THE MINE EXPLOSION OF PETERSBURG.

537

be destroyed. On the 27th, the enormous quantity of 12,000 lbs. of powder was placed in the mine, fuses were constructed and connected with the magazine, and everything was in readiness for the grand explosion.

The mine was exploded between four and five o'clock in the morning of the 30th July. An immense mass of dull, red earth was thrown two hundred feet in the air; human forms, gun-carriages, and small arms were mingled in what appeared to be a bank of clouds blazing with lightning; a great shock smote the ear, and the ground trembled as if by an appalling convulsion of nature. Instantly, before the rumble of the explosion had died away, every piece of siege artillery on the enemy's line, and all the field artillery that could be brought into position opened as with the grand chorus of death. With such an infernal display to strike terrour into the Confederates and to demoralize men suddenly awakened from sleep, the Ninth Corps, fifteen thousand strong, marched out to attack, and complete what was thought to be an easy and certain victory.

But Lee's soldiers were not men who could be fought after the Chinese fashion of assailing the ears with terrible sounds. They were quickly prepared to meet the enemy. The assaulting column, on reaching the scene of explosion, found that there had been opened here a huge crater, one hundred and fifty feet long, sixty feet wide, and from twenty-five to thirty deep. It did not advance beyond it; instead of rushing forward and crowning the crest, the assailants made the most shameful exhibition of timidity; they huddled into the crater, they sought shelter there, and no commands or persuasions could move them further. A division of negro

troops was thrown into the crater-this maw of death; and for two hours the mingled mass of white and black troops, utterly demoralized, unable to pluck up courage to make a determined charge upon the crest, swayed to and fro in the hollow of the exploded earthworks, while the Confederates were rapidly bringing up their artillery on the right and left of the crater to destroy the enemy before he could extricate himself from the disgraceful coil. Once a feeble charge, in which the black troops were put in advance was made towards the crest. It was encountered by Mahone's brigade. His men were ordered not to fire until they could see the whites of the negroes' eyes. At the first volley delivered at this distance, the blacks broke; they were panic-stricken and past control; they rushed through the troops in the crater back to the original lines, while into this slaughterpen the Confederates now poured an incessant storm of bombs and shells. Retreat across the open space in rear of it was to run the gauntlet of death. The ground all around was dotted with the fallen; while the sides and bottom of the crater were literally lined with dead, the bodies lying in every conceivable position. Some had evidently been killed with the butts of muskets, as their crushed skulls and badly smashed faces too plainly indicated; while the greater portion were shot, great pools of blood having

flowed from their wounds and stained the ground. In a few short hours of morning the enemy had lost between four and five thousand men, and had accomplished nothing.

"This miserable affair," as Gen. Grant himself was forced to entitle it, appears to have been sufficient to satisfy him that he could not hope for the capture of Petersburg from expedients, partial efforts and coups de main, and that the task was one of magnitude far beyond his original comprehension. His last spasmodic effort went far to persuade the Northern public that his whole campaign was a failure, and that they had miscalculated the importance of his mere vicinity to the Confederate capital, when Gen. Lee had been able to hold Petersburg against an attack combining so many elements of success, and that too after he had detached an important column into the valley of Virginia, and sent five of his divisions to the north side of the James. The commentary of the New York Times was logical and significant. It said: "Under the most favourable circumstances, with the rebel force reduced by two great detachments, we failed to carry their lines. Will they not conclude that the twenty-five thousand men that held Grant in check are sufficient to garrison the works of Petersburg? Will they not conclude that, if they were able thus to hold their own with the force of from eighteen to twenty thousand men sent to the north side of the James River neutralized, this force is available for active operations elsewhere?"

CHAPTER XXXIII.

SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN GEORGIA THE IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENT OF GRANT'S IN VIRGINIA,

THE ON-TO-RICHMOND," AND THE ON-TO-ATLANTA, THE TWO IMPORTANT MOVEMENTS OF 1864.-SHERMAN'S DEMAND OF NUMBERS.—GEN. JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON'S COMMAND.-HE PROPOSES AN OFFENSIVE MOVEMENT.-IS BALKED BY BRAGG AT RICHMOND.

—STATEMENT OF JOHNSTON'S FORCES ON 1ST MAY.-JOHNSTON'S POLICY OF RETREAT.— HE PROPOSES TO FIGHT AT CASSVILLE; BUT IS OVERRULED BY HOOD AND HARDEE.—HE CROSSES THE ETOWAH-ENGAGEMENT AT NEW HOPE CHURCH.-BATTLE OF KENESAW MOUNTAIN.-SHERMAN'S GHASTLY EXPERIMENT.HE RESORTS TO MANŒUVRING.-JOHNSTON RETIRES TO ATLANTA.-THE SITUATION AROUND ATLANTA.—DEFEAT OF STURGIS’ COLUMN IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI.-JOHNSTON MASTER OF THE SITUATION.-WONDERFUL SUCCESS OF HIS RETREAT.-HE HOLDS SHERMAN SUSPENDED FOR DESTRUCTION.-NAVAL FIGHT IN MOBILE BAY.—A MATCH OF 212 GUNS AGAINST 22.-HOW THE GUN-BOATS SELMA AND MORGAN FOUGHT THE ENEMY.-GALLANT FIGHT OF THE IRON-CLAD TENNESSEE. —SURRENDER OF THE FORTS IN THE HARBOUR.-LITTLE VALUE OF FARRAGUT'S CONQUEST. —EXCESSIVE LAUDATION OF HIM IN THE NORTH.-SINKING OF THE CONFEDERATE PRIVATEER ALABAMA.—REVIEW OF THE RESULT OF THE PRÍVATEERING SERVICE OF THE CONFEDERATES.-A GLANCE AT BRITISH NEUTRALITY."-HOW EARL RUSSELL WAS BULLIED BY THE WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT.—THE STORY OF THE LAIRDS' RAMS.-CRUISE OF THE ALABAMA.-WHY SHE FOUGHT THE KEARSARGE OFF THE FRENCH COAST.-CAPT. SEMMES' MOTIVES FOR A NAVAL DUEL.-THE ALABAMA SINKING.--THE FEDERAL VESSEL SENDS NO RELIEF.—MR. SEWARD'S LITTLE REMARK ABOUT PIRATES.”—DISCOVERY OF CONCEALED ARMOUR ON THE KEARSARGE.-HOW THE RICHMOND EDITORS WOULD HAVE TREATED CAPT. WINSLOW.—A CURIOUS ANECDOTE OF ADMIRAL FARRAGUT.—CAPTURE OF THE PRIVATEER FLORIDA.--THE EXPLOIT OF NAPOLEON COLLINS IN A NEUTRAL PORT.— HE ATTEMPTS TO SINK AND THEN STEALS THE CONFEDERATE VESSEL.-THE NEW YORK HERALD AND THE PAGES OF HISTORY."-INVASION OF MISSOURI BY GEN. PRICE. HOW AND WHY IT FAILED.-THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI SUNK OUT OF SIGHT IN THE WAR.

THE important correspondent of Grant's campaign in Virginia was that of Sherman in Georgia; the great military effort of 1864 being resolved into two important movements: the "On-to-Richmond," and the "On-to-Atlanta." These grand movements were on different sides of the Alleghany mountains; a thousand miles of distance intervened between them; but both concurred in the design of attempting deep operations in the South, and reaching what were deemed vital points of the Confederacy.

Gen. Sherman demanded what Federal commanders invariably named as the condition of their success against the brave Confederate armies→ vastly superiour numbers. Questions of generalship, skill and courage were concerns for the Confederates. Sherman did not discuss these; he wanted physical momentum; he demanded a hundred thousand men and two hundred and fifty pieces of artillery. The lavish government at Washington supplied the demand, minus twelve hundred men. Three armies were united under Sherman, viz.: the army of the Cumberland, Maj.-Gen. Thomas commanding; the army of the Tennessee, Maj.-Gen. McPherson commanding; and the army of the Ohio, Maj.-Gen. Schofield commanding. The effective strength of these three armies was 98,797 men, and two hundred and fifty-four guns.

Fortunately for the Confederacy the military genius of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had been called again, although unwillingly, into service by President Davis, who had displaced Bragg from the Army of Tennessee only after he had accomplished a complete sum of disaster, and capped his career of misfortune on Missionary Ridge. On the 27th December, 1863, Gen. Johnston had assumed command of the army at Dalton, Georgia. In January he had fallen back from Dalton, and his advanced posts; on the 7th February he was encamped at Rome, Georgia; but he again advanced to Dalton shortly afterwards, and proposed then an offensive movement against the enemy, whose strength he knew would be greatly increased in the spring, and who, therefore, could be attacked with better advantage before such increase of the disproportion of numbers. Gen. Johnston knew very well that he could not expect reinforcements at pace with the enemy, and was, therefore, wisely determined to make at once a forward movement and try issues with him as soon as possible. But a most untimely controversy in Richmond defeated Johnston's just and promising plan of operations. Gen. Bragg had been removed from command of the army he had so disastrously led, to take the post, by the persistent partiality of President Davis, of "consulting or advising officer" to the Executive. The favourite in Richmond had his own plan of offensive operations differing from that of Johnston; President Davis agreed with him. Gen. Johnston, in vain, telegraphed to Richmond: "I expressly accept taking the offensive-I only differ with you as to details"; but the discussion of "details" lingered in Richmond, until, when in the month of April the President sent a messenger to Georgia to explain his plans, the opportunity of the offensive was past, the enemy was being reinforced to more than twice Johnston's number, and was only waiting for the signal from over the Alleghanies to commence the "On-to-Atlanta" movement.

On the 1st May, the effective artillery and infantry of the Army of Tennessee amounted to 40,900; the effective cavalry to about four thou sand. Gen. Johnston was thus greatly overmatched in numbers; and he

SHERMAN'S ON-TO-ATLANTA.

541 had no prospect of compensation, but in superiour skill and strategy. But the condition of his army was excellent in every respect, and had been made so by the admirable skill and inspiration he had brought to the work of its regeneration. It was well-fed, well-clad, in high and hopeful spirits; and for the first time in its history there was no barefoot soldier in its ranks. Ninety days before, the army left by Bragg was disheartened, despairing, and on the verge of dissolution. By judicious measures Gen. Johnston had restored confidence, re-established discipline, and exalted the hearts of his army. There was reason now to hope that the Army of Tennessee, the most ill-starred and successless of all our armies, had seen its worst days.

In the first days of May, simultaneous with the onward movement of Grant in Virginia, Sherman began his grand march into Georgia. The Federal advance was in three columns-Thomas moving in front, direct upon Johnston's centre at Dalton, with his advance at Ringgold and Tunnel Hill; Schofield from Cleveland thirty miles northeast of Chattanooga, via Red Clay, on the Georgia line, to unite with Thomas; and McPherson, by a flank movement of some forty or fifty miles upon Johnston's lines of communications at Resaca, a station on the Western and Atlantic railroad, at the crossing of the Oostanaula river, eighty-four miles from Atlanta, and fifteen miles south of Dalton.

The flank movement on Resaca forced Johnston to evacuate Dalton. On the 14th May, having moved to Resaca, he sustained, with perfect suc cess, two attacks of the enemy on his breast works, and drove him with a loss of two thousand men. But Johnston did not design to fight here; he determined to fall back slowly until circumstances should put the chances of battle in his favour, and he hoped by taking advantage of positions and opportunities to reduce the odds against him by partial engagements. In pursuance of this characteristic policy, he took up at leisure his line of retrograde movement in the direction of the Etowah River, passing through Kingston and Cassville.

In rear of Cassville Gen. Johnston had proposed to deliver a decisive battle, taking position on a bold ridge with an open valley before it. Two of his corps commanders, however-Polk and Hood-questioned the value of the position against the enemy's artillery, flatly declared their distrust, and were for abandoning the ground immediately. "So unwilling were they," writes Gen. Johnston, "to depend on the ability of their corps to defend the ground, that I yielded, and the army crossed the Etowah on the 20th of May-a step which I have regretted ever since." He had reason to regret it. While he retreated towards Allatoona Pass, a division of Thomas' army was sent to Rome, capturing it with its forts and artillery, and its valuable mills and foundries. Meanwhile Sherman pressed steadily on for Dallas with a view of turning the difficult pass at Allatoona.