavalry made a charge. The Major, placing himself at the head of the hard-pressed men, not only repulsed the cavalry and rescued the squad, but captured the enemy's standard-bearer. The retreating force reached their transport with the loss of only one man; they brought with them some prisoners and captured flags. Colonel Daniels, in his report, speaks as follows of the heroism of the soldiers:
[Ill.u.s.tration: UNLOADING GOVT. STORES]
”The expedition was a perfect success, accomplis.h.i.+ng all that was intended; resulting in the repulse of the enemy in every engagement with great loss; whilst our casualty was only two killed and eight wounded. Great credit is due to the troops engaged, for their unflinching bravery and steadiness under this their first fire, exchanging volley after volley with the coolness of veterans; and for their determined tenacity in maintaining their position, and taking advantage of every success that their courage and valor gave them; and also to their officers, who were cool and determined throughout the action, fighting their commands against five times their numbers, and confident throughout of success,--all demonstrating to its fullest extent that the oppression which they have heretofore undergone from the hands of their foes, and the obloquy that had been showered upon them by those who should have been friends, had not extinguished their manhood, or suppressed their bravery, and that they had still a hand to wield the sword, and a heart to vitalize its blow.
”I would particularly call the attention of the Department to Major F. E. Dumas, Capt. Villeverd, and Lieuts. Jones and Martin, who were constantly in the thickest of the fight, and by their unflinching bravery, and admirable handling of their commands, contributed to the success of the attack, and reflected great honor upon the flag under and for which they so n.o.bly struggled. Repeated instances of individual bravery among the troops might be mentioned; but it would be invidious where all fought so manfully and so well.
”I have the honor to be, most respectfully your obedient servant,
”N. U. DANIELS,
”_Col. Second Regiment La. N. G. Vols., Commanding Post._”
The 2nd Regiment, with the exception of the Colonel, Lieut.-Colonel and Adjutant, was officered by negroes, many of whom had worn the galling chains of slavery, while others were men of affluence and culture from New Orleans and vicinity.