at the angles. These, with great labor, were wedged off one by one, pulled down with ropes, and piled for burning. All this was accomplished at 5 o'clock P. M., (16th inst.), and as my orders were to, burn nothing until farther orders, I complimented my command for the zeal with which they had worked, and the success of their labor, and marched them back to the brigade camp, distant only about one hundred and fifty yards from the fort.

"At seven o'clock P. M., I was notified that the magazines, (three of them within the main redoubt), one of them containing about fifty kegs and barrels of powder, would be exploded at eight o'clock. I was ordered to embark my transportation, and immediately after the explosion, to burn the timber I had previously prepared for that purpose, and be ready to embark my men at an early hour. I received no orders to move my command to a place of greater safety, and did not feel at liberty to leave my position in the brigade without farther orders. My company commanders were notified of the danger, and the men fell back from one to two hundred yards, availing themselves of such protection as they could find. One and two hours passed beyond the appointed time, and the explosion did not take place. The night was cold, and the men weary from their day's work; one by

one, many of them resought their bunks and bivouac fires, when, at about half past ten o'clock, the magazines blew up with a terrific explosion, sinking the earth beneath one's feet, and filling the air, for hundreds of yards, with timbers, huge lumps of hard, red clay, and other dangerous missiles. Samuel Snyder, of Company "A," had his left leg broken by a lump of clay, so as to require amputation above the knee, and is not expected to live. Lieutenant John D. Abbe, Company "K," was slightly wounded in the face,— also several others, while many narrowly escaped death. Soon after the explosion of the magazine, an iron field-piece, situated in the west part of the fort, bursted, scattering fragments of the gun through the brigade camp, killing, among others in the brigade, private Samuel Jackson, Company "C," of my regiment.

"About twelve o'clock P. M., I proceeded to burn the piled timbers, which left the fortifications in ruins, and as thoroughly destroyed as possible within such a limited time."

On the 17th day of March the regiment reëmbarked at Gordon's Landing, near the fort, and proceeded up the river, sixty miles, arriving at Alexandria the same evening. On the 18th, it disembarked at Pineville, on the right hand side of the river, and marched out

twelve miles on a foraging expedition, returning the same day. On the 25th, Companies "G" and "D,” of the Ninety-fifth, were detailed as guard over prisoners, and started with them the same day for New Orleans, on the steamer "Meteor." The Thirteenth Army Corps, commanded by General Franklin, having now arrived at Alexandria, from below, the whole army, provided with three days' rations, moved forward on the 26th, along Bayou Rupee, and on the following day arrived at Bayou Cotille, where the regiment remained until April 1st. Companies "G" and "D" having delivered their prisoners to the authorities at New Orleans, returned to this place and rejoined the regiment.

On the 4th of April the army reached Grand Ecore, and from here the 13th and 19th corps, and a large portion of General A. J. Smith's command, immediately marched up the river in the direction of Shrevesport, to meet the enemy, while the division of the 17th Army Corps, under General Kilby Smith, ascended the river on transports, loaded with supplies for General Banks' army.

Prior to the general movement of the boats, at this time, the Ninety-fifth was sent on a scouting expedition a few miles up the river, a small force of rebels holding position on the shore being reported in the vicinity.

Embarking on the steamer "Universe," it moved up to a small town by the name of Campte, arriving about noon, April 5th. The regiment here disembarked, and, provided with one day's rations in haversacks, marched into the country. After advancing two or three miles, information was received that the enemy had retreated, and the troops then countermarched to the steamer, and soon rejoined the fleet lying near Grand Ecore. On the 8th of April, the whole fleet of transports commenced moving up the river from Grand Ecore, to coöperate with the land forces. The Ninety-fifth was arranged on the various steamers as follows: Companies "B," "E," "G," "H," "I" and “K,” occupied the "Sioux City," and Companies "B" and "G," were detailed as sharpshooters. Company "A" was placed as guard on the "Black Hawk," General Banks' head-quarters boat; "F" on the "Hastings," General Kilby Smith's head-quarters; "C" on the "Meteor," and "D" on the " Shreveport. The fleet had ascended some seventy miles above Grand Ecore without much hindrance, except occasional firing from the river banks, when, on the 10th, intelligence was brought through by an orderly that General Banks' army had been defeated at "Pleasant Hill," and was then retreating on Grand Ecore. A speedy return of the fleet down the river was ordered,

and was necessary for its salvation. Already the rebels had erected batteries below, with the design of entrapping the returning transports, and on the 12th and 13th of April, the Ninety-fifth took active part in successively passing them, under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry. Colonel Humphrey, in his report of that portion of the expedition, says: "On April thirteenth, at one o'clock P. M., I ran a gauntlet of a four-gun battery (12 pounders,) well posted, and musketry. The shots were fired at the pilot-house 'Sioux City,' with great precision, the first grazing the hurricane deck just forward of the pilot-house, demolishing at that point my breastworks of hard bread, wounding slightly First Sergeant William Andrews, of Company 'E,' and another soldier. The balance of the shells missed the pilot-house but a few feet, and exploded with great precision. I had taken the precaution to fortify my decks as much as possible with hay, hard bread, and every available article, so that my men were quite well protected from musketry, to which precaution, and the admirable coolness with which my sharpshooters played upon the enemy, I attribute, in a great measure, my escape with so little loss."

The regiment reached Grand Ecore on the 14th and 15th of April, having had one killed and eleven wounded on the passage down. It remained here