CHAPTER VIII.

ARKANSAS POST.

MAJOR-GENERAL MCCLERNAND brought with him an order, issued by the War Department, dividing the Army of the Tennessee into four separate army corps, to be known as the Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth, and to be respectively commanded by Major-Generals John A. McClernand, William T. Sherman, Stephen A. Hurlbut, and James B. McPherson, while General Grant was to retain command of the whole. The army corps had now become the unit of administration and of field movements. Completely organized, generally possessing within itself all the elements of a separate army, its commander was enabled to dispose promptly of the great mass of administrative details without the necessity of carrying them up to general headquarters, to breed delay and vexation and to distract the mind of the general-in-chief from the essential matters upon which his mind should have leisure to concentrate its energies.

Immediately on assuming command, General McClernand assigned Brigadier-General George W. Morgan to the immediate command of his own corps, the Thirteenth, composing the left wing, and consisting of A. J. Smith's division and Morgan's own division, now to be commanded by BrigadierGeneral P. J. Osterhaus.

Sherman's Fifteenth Corps, which was to constitute the right wing, comprised the First Division, under the command of Brigadier-General Frederick Steele, and the Second Division, temporarily under the command of Brigadier-General David Stuart, in the absence of Brigadier-General Morgan L. Smith.

Steele's first division was now organized as follows:

First brigade, Brigadier-General Frank P. Blair-Thirteenth Illinois, Twenty-ninth Missouri, Thirty-first Missouri, Thirtysecond Missouri, Fifty-eighth Ohio, Thirtieth Missouri.

Second brigade, Brigadier-General C. E. Hovey-Seventeenth Missouri, Twenty-fifth Iowa, Third Missouri, Seventysixth Ohio, Thirty-first Iowa, Twelfth Missouri.

Third brigade, Brigadier-General John M. Thayer-Fourth Iowa, Thirty-fourth Iowa, Thirtieth Iowa, Twenty-sixth Iowa, Ninth Iowa, infantry.

Artillery-First Iowa, Captain Griffiths; Fourth Ohio, Captain Hoffman, and First Missouri horse artillery.

Cavalry-Third Illinois, and a company of the Fifteenth

Illinois.

The second division, formerly Sherman's fifth division, of the Army of the Tennessee, consisted of the following named troops:

First brigade, Colonel G. A. Smith, commanding-Eighth Missouri, Sixth Missouri, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois, One Hundred and Sixteenth Illinois, Thirteenth United States.

Second brigade, Colonel T. Kilby Smith, commanding— Fifty-fifth Illinois, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Illinois, Fifty-fourth Ohio, Eighty-third Indiana, Fifty-seventh Ohio, infantry.

Artillery Companies A and B, First Illinois Light Artillery, and Eighth Ohio battery.

Cavalry-Two companies of Thielman's Illinois battalion, and Company C, Tenth Missouri.

On the 4th of January, 1863, the expedition sailed on the same transports that had brought them from Vicksburg, convoyed by Admiral Porter's fleet of gunboats, to attack Fort Hindman, commonly known as Arkansas Post, an old French settlement situated on the left or north bank of the Arkansas River, fifty miles from its mouth and one hundred and seventeen below Little Rock. This fort was a very strong bastioned work, constructed by the rebels at the head of a horse-shoe bend, on an elevated bluff which here touches the river and defines for some distance its left bank. The work has four

bastion fronts, inclosing a space about one hundred yards square, and a line of rifle-pits extended three-quarters of a mile across a neck of level ground to a bayou on the west and north. In the fort three heavy iron guns, one three-inch rifled gun, and four six-pounder smooth bores were mounted at the salients and flanks, and six twelve-pounder howitzers and threeinch rifles were distributed along the rifle-pits. The garrison consisted of about five thousand men, under Brigadier-General T. J. Churchill, of the Confederate army. He was ordered by Lieutenant-General Holmes, commanding the rebel forces in Arkansas, to hold the post "till all are dead."

The expedition was suggested by General Sherman, and the idea was promptly adopted by General McClernand. Its object was to employ the troops, which would otherwise have remained idly waiting for the full development of the combinations against Vicksburg, in opening the way to Little Rock; thus placing the Arkansas River under the control of the Union armies, and putting an end to the dangerous detached operations carried on from that point against our communications. on the Mississippi. The former river traversing and nearly bisecting Arkansas from northwest to southeast, is the key to the military possession of the State.

The expedition moved up the White River through the cutoff which unites its waters with those of the Arkansas, up the latter stream to Notrib's farm, three miles below Fort Hindman, where the troops began to disembark at five o'clock on the afternoon of January 9th. By noon on the 10th the landing was completed, and the troops were on the march to invest the post. Sherman's Fifteenth Corps took the advance, and was to pass round the rear of the enemy's works, and form line with his right resting on the river above the fort. The Thirteenth Corps, under Brigadier-General Morgan, was to follow, and connecting with General Sherman's right, complete the investment on the left. The gunboats opened a terrific fire upon the enemy during the afternoon, to distract his attention. By nightfall the troops were in position, Steele on the right, resting on the bayou, Stuart next, A. J. Smith's division on Stuart's

left, and Osterhaus's division on the extreme left near the river. During the night of the 9th and the following day Colonel D. W. Lindsay's brigade of Osterhaus's division had landed on the right bank of the river below Notrib's farm, and marching across the bend had taken up a position and planted a battery on that bank above the fort, so as to effectually prevent the succor of the garrison, or its escape by water.

Admiral Porter kept up a furious bombardment until after dark. Early on the morning of the 11th, Sherman moved his corps into an easy position for assault, looking south, across ground encumbered by fallen trees and covered with low bushes. The enemy could be seen moving back and forth along his lines, occasionally noticing our presence by some ill-directed shots which did us little harm, and accustomed the men to the sound of rifle-cannon. By ten A. M. Sherman reported to General McClernand in person that he was all ready for the assault, and only awaited the simultaneous movement of the gunboats. They were to silence the fort, and save the troops from the enfilading fire of its artillery along the only possible line of attack.

About half-past twelve notice was received that the gunboats were in motion. Wood's Battery, Company A, Chicago Light Artillery, was posted on the road which led directly into the Post; Banett's Battery B, First Illinois Artillery, was in the open space in the interval between Stuart's and Steele's divisions, and Steele had two of his batteries disposed in his front. Sherman's orders were, that as soon as the gunboats opened fire all his batteries in position should commence firing, and continue until he commanded "cease firing," when, after three minutes' cessation, the infantry columns of Steele's and Stuart's divisions were to assault the enemy's line of rifle-pits and defences.

The gunboats opened about one P. M., and our field-batteries at once commenced firing, directing their shots at the enemy's guns, his line of defences, and more especially enfilading the road which led directly into the fort, and which separated Morgan's line of attack from Sherman's. The gunboats could

not be seen, and their progress had to be judged by the sound of their fire, at first slow and steady, but rapidly approaching the fort and enveloping it with a storm of shells and shot. The field-batteries continued their fire rapidly for about fifteen minutes, the enemy not replying, when Sherman, having withdrawn the skirmish line, ordered the firing to cease and the columns to advance to the assault. The infantry sprang forward with a cheer, rapidly crossed the hundred yards of clear space in their immediate front, and dashed into a belt of ground about three hundred yards wide, separating them from the enemy's parapets, slightly cut up by gulleys and depressions, and covered with standing trees, brush, and fallen timber. There they encountered the fire of the enemy's artillery and infantry, well directed from their perfect cover. The speed of our advance was checked, and afterwards became more cautious and prudent. By three P. M. Sherman's lines. were within one hundred yards of the enemy's trenches, and flanking him on our right, and completely enveloping his position. The gunboats could be seen close up to the fort, the admiral's flag directly under it. All artillery fire from the fort had ceased, and only occasionally could be seen a few of the enemy's infantry firing from its parapets; but the strongest resistance continued in our immediate front, where the enemy's infantry was massed, comparatively safe from the gunboats, which were compelled to direct their fire well to the front, lest it should injure our own troops. A brisk fire of musketry was kept up along our whole front with an occasional discharge of artillery through the intervals of the infantry lines until four P. M., when the white flag appeared all along the enemy's lines. Sherman immediately ordered General Steele to push a brigade down the bayou on his right, to prevent the escape of the

enemy.

Simultaneously with Sherman's assault, Burbridge's brigade with the One Hundred and Eighteenth Illinois and Sixty-ninth Indiana, of Landrum's, and the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio, of Colonel Sheldon's brigade, dashed forward under a deadly fire quite to the enemy's intrenchments; the Sixteenth