THE MILITIA CALLED OUT.

179

left free to return to the Union lines by "Stonewall" Jackson. This retreat was one of the most masterly in the pages of history. Never did men behave with more gallantry, or fight with more determination.

The rebel commander was unable to destroy Banks, who displayed all the qualities of a skilful general. One great object Jackson gained, however. By this movement he prevented the reinforcement of McClellan, through the fears which were now entertained by the Secretary of War. General Fremont, in Western Virginia, was ordered to cross the mountains and intercept the retreat of Jackson. McDowell was to send a division of his forces, and the telegraph called on the North to hurry troops in all haste to the defence of Washington. The whole militia force was called out for three months, though only some arrived at the national capital.

Meanwhile, exciting news came from other parts of the country. At Corinth, Mississippi, General Halleck was preparing to deal the enemy a heavy blow. After the fall of New Orleans, Farragut moved up the Mississippi, capturing several towns on his course, and the control of the great river, which was only a matter of time, made a great change in the military aspect. It was a considerable way to Memphis, but Halleck pushed on, drawing nearer and nearer the rebel fortifications.

An expedition cut the Mobile and Ohio railroad at Purdy, and severed Beauregard's communication with the North. General Paine, who was sent on the 3d of May by General Pope to Farmington, Mississippi, met and defeated four thousand of the enemy, with the loss of only fourteen killed and wounded. An artillery reconnoissance at the same time to Ellendale, destroyed part of the track of the Memphis and Charleston railroad.

Meanwhile, a great naval expedition had been progressing against Fort Wright, on the Mississippi river, in Tennessee. A large number of Federal gunboats, under Flag-officer Foote, had been preparing an attack. He was waiting until Farragut should come up the river; and the rebels, being reduced to a very close condition, determined to attack and destroy his fleet before the expected arrival of the latter. Accordingly, on the morning of the 10th of May, they advanced from under tl e guns of the fort with eight iron-clad

180

NAVAL ACTION AT FORT WRIGHT.

gunboats, four of them fitted up as rams. The first that came round the point was the rebel ram Louisiana, four gunboats accompanying her. The Cincinnati allowed the ram to proceed unmolested for awhile, and then swung into the stream. The ram turned to run her down, and Captain Stemmel, of the Cincinnati, poured a heavy broadside on her. Seeing that he could not stop her, he altered the course of his vessel so as to avoid the ram, and at pistol range, with his revolver shot the pilot at the wheel. At the same moment, a ball pierced him in the shoulder. A deadly fire with small arms now took place. An attempt of the ram to drive her iron prow into the Cincinnati and sink her, proved abortive. The rebel captain then determined to board her. Stemmel opened his steam batteries, and turned the hose upon the ram; her deck was swarming with boarders, armed to the teeth, who sent up shrieks of dreadful agony, and many jumped into the river. The ram then withdrew. Meantime, the rebel gunboat Mallory tried the same course, and moved on swiftly. The Federal gunboat St. Louis, under a full head of steam, ran into her amidships, and cut her in two. The water rushed in through the gash, and with her crew, except some who clung to the Cincinnati, and a few whom the St. Louis picked up, went to the bottom. A fierce cannonading now took place, as the other Union gunboats took part in the fight. Smoke wrapped the river in a cloud. A rebel gunboat then blew up, and the banks trembled, while only a few timbers marked the place where she had floated. Captain C. H. Davis, on the flag-ship Benton, directed all the operations of his fleet, and signals informed him that the captain of each vessel was performing his part. well. Captain Davis had shown himself a skilful commander, and the rebels, with their shattered fleet, having been badly punished, retired, and sought protection under the guns of the fort. After the engagement, it was discovered that the Cincinnati was much injured. The Federal loss otherwise was slight.

On the 9th of May, Beauregard made an attempt on the land forces, as useless as the one made the day after by the rebel flotilla on the fleet. Pope had captured Farmington on the 3d, and the rebels retook it three days after. On the 8th, Pope again occupied it, and the cavalry advanced within three miles of Corinth. On the next day, the enemy, com

SPLENDID CAVALRY CHARGE.

181

manded by General Bragg, marched against him in force. The artillery began the fight at ten, and it lasted till noon. The Federal forces were commanded by General Paine, who determined to withdraw, as the enemy were trying to get in on his rear. There was a road through a swamp along which he must pass with his troops. The enemy had planted their artillery so as to make a cross fire on this road, and their wings were widely extended. To save time, and get his men through, Payne sent Colonel Hatch, with the Second Iowa, on the desperate mission of charging the enemy's guns. Dashing through a ravine and up a slope, the brave Iowans stood before the battery. Forming, they obeyed the bugle call, their sabres flashed aloft, and on the guns they dashed, driving the skirmishers from their path. The enemy's artillery, opening with deadly missiles, would have made them vanish like smoke, but the too great depression of the guns was fortunate. The ground in front was ploughed up, and one hundred horses fell, but the brave cavaliers dashed on, and the terrified gunners limbered up their pieces. His duty being accomplished, Hatch sounded the recall but the brave cavalrymen never halted till they had sabred the gunners; then they fell back to the swamp, and the column passed on beyond. In this engagement, the Union loss was twenty-one killed and one hundred and forty wounded. That of the enemy was reported to be four hundred and twenty.

It was not the design of Halleck to bring on a general engagement, and Pope was not reinforced with sufficient force to hold his own. The army advanced step by step, so as to make success certain, and Beauregard was kept in his intrenchments. The preparations were ready on the 28th, and three columns advanced to reconnoitre along the entire line, and feel and unmask the batteries of the enemy. This brought on a sharp engagement, in which the enemy were repulsed at all points. On the 29th, General William T. Sherman placed a battery within a thousand yards of the enemy's works, and an attack was expected to be made by the whole army next day. Pope, at ten o'clock, opened on the enemy with his artillery, and the cannonading continued the entire day. During the night the rumbling of cars and the shrieks of steam whistles were heard in the enemy's camp, as were also several loud explosions. Skirmishers were thrown out, an advance ordered, and Pope entered a deserted

182

GENERAL BUTLER AT NEW ORLEANS.

place. The evacuation of Corinth had been going on for days, and where the rebel troops had gone was unknown. The stars and stripes were planted on the works, and the mayor formally surrendered the town. The position was a strong one naturally, and rendered more so by the best engineering skill of the "Confederacy."

Meanwhile, General B. F. Butler was administering justice to all classes of people at New Orleans. He divided the Confederate stores among the poor, appointed a provostmarshal, tried to bring back the misguided to their loyalty, and suppressed disloyal sentiments. He took possession of the Delta newspaper, which was thereafter conducted by an editor from the army, and put an end to other scurrilous sheets. Stores were opened, the banks renewed their business, and no Confederate scrip was allowed to be circulated. Ladies who insulted the soldiers in the streets, were ordered to be treated as women of the town plying their vocation. This order gave great dissatisfaction to the rebels, and drew forth much animadversion from Europe. Butler was threatened with assassination, but steadily persevered, and under the old flag, matters became more prosperous.

The banks of the Mississippi were now cleared to Vicksburg, and its whole length was soon expected to be without obstruction. The President, about the middle of the month, had by proclamation opened the ports of Beaufort, Port Royal, and New Orleans, and commerce, it was hoped, would soon improve.

The Secretary of War, this month, issued an order prohibiting the enlistment of more volunteers. Regiments were disbanded, and recruiting offices closed. The army was losing ten thousand men monthly, and the great decisive fields of the rebellion were yet to be won. The Confederate army was doubling by the conscriptions so rigorously enforced, and ours was rapidly decreasing. The disasters which befel the army are not difficult to be accounted for. It was soon seen that a policy of this kind would never save the nation.

A defeat of the army before Richmond would be a great calamity; a victory would counterbalance all disadvantages. No idea of defeat or disaster entered the public mind. Richmond must be taken, that was sure; and this fact once settled, every thing became easy. But the Divine Being works with mysterious designs, and human expectations are not uncommonly disappointed.

CHAPTER XIX.

JUNE, 1862.

NAVAL ACTION BEFORE MEMPHIS-ITS EVACUATION-GENERAL MITCHELL CAPTURES CHATTANOOGA-EXPEDITION UP THE WHITE RIVER-BUTLER AT NEW ORLEANS-LOYAL EAST TENNESSEANS-PARSON BROWNLOWMORGAN OCCUPIES CUMBERLAND GAP-FREMONT PURSUES JACKSONFIGHT AT HARRISONBURG-BATTLE OF CROSS KEYS-FIGHT AT PORT REPUBLIC-FREMONT SUPERSEDED BY POPE-BATTLE OF JAMES ISLAND.

THE rebels, after the evacuation of Corinth, fell back into different new positions, and were not attacked in any of them by the Union army, which now lay inactive. No operations in the field took place, except those of Mitchell in Alabama.

The Union fleet, however, descended the Mississippi, and bid fair to join Farragut at an early day. Forts Wright and Pillow were evacuated in succession, and in the pleasant rays of the morning of June 6th, Memphis was disclosed to the fleet. All was quiet, and promised the peaceful occupation of the place; but, at the lower end of the town, the approaching flotilla descried that of the enemy lying close to the Arkansas side of the river. The Confederate fleet consisted of the General Bragg, the Jeff. Thompson, Beauregard, Lovell, General Van Dorn, Sumter, General Price, and Little Rebel, and was under the command of Commodore Edward Montgomery. They were steamers, altered into gunboats, and carried from two to twelve guns each. The gunboats of Commodore C. H. Davis, which were brought into action, were the flag-ship Benton, the Louisville, Cairo, St. Louis, and Carondelet. There were, in addition, four steain rams, commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet, viz.: the Queen of the West, Monarch, Lancaster, and Switzerland. The rebel fleet met that of the Federals in gallant style, opposite Memphis. The inhabitants, in multitudes, swarmed the levee, bluff, and house-tops, near the river. This day witnessed as complete an overthrow as ever the rebel arms had met with. The battle commenced at five o'clock in the