the new world. The enemy were reported to be over one hundred thousand strong, and it was a matter of wonder that he made no more serious efforts to check McClellan's advance, for if he were left alone the fall of the place was inevitable.

While events were thus slowly drawing to a head at Yorktown, Fremont was giving a good account of himself in the mountain department. His first encounter with the enemy was at Monterey, where after a sharp engagement the latter were defeated by a column under Milroy. There were some little signs of life, too, in the army in front of Washington. General Augur, in McDowell's division, by a rapid, unexpected march, took possession of Falmouth, on the opposite side of the river from Fredericksburg, and commanding the place, which compelled its surrender.

At length came the long expected news of the fall of fort Pulaski. Although cutting it off from Savannah, rendered the reduction of the fort a mere question of time, still the starving process was a slow and somewhat uncertain one, and Sherman determined to reduce it by bombardment, from guns placed on Tybee island. Carrying out this determination, he had caused, during the winter, a thorough explora‹ tion of the island to be made. The result proving satisfac tory, he ordered heavy guns to be transferred thither. There being no wharf, these had to be landed at high tide, and swung ashore by hand, and then dragged to their destined places. The deep sand and mire, however, would, in many places, let the ponderous pieces down to their axles, and a road a mile long had to be made of fascines composed of poles withed together, and laid beside each other, the whole way. The first battery was established two miles from the fort. The guns were sunk in the sand, and protected by the earth thrown up around them, so as to present the least possible mark to the garrison. When others were established nearer the fort, the work was done during the

388

SURRENDER OF THE GARRISON.

night, to avoid the fire of the enemy. It was a long and laborious task; and the guns were not all in position till the fore part of April. There were eleven batteries in all, numbering thirty-six guns; Parrott rifled pieces, Columbiads, mortars, etc., some of them weighing over one thousand seven hundred pounds, and throwing nine and a half inch shells. The whole was under the direction of General Gilmore, who by the assistance of able engineers, accomplished his difficult task, most satisfactorily. But just as everything was ready, and Sherman was about to reap the fruit of his toil, he was superseded in his command by General Hunter.

On the ninth, Gilmore sent a summons to the garrison to surrender. Colonel Olmstead, commanding, replied that he was placed there to defend, not to surrender it, and so the next morning early, the first heavy gun sent its loud echoes far over the sea, and the bombardment commenced. The shot at first flew wild, but as the range became more accurate, the batteries settled down to their work in earnest, and soon small clouds of brown dust told where the heavy shot were smiting the brick walls of the fortification. With the aid of the glass, huge, ragged rents could be seen, showing that they were not knocking in vain for admittance.

The garrison replied, and all day long the heavy explosions shook the desert island. Night brought a cessation of the conflict. The next morning, however, it was resumed, and continued all the forenoon, during which one man, a member of the Rhode Island third artillery was killed; the only loss on our side from first to last. About two o'clock the rebel flag was pulled down. General Gilmore was at dinner at the time, from which he was aroused by the shouts of volunteer couriers, witnesses of the fight, who came to announce the glad tidings.

Three hundred and eighty-five prisoners, with all the stores and armament of the fort, fell into our hands. This

BATTLE AT APACHE PASS.

389

was the first fortification of any importance, retaken by our troops, and was hailed as the beginning of the righteous work of repossessing the national strongholds which the rebels had seized at the outset. side had closed his lines, was series.

Macon, around which Burnregarded as the next in the

In

In the mean time, cheering news was received from the department of New Mexico. Rumors, coming through rebel channels, had long been in circulation, that Colonel Canby, after his successful defense of fort Craig, had finally been compelled to surrender it with his entire force. But now the war department received a dispatch, stating that a portion of his command under Colonel Hough, had defeated the rebels at Apache pass, killing several hundred and taking ninety-three prisoners, besides destroying fifty-four wagons, laden with provisions and ammunition. The Texans fought with their accustomed desperation, charging our batteries four times, but were repulsed with terrible slaughter. an ordinary war, this battle would have been a great event, but in the more important movements near at hand, created but little excitement. Colonel Canby, in that remote region, cut off from reinforcements, true to the national flag, was exhibiting the qualities of a great commander, and showing that he was worthy to stand beside the heroes of the west. The loss of one hundred and fifty in this engagement, out of his small command, shows that he had fought a desperate battle. The enemy under Colonel Sibley, inventor of the famous Sibley tent, and formerly a United States officer, was utterly discomfited by this reverse, and he was unable to rally again his scattered, suffering troops.

While Burnside was making his preparations before fort Macon, he sent General Reno with a few hundred men and three boat howitzers, to Elizabeth city, to destroy some locks in the canal leading to Norfolk. Landing below the town,

390

EXPEDITION OF RENO.

on the nineteenth, he marched forward to the accomplishment of his object. About noon he was attacked by the rebels, composed of a Georgia regiment and a portion of Wise's Legion. After a sharp engagement, the enemy was totally routed with heavy loss. Ours was one hundred and ten killed and wounded.

In the evening, General Reno, hearing that the rebels had been heavily reinforced and were advancing to attack him, ordered a retreat. The jaded soldiers were roused from their bivouacs, and commenced their toilsome march back to their boats-making a forced march of forty miles in twentyfour hours. It was a night of great toil and suffering, and the force was in such a condition, that if it had been attacked it could scarcely have escaped total destruction. Fourteen of his wounded were left in the hands of the enemy who consequently claimed a victory.

CHAPTER XXX.

APRIL, 1862.

SIEGE OF FORT MACON-DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING IT-THE BOMBARDMENT.
ITS
YORKTOWN-ATTACK ON LEE'S MILLS

SURRENDER-FIGHTING

AT

BAYONET CHARGE OF THE ELEVENTH MASSACHUSETTS-HALLECK BEFORE CORINTH-MITCHELL IN ALABAMA-CONGRESS-THE EMANCIPATIONISTSHUNTER'S PROCLAMATION-DIGNIFIED COURSE OF THE PRESIDENT-THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY IN CONGRESS-THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY EMPOWERED TO BUILD IRON CLAD VESSELS-REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON TREATMENT OF OUR DEAD AT BULL RUN-VIEWS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES RESPECT ING US-NATIONAL DEBT AT THE END OF THE YEAR OF WAR.

N the mean time, Burnside, with his accustomed energy,

himself clear of all embarrassments, and be able to perform the mission assigned him in the general campaign, the moment events at Richmond should reach the anticipated crisis.

The difficulties attending his operations against it, may be gathered from the following description of the manner in which his heavy siege guns had to be transported from Newbern to near Beaufort and Morehead, cities in the vicinity of the fort. "There being no locomotives on the road between the two places, all the siege materials must be carried by steamer, fifteen miles, to the head of Slocum's Creek, and then hauled one mile to Havelock station. At the latter place they were placed on platform and baggage cars, and by the aid of mules, slowly hauled to Carolina city, which was the head-quarters of General Parke. Here there was a turn out and short track leading to a wharf on the edge of Bogue Sound, where the guns, mortars and ammunition were received on board flat boats and conveyed across the sound to