Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-05-31
FROM THE RED RIVER.
Escape Of Admiral Porter's
ffltl Fleet. 5..s
His Official Narrative Of the Great
Fent-.Lieut. Col. Bailey the Master
Engineer--A Nations Gratitude
His Reward--Interestin
Minor Particulars. I
MISSISSIPPI SQUADRON,
@ FLAGSHIP BLACK HAWK,
Pm RrvFR Nav Ia. 1894

SIR: have the honor to inform you that
the vessels lately caught by low water
above the falls at Alexandria have been re-
leased from their unpleasant position. The
water had fallen so low that had no hope
or expectation of getting the vessels out
this season, and, as the army had made ar
ranoements to evacuate the country, saw
nothing before me but the destruction OF
the best part of the Mississippi squadron.
There seems to have been an especial
Providence looking out for us in providing
a man equal to the emergency. Lieut.-Coi.
Bailey, Acting Engineer of the Nineteenth
ARMY Corps, proposed plan of building
series of dams across the rocks at the falls,
and raising the water high enough to let
the vessels pass over. This proposition
looked like madness, and the best engineers
ridiculed it; but Col. Bailey was so san
olline of success that requested Gen. Banks
to have it done, and he entered heartily in
the work. Provisions were short, and for
AGE was almost out, and the dam was prom
ised to be finished in ten days, or the army
would have to leave us. L was douDtiul
about the time, but had no doubt about the
ultimate success, if time would only per-
mit. Gen. Banks placed at the disposal OF
Col. Bailey all the force he required, con-
sistinp of some three thousand men and two
or three hundred wagons. All the neigh
boring steam mills were torn down for ma
terial-two or three regiments OF Maine
men were set at work telling trees, and on
the second day after my arrival in Alex
andria from Grand Ecore, the work had
fairly begun. Trees were falling with great
rapiditv. teams were moving in all direc-
tions, bringing in brick and stone; quarries
were opened; flat-boats were built to bring
stone down from above, and every man
seemed to be working with vigor have
seldom seen equalled, while perhaps not one
in fiftv believed in the success of the under
taking. These falls are about q mile In
length, filed with rugged rocks, over which
at the present stage of water it seemed TO
be impossible to make a channel.
The work was commenced by running
o,t from the left bank of the river a tree
dam. made of the bodies of very large trees,
brush. brick and stone, ,cross-tied with heavy
timber, and strengthened in every way
which ingenuity could devise. This was
run out about three hundred feet into the
river; four large coal barges were then fill-
ed with brick and sunk at the end OF lt.
From the right bank Of the river cribs fill-
ed with stone were built out to meet tne
barges, all of which was successfully ac-
complished, Notwithstanding there was q
current running of nine miles an hour,
which threatened to sweep everything be-
fore it. 1t will take too much time to enter
into the details of this truly wonderful
work: suffice it to say, that the dam had
nearly reached completion in eight days
working time, and the water had risen suf-
ficiently on the upper falls to allow the Fort
Hindman, Usage and Neosho to get down
and be ready to pass the dam. In another
day it would have been high enough to en-
able all the other vessels to pass the upper
falls. Unfortunately, on the morning OF the
9th inst, the pressure of water became SO
great that it swept away two Of the stone
barges which swung in below the dam on
one side. Seeing thisunfortunate accident
/ jumped on horse and rode up to where