corps. These were commanded, respectively, by Major-Generals Wm. J. Hardee, Leonidas Polk, and E. Kirby Smith. General Smith, with 15,000 men, struck off from Knoxville into eastern Kentucky, and thence down into the heart of the state. At Richmond, the county-seat of Madison County, he encountered an inferior force of Unionists, who offered battle; but the latter were defeated, after a hard fight, lasting from the early morning until night. The Confederate general marched thence to Lexington, a wealthy town of ten or twelve thousand inhabitants in the "blue grass" region. No opposition was or could be made to his entrance. He issued a proclamation declaring that he came not as an enemy, but as a friend and liberator of the state from the despotic rule of the North; that discipline would be maintained in his army; and that the food necessary to maintain it would be paid for. On the 6th of September, he takes possession of Frankfort, the capital of the state. The governor and legislature, in anticipation of his coming, remove, with the public archives, to Louisville. The banks of Richmond, Lexington, and Frankfort also send their treasures, amounting to a million of dollars, to the northern borders of the state. The governor, James F. Robinson, issues a proclamation calling on the people to rally and expel the invader, for the honor and integrity of the government. The people of Cincinnati and the river counties of Ohio are greatly excited, and in response to the call of Governor Todd, defensive measures are adopted without delay. Gen. Lew. Wallace is placed in command of Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, and martial law is proclaimed. The writer remembers well two incidents of this time: First, - he gave to Governor Crittenden an urgent invitation if driven from his home at Frankfort to come to the writer's house and home in Columbus, Ohio. The governor's response was characteristic for its courtesy and pluck: "Never can I leave Old Kentucky, sir never, when she is in trouble." The other incident is connected with the excitement in middle and southwestern Ohio. The author was then a candidate for Congress; and being a Democrat was a 66 suspect." Thousands of citizens rally to defend the Ohio borders and Cincinnati. It is called the Squirrel Campaign. Shot-guns are the weapons. Old powder-horns that belonged to the time of Simon Kenton and Jonathan Zane are brought from their hiding-places. The opposing Republican candidate for Congress is Judge Samuel Shellabarger, who volunteers while the writer remains at home doing much recruiting for the army, and for Congress. The author aids in raising a regiment for Col. Wm. T. McMillern, ex-postmaster at New Orleans. The regiment is raw. It is surrounded before it has gone far into Kentucky and sent home on parole by order of Gen. E. Kirby Smith, " to vote for the Democratic congressman." This order did the writer some damage; but as Judge Shellabarger was not reaping many laurels on his squirrel adventure, the damage was compensated by the absence of that gifted competitor. Affright over BATTLES AT CORINTH AND STONE RIVER. 191 the escapade of the Ohio recruits into the "blue grass country soon subsided, and the Democrat was elected on the Lincoln platform of the Union. Meanwhile, General Bragg, with the residue of the army under his command, moves forward to the support of Gen. E. Kirby Smith. On the 5th of September he enters Kentucky. He strikes the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at Bowling Green. Munfordville, a point on the road some twenty-five or thirty miles further north, is held by 4,500 Union troops. But after a weak defense, in which the loss of life is inconsiderable, the place is surrendered, and the garrison made prisoners. The railroad bridge over Green River is burned, by which the connection between Louisville and Nashville is broken. Apart from the desire to gain Kentucky to the Southern cause, another main object of the expedition of Bragg was to obtain supplies of provisions. The resources of the South in meat and grain were nearly exhausted, while Kentucky abounded in these necessaries. Bragg was closely followed by General Buell with a superior force, and was driven back out of the state, by way of Cumberland Gap. The Confederate general adroitly avoided a battle. He succeeded in carrying off some four thousand wagon-loads of provisions, and thousands of fat cattle. During these operations in Kentucky, the Confederates under General Price having rallied their scattered forces, threatened active hostilities against General Grant, who now succeeded to the chief command on the Mississippi, with General Rosecrans second in command. A severe engagement occurred at Iuka, on the 19th of September, in the State of Mississippi, in which the Confederates were defeated by the Union forces under the immediate command of Rosecrans. The losses were about equal. The Confederates lost three generals killed, namely, Lytle, Berry, and Whitfield. It was expected by the Confederate commander, that General Van Dorn would be able to reach the field of operations before the impending battle should come on. But in this he was mistaken. That officer was not able to reach the scene of hostilities until some days later, when a combined attack upon the strongly fortified works at Corinth was agreed on. General Rosecrans had added greatly to its strength. He was prepared for the assault, which was expected to be made by the forty thousand Confederates under Van Dorn and Price. A desperate battle was fought on the 3d and 4th of October. It resulted in the defeat and rout of the assailants, with great loss. General Rosecrans states that his troops buried 1,423 of the enemy's dead,left on the field, that he captured 2,268 prisoners, and that the Confederate wounded must have exceeded 5,000. Among the prisoners were 137 field officers, captains, and subalterns, representing sixty-nine regiments. There were captured, also, 3,300 stands of arms, thirteen batteries, fourteen stands of colors, and other trophies. The prolonged battle of Stone River, near Murfreesborough, was fought by the Union forces under General Rosecrans, and the Confederates under Gen eral Bragg, on the last day of the year 1862 and the first days of 1863. General Rosecrans had been appointed to the command of the Army of the Ohio in October, and ordered to Cincinnati to take the command. Having gathered up his scattered forces, and added to them the raw levies which were raised during the autumn, he takes up the line of march through Kentucky, driving the Confederates before him. He encounters no considerable force of the enemy until he arrives in the vicinity of Nashville. At this point he is confronted by the large force under the command of General Bragg. This able officer gradually draws back until he reaches Stone River, near Murfreesborough, thirty miles southeast of Nashville. During the first day's fight, on December 31st, the Union forces are badly beaten and driven before the victorious enemy; but, as happened at Shiloh and on other battle-fields during the war, the contest is renewed on the following day, and finally, after three days' hard fighting, results in victory for the Union forces. The Union loss was 8,485 in killed and wounded, and 3,600 missing. The Confederates must have lost as many, besides being driven from the field and pursued by the victors. After the battle of Antietam, the Army of the Potomac, under General McClellan, remained stationary for more than a month. In the meantime the Confederate General Stuart crossed the Potomac and invaded Pennsylvania, with a force of 2,500 cavalry. They entered Chambersburg, burnt the government store-houses and machine-shops, and returned safely into Virginia with 1,000 captured horses. Great complaint was made against General McClellan by the public, and he was censured for his inactivity, by the Administration. The general-in-chief, by order of the President, on the 6th of October addressed a note to him, directing him to cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy, who was then posted in the Shenandoah Valley and along the Blue Ridge. But for sorne cause no movement was made until October 26th; and on the 7th of November, General McClellan was superseded by General Burnside. The order for his removal reached him at Rectortown, on the Manassas Gap Railroad. It was borne to him by Gen. Catharinus P. Buckingham, then assistant Secretary of War. It was the most disheartening order of the war. It was a great surprise to McClellan and the army. It was the consummation of the old plot. It was doubtless a great mistake, prompted as much by popular clamor, as by a conviction of its propriety on the part of the Administration. General McClellan, when superseded, was moving in the direction of Gordonsville. He intended to cut off the Confederate army from its connections with Richmond. General Burnside, however, turned in the direction of Fredericksburg. There he was confronted by the Confederate army, which was strongly entrenched south of the city upon elevated ground. Here a desperate and bloody battle was fought on the 13th and 14th days of December. It resulted in the defeat of the Union forces with heavy loss. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER OPENED. 193 General Burnside states his loss at 12,321, in killed, wounded, and missing. On the night of the 14th he retreated to the north side of the river without further molestation. The Confederate loss was inconsiderable. They fought behind their entrenchments, while the Unionists were the assailants. In February, 1862, Commodore Farragut led a naval expedition for the capture of New Orleans. Commodore David D. Porter was second in command. Gen. B. F. Butler, with about fifteen thousand men, accompanied the naval force. The Confederates had possession of the old United States forts, Jackson on the right, or west bank of the Mississippi, and St. Philip on the left. They had armed them with 126 guns. These fortifications are situate about seventy-five miles below New Orleans, and twenty-five miles from the mouth of the river. Farragut's fleet consisted of seven steam sloops of nine to twenty-six guns, ten gunboats of four to twelve guns, and a sailing sloop of seventeen guns. His mortar fleet consisted of twenty schooners, each mounting one large mortar and two small guns. He had also five other steamers, mounting twenty-eight guns. It was not until April 8th, that all the vessels were got over the bar. The bombardment commenced on the 18th. It was continued almost incessantly until the 24th. After a terrific cannonade, the fleet passed above the forts, leaving them in a crippled condition. Farragut proceeded up the river to New Orleans. He demanded of the mayor the surrender of the city. After some hesitation the demand was complied with, and General Butler, with his military force, took possession and established martial law. Forts St. Philip and Jackson surrendered to Porter on the 27th, after some further resistance. During the conflict with the forts the Confederate iron-clad fleet came down the river to their assistance. But to the last one these formidable floating batteries were captured or destroyed. The passage of these forts, supported by the Confederate fleet, is regarded as one of the most heroic achievements of the war. After taking possession of New Orleans and adjacent parts of Louisiana, Commodore Farragut penetrated up the Mississippi with his gunboats, and having passed the strong fortifications at Vicksburg, aided the military in an unsuccessful attempt upon that strongly fortified place. CHAPTER X. - THE END OF THE WAR. BANKS AT VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN OF 1863-OTHER MOVEMENTS OF GRANT N the last day of the year 1862, General Sherman was removed from the command of the Army of the Tennessee, and General McClernand, of Illinois, appointed to take his place. The campaign of 1863, against the Confederate army in Mississippi, was planned and entered upon by General Grant in November, 1862. He proposed to send Gen. W. T. Sherman and General McClernand down the Mississippi River with a strong force, to be aided by a fleet of gunboats, to assail the fortified city of Vicksburg in front and rear, while he, with the body of his army, was to operate in the state north and east of Vicksburg. It is probable that this plan would have been attended with immediate success, but for the enterprise of General Van Dorn. That Confederate leader came up behind Grant as he was advancing south, and on December 20th, captured and destroyed his vast stores of arms, provisions, clothing, and ammunition at Holly Springs, - a place situated on the Mississippi Central Railroad, about forty miles southeast of Memphis. The stores destroyed here were valued at between four and five millions of dollars. Their destruction had the effect of arresting the operations against Vicksburg. The commander at Holly Springs was Colonel Murphy. Grant, in a general order, denounced the surrender as disgraceful. This and other dashes of the enemy upon his rear, caused him to fall back |