BATTLE OF OLUSTEE.

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eighty-two men and four officers. In twenty minutes, half of the guns, half of the officers, more than half of the men, and all but ten of the horses, were lost. The different regiments, as they came into position, were met by a murderous fire. One broke, another got out of place, and yet the conflict raged with terrible ferocity. Seymour was everywhere present, apparently reckless of death, striving to win the battle thus suddenly, unexpectedly thrown upon him; but his efforts were all in vain. He succeeded only in holding the men to a useless slaughter. From two o'clock till dark, the contest was close and deadly, when, as if by mutual consent, it ceased, and Seymour, leaving most of his wounded in the hands of the enemy, withdrew, and the troops, foot-sore and weary, marched all night to Barber's-having marched over thirty miles, and fought for four hours, since the previous morning. The next morning (Sunday), the shattered, dispirited army continued its retreat, and did not rest till it reached its old camps at Jacksonville. Over one-fifth of the army of five thousand men, and five pieces of artillery, were lost in this disastrous fight-called the battle of Olustec, because it occurred a few miles from this railroad station. The whole affair caused a great deal of indignation, and, as in the case of all foolish, unsuccessful expeditions, every one engaged in it was blamed by turns Now the President and Hay-whom he had made Major on purpose to accompany the expedition-were blamed; now Seymour, for being ambuscaded, and now Gillmore, for allowing it to be so miserably conducted. So, too, the Seventh New Hampshire, and a colored regiment, were accused of losing the battle by their poltroonry. Of course, an investigation was called for, while the newspapers discussed it freely, without waiting for its developments. Gillmore asserted that Seymour moved inland in direct violation of his orders, and, after he started, required him, his superior,

292

KILPATRICK'S RAID.

to make a naval.demonstration in his behalf. Seymour has not seen fit to tell how much the presence of Major Hay had to do with this departure from the course marked out for him by Gillmore. We suspect it would be hard to fix the blame on any one man. It was one of those shrewd little plans got up between those at Washington and some civilians and officers-the success of which was intended to astonish the country, and show that all the wisdom did not rest in military quarters. All that need be said of it is, it was a foolish expedition from the start-badly carried out, and a total, disgraceful failure.

The rebel General, Patton Anderson, soon after the battle, did an act which should be mentioned to his honor. He made out and sent in a complete list of all our prisoners in his hands, both white and colored, together with a descrip tion of the character of the injuries of each of the wounded. This conduct was the more noticeable, being in such striking contrast with, the brutality shown to the blacks at Fort Wagner and other places.

In the latter part of the month, Kilpatrick started on his great raid for the relief of our prisoners in Richmond, who were reported to be in a most suffering condition. Know. ing that the rebel Capital was weakly garrisoned, he thought that he might, by a sudden dash, enter it and release them before a sufficient force could be brought up to arrest his progress. His plan was submitted to the President and Secretary of War, and after due deliberation accepted, and, on the last day of February, this daring leader, with four thousand chosen men, left his camp at Stevensburg, and marched for Ely's Ford, on the Rapidan. By the aid of a daring scout named Hogan, he succeeded in capturing the entire picket stationed there, without giving the alarm. then pushed rapidly forward, and at daylight reached Spottsylvania Court House. Elated with his successful start

He

RICHMOND ALARMED.

293

he now moved rapidly towards the Beaver Dam Station, on the Virginia Central railroad, which he reached at four o'clock, and where he went into camp for a few hours. Colonels Dahlgren and Cook, with five hundred men, had been sent across the James River, to move down its south bank and release the prisoners at Belle Isle, and then with them join Kilpatrick in the city, who was to enter it by the Brook turnpike. The latter carried the first line of rebel works, within two miles of the Capital, and opened on it with his artillery, the sound of which was to be the signal for Dahlgren to advance. The latter, however, misled by a negro guide, did not appear, and Kilpatrick, disappointed in not having his co-operation, and finding the rebel defenses stronger than he had anticipated, now spent some hours in reconnoitering to see if he could not find a weak place where he could dash in. In the meantime, the city was thrown into e wildest consternation. The bells were rung, and couriers sent off to hurry up the troops on the Chickahominy. Finding the obstacles in front of him too great to be surmounted, and the hostile forces concentrating fast, he was compelled reluctantly to abandon his bold design, and see to the safety of his command. Falling back, he swept around Richmond to the Chickahominy, which he crossed, at Meadow Bridge, and went into camp in the midst of a driving storm of sleet, and hail, and snow. Here he was attacked by a heavy force, but succeeded, after a sharp fight, in repulsing it, and moving off to Old Church, again went into camp, to wait the arrival of his scattered detachments. During the day, they all came in except Dahlgren's command. At length, hearing that the latter was over the Pamunkey, and making his way towards Gloucester Point, he moved leisurely down. the Peninsula, and arrived safely at Yorktown. Dahlgren, becoming separated in the darkness from his main body, fought his way, with a hundred men, to within three miles

294

DEATH OF DAHLGREN.

of King and Queen Court-House, where he fell into an ambuscade and was shot down, and all but seventeen of his party killed or taken prisoners. The body of this gallant young officer was shamefully maltreated, and buried in the middle of the road by the rebels, to show their savage hate. They asserted, in extenuation of their conduct, that a paper was found in his pocket, directing that Richmond when captured should be laid in ashes and given over to plunder. This raid had a special, noble object in view, which would sanction the taking of heavy risks.

The sudden appearance of the rebels, the latter part of this same month, in the western part of Kentucky, took the country by surprise.

On the 24th of March, Forrest, in command of the rebel forces, attacked Union City, which was surrendered by Colonel Hawkins, the Commander, in a manner that called forth the bitterest condemnation. The next day, the combined rebel force, numbering in all six thousand men, attacked Paducah, which post was held by Colonel S. G. Hicks, with six hundred and fifty-five men. On the approach of the enemy, Colonel Hicks retired into Fort Anderson with his little band, resolved to hold it to the last extremity, while some gunboats in the river, commanded by Captain Shirk, moved up to his assistance. Forrest advanced to the attack, but failed to make any impression on the fort. He then sent a flag of truce to Colonel Hicks, demanding the surrender of the place, saying in conclusion, “If you surrender, you shall be treated as prisoners of war, but if I have to storm your works, you may expect no quarter. Hicks very quietly replied, that he had been placed there by his Government to defend the post, and should do it. Forrest, however, made a base use of the flag of truce, and advanced his troops, while the negotiations were going on, to advantageous positions. His sharpshooters also mingled

with the women and, children that had been sent out of town to avoid danger, and picked off the officers of the gunboats, knowing that they could not be fired on without killing the women and children. They also placed women in front of their lines as they moved towards the fort-a piece of dastardly cowardice that can hardly be believed of any American.

Forrest made three desperate assaults on the place during the day, but each time was met with such a destructive fire that he was repulsed with a loss of three hundred killed and about a thousand wounded, while on our side only sixty were killed or wounded. Finding that Colonel Hicks could be neither frightened nor forced into a surrender, he withdrew, and on the 12th of next month-the anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter-drove in the pickets of the garrison of Fort Pillow. This fort was situated on a high bluff on the banks of the Mississippi, and was 'garrisoned with five hundred and fifty-seven men-two hundred and sixty-two of whom were colored troops.

1

The attack was made at sunrise. Major Booth, of the colored troops, the senior in command, was killed about nine o'clock, and Major Bradford succeeded him. Forrest pressed his attack vigorously, up to three o'clock, but without any success. The gunboat New Era, Captain Marshall, threw its shells with great effect into the rebel ranks, causing them to flee from one ravine into another, as she shifted from one position to another in answer to the signals from the fort. Forrest, finding that he could not carry the place by assault, resorted to a flag of truce, under cover of which, with true Mexican duplicity, he determined to gain a position that would enable him, with a single dash; to get into the fort. He