184 by water. * 1863. SIEGE OF LITTLE WASHINGTON. He left General Palmer in command at New Berne, and sent to General Peck, at Suffolk, for aid. Hill soon invested the place, and on the 30th of March" demanded its surrender. Foster refused, and a siege was begun. Batteries were erected by Hill at commanding points, and in a day or two the little garrison of twelve hundred men was cut off from all communication outside by land or water, excepting through the precarious methods of small boats, with supplies, making their way in the night, or by some bold adventurer, like Captain McDermot, of the gun-boat Ceres, who, on the night of the 3d of April, volunteered to run. the blockade of the Pamlico, with his vessel laden with ammunition. This was accomplished at great risk, for the besiegers had removed all stakes and buoys from the river. He felt his way cautiously, and restaked the channel as he went on. His vessel was under fire nearly all night, and was somewhat bruised; but, at six o'clock in the morning,' she passed the obstructions within a short distance of the Confederate batteries, and reached Washington in safety. April 4. On the 8th of April, General Spinola led an expedition for the relief of Little Washington, but failed, when the veteran Fifth Rhode Island (one of Spinola's fourteen regiments) asked permission of General Palmer to run the blockade, or land and capture Hill's batteries. Consent was given, and in the transport steamer Escort, Captain Wall, they left New Berne at midnight, accompanied by General Palmer, Lieutenant Hoffman, of Foster's. staff, and Colonel McChesney, of the First Loyal North Carolinians. They reached the flotilla of National gun-boats, assembled below the Confederatebatteries,' without difficulty, and on the night of the 13th of April-a still and beautiful night-the Escort, under cover of a heavy fire from the flotilla upon the land batteries, went boldly up the river with its load of supplies and troops. Guided by the stakes planted by McDermot, she pushed on, and gallantly ran the gauntlet of sharp-shooters, who swarmed the banks, and several light field-batteries, for about six miles. Before morning the little vessel, somewhat bruised, reached Washington with its precious freight. On her return the next night, with General Foster on board, she was more battered than in her upward trip, but passed the ordeal without very serious injury to the vessel. Foster, on his arrival at New Berne, set about organizing an expedition competent to raise the siege of Washington, but before he could put the troops in motion, Hill abandoned the siege and fled, pursued by General Palmer, who struck him severely within eight miles of Kinston, and drove him into the interior of the State, when he marched to re-enforce Longstreet in front of Suffolk.3 * April 14. Foster continued to send out raiding parties, who made many captures, broke railways, seized or destroyed a large amount of Confederate property, and quantities of arms, munitions of war, and animals. In May an expedition, under Colonel J. Richter Jones, of the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania (act 1 These had carried about 3,000 troops, under General Prince, who was ordered by Foster to land and capture a battery on Hill's Point. Believing it to be impracticable, Prince refused to undertake it. 2 Eighteen solid shot and shells passed through the Escort on her return trip, completely riddling her upper works, and somewhat injuring her machinery, while the bullets of the sharp-shooters on shore scarred all her woodwork. Mr. Pederick, the pilot, was killed, when a New York pilot, assisted by a negro, took his place. * See page 41. PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK CHARLESTON. 185 May 23, 1863. ing brigadier), attacked the Confederates in their works at Gum Swamp, eight miles from Kinston. A portion of the forces, commanded by Colonels Jones and Pierson, in person, drove away the foe, and captured their intrenchments. They took one hundred and sixty-five prisoners, and with these and a quantity of stores, returned to the outpost line at Bachelor's Creek. There the exasperated Confederates attacked them," but were repulsed; yet they inflicted a heavy loss on the Nationals, by slaying Colonel Jones, one of the best and bravest soldiers in the Union army. At the beginning of July another force destroyed an armory at Keenansville, with a large amount of small-arms and stores; and on the 4th. of the same month General Heckman and his troopers destroyed an important bridge over the Trent River, at Comfort. Later in the month, General Edward E. Potter, Foster's chief of staff, led a cavalry expedition, which laid in ruins a bridge and trestle-work, seven hundred and fifty feet long,. over the Tar River, at Rocky Mount, between Goldsboro' and Weldon, with cotton and flouring mills, machine shops and machinery, rolling stock, and other railway property, a wagon-train, and eight hundred bales of cotton. At Tarboro', the terminus of a branch railway running eastward from Rocky Mount, they also destroyed two steamboats and an iron-clad, nearly finished; also, mills, cars, cotton, and stores; captured a hundred prisoners, and many horses and mules, and liberated many slaves, who followed them back to camp. The country was aroused, and such efforts were made to cut the raiders off, that they were compelled to fight almost continually on their return. Yet their entire loss did not exceed twenty-five men. At about this time General Foster's command was enlarged, so as to include the Virginia Peninsula and Southeastern Virginia, which constituted General Dix's. department. On account of the riots in New York and threatened resistance to the Draft there,' Dix had been sent to take command in that city, and Foster, leaving General Palmer in charge at New Berne, made his headquarters at Fortress Monroe. Let us now consider events farther down the coast, particularly in the vicinity of Charleston. We left General T. W. Sherman in quiet possession of Edisto Island, not far below Charleston, from which the white inhabitants had all fled; and also Admiral Dupont, who had just returned from conquests along the coasts of Georgia and Florida, prepared to co-operate with General Hunter, the new commander of the Department of the South, in an attempt to capture Charleston.' Hunter worked with zeal toward that end. Martial law was declared' to exist throughout his Department. Giving a free interpretation to his instructions from the War Department, he April 25 took measures for organizing regiments of negro troops; and to facilitate the business of recruiting, he issued a general order, which proclaimed the absolute freedom of all slaves within his Department; May 9. 1 Colonel Jones was shot by a Confederate, who was concealed behind a chimney, several hundred yards distant. He died almost instantly, in the arms of his faithful orderly, Michael Webber. He was a distinguished member of the Philadelphia bar, which, in a series of resolutions passed at a meeting soon after his death, paid a warm tribute to his character. By the death of Colonel Jones," General Foster said, "a most brave, zealous, and able officer has been lost to the service and to this Department." 2 See page 89. This included the States of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 186 SEIZURE OF THE "PLANTER." and declared "that slavery and martial law in a free country were altogether incompatible." This was a step too far in advance of public sentiment and the Government policy at that time, so President Lincoln annulled the order," and "President" Davis out "May 19, 1863. lawed Hunter.' At about that time measures were perfected for seizing Wadmelaw and John's Islands, that the National troops might gain a position within cannon-shot of Charleston. Careful reconnoissances had been made, soundings taken, and the channel of Stono River, which separates the islands of John's and James's, had been carefully marked by buoys. Every thing was in readiness for an advance toward the middle of May,' when that movement was hastened by information given respecting military affairs at Charleston by an intelligent slave, named Robert Small, the pilot of the Confederate gun-boat Planter, who, with eight dusky companions. 1863. THE PLANTER. (composing, with himself, the pilot and crew of the steamer), escaped in that vessel from Charleston harbor, and on the evening of the 12th placed May. her along с side the Wabash, Dupont's flag-ship, not far from Hilton Head. The information given by Small (who was taken into the National service) was valuable, and on the 20th the gun-boats Unadilla, Pembina, and Ottawa crossed the bar at the mouth of the Stono and proceeded up that stream. The Confederates occupying the earth-works along the banks of that river, which were shelled by the boats, fled at their approach, and the vessels moved cautiously on without hinderance to the junction of the Stono and Wappoo Creek, a few miles from Charleston, from which points the spires of the city were easily seen. Unfortunately, the gun-boats were unsupported by land troops, and their presence served only to announce to the Confederates an evident preparation for attacking Charleston. 1 On the 21st of August following, Davis issued an order at Richmond, directing that Generals Hunter and Phelps (see page 225, volume II.) should "no longer be held and treated as public enemies of the Confederate States, but as outlaws." Such fulminations of the chief Conspirator, who was always ready to raise the black flag when he thought it safe to do so, were quite common during the earlier years of the war. 2 The Planter was a high-pressure, side-wheel steamer, and drew only about five feet of water. Small and his colored companions arranged for the escape, and when, on the evening of the 11th of May, the white officers of the vessel went on shore to spend the night, the negroes proceeded to put their plans into execution. The family of Small and that of the engineer were taken on board. The remainder of the company (consisting of John Small and Alfred Gourdine, engineers; Abraham Jackson, Gabriel Turno, William Morrison, Samuel Chisholm, Abraham Allston, and David Jones) were without families. In the darkness the vessel passed down the harbor, but did not reach Fort Sumter until daylight, when a proper signal was given, and she passed on unsuspected. When out of reach of Confederate batteries, Small raised a white flag and went out to the blockading squadron, where he gave up the vessel to the captain of the Augusta. That officer sent her with her pilot and crew to Dupont, who placed the families in safety at Beaufort, and took Small and his companions, with the vessel, into the service. In the autumn, when the white captain of that vessel refused to act as such when she was about to go under fire, he was removed, and Small was put in his place, with his titles and duties. OPERATIONS ON JAMES'S ISLAND. 187 General Hunter had been for some time making preparations for throwing troops suddenly upon James's Island, and then advancing rapidly upon Charleston, where General Pemberton was then in chief command. He had 'called General Brannan with his force from Key West to Hilton Head, and began the concentration of troops on Edisto Island. It was expected to have the latter co-operate with the gun-boats when they entered the Stono, but for lack of transportation they were unable to do so. It was nearly a fortnight after the steamers reached Wappoo before a part of the troops were landed on James's Island, under the immediate command of General Benham, accompanied by General Hunter; and it was nearly a week later before General Wright arrived with the remainder. Meanwhile, General Stevens had been sent with a small force' to strike the Charleston and Savannah railway at Pocotaligo, with a view of cutting off communication between those cities. There he encountered a thousand Confederates well posted, but these were soon driven, and the railway was destroyed for several miles. Stevens then retired and joined the troops destined for the direct attack on Charleston. a June 2, 1863. June. While these movements were going on, the Confederates, who much outnumbered the Nationals then on James's Island, were strengthening their position at Secessionville, a pleasant little group of the summer residences of the James's Island planters, about two miles from the Stono, with salt water on three sides. It was upon a narrow ridge, with swamps bordering it, and accessible from the land only from the west. There, under the direction of Colonel J. G. Lamar, the Confederates constructed a formidable battery, which commanded the Union camp. Perceiving this, General Benham,* who had been left in command by General Hunter a few days before, determined to carry the battery by assault. The time fixed for the attempt was the dawn of the 11th. He was anticipated by Lamar, who made offensive movements the evening before. Skirmishing ensued, and the attack was postponed. A battery was constructed to silence the Confederate guns. It failed to do so, and Benham proceeded to execute his original plan of assault. He arranged about six thousand troops for the purpose, under Generals Wright and Stevens, the forces of the latter forming the assaulting column, covered by the troops of the former. These were put in motion at four o'clock on the morning of the 16th. Stevens's command was about three thousand three hundred strong, composed of the brigades of Colonels W. M. Fenton and D. Leasure. Swiftly and silently they moved over the uneven cotton-fields in the gloom, for the sky was covered with thick clouds, and it was scarcely dawn when they started. The Confederate pickets were mostly captured, and it was hoped that the garrison might be surprised. The Eighth Michigan (Fenton's own) led the way, closely supported by the New York Highlanders, a storming party of the 1 These consisted of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania, two companies of the First Massachusetts Cavalry, and a section of the First Connecticut Battery. 2 See page 95, volume II. Brigadier-General Isaac Stevens, who was killed near Chantilly, in Virginia, a few weeks afterward. See page 461, volume II. • Fenton's brigade was formed of the Eighth Michigan, Seventeenth Connecticut, and Twenty-eighth Massachusetts. Leasure's brigade consisted of the Seventy-ninth (Highlanders) and Forty-sixth New York, and One Hundredth Pennsylvania, with four detached companies of artillery. 188 BATTLE OF SECESSION VILLE. Michigan regiment in the extreme advance.' While these were pressing along the narrow strip of land by which, only, the battery might be reached, Lamar, who had been watching the movement, opened upon the column a murderous storm of grape and canister-shot from six masked guns. At the same time heavy volleys of musketry were poured upon their right flank. A severe struggle ensued, in which General Wright's troops participated. It was soon found that the battery, protected by a strong abatis, a ditch seven feet in depth, a parapet seven feet in height, and a full garrison well armed, could not be carried by assault, and the Nationals fell back, with a loss, in a short space of time, of about six hundred men.3 The BATTLE OF SECESSIONVILLE, in which Benham was in general command, in the field, was marked by great prowess on both sides. It was fatal to the plan of an immediate advance upon Charleston. The National troops. withdrew from James's Island, and no further attempt to capture the capital of South Carolina was made for some time. General O. M. Mitchel, who, as we have observed, was called to Washington City from Tennessee, was appointed to succeed General Hunter in Hilton Head Island swarming with refugee slaves, disorganized and idle, and he at once took measures for their relief, and to make them useful. On the plantation of the Confederate General Drayton, a short mile from Hilton Head, he laid out a village plot, and caused neat and comfortable huts to be built along regular and wide streets. They were constructed chiefly of pine saplings, uniform in size and style, and each had a garden plot attached. Into these he gathered the refugee families to the aggregate of full five thousand souls, and made the labor of the men regular and useful in some way. When the writer visited Mitchelville, as the little town was called, in the spring of 1866, it contained between three and four thousand inhabitants. The houses and HOUSE AT MITCHELVILLE. 1 Companies C and E, led by Lieutenant B. R. Lyons, of General Stevens's staff, and guided by a negro. 2 Ilis command consisted of the brigades of Acting Brigadier-General Williams, composed of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania troops, with a section of artillery; of Colonel Chatfield, composed of Connecticut and New York troops, and of Colonel Welsh, composed of Pennsylvania and New York troops, two sections of artillery, and a squadron of cavalry. To Williams's brigade were added the Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment and a section of Hamilton's battery, which did good service. 3 The Confederate loss was a little over two hundred. Among the wounded were Colonel Lamar, their commander, and Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard. See page 304, volume II. |