Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1865-12-23

like the cam palgn OF fOFt ,lluusoI,
when tho onomy knew nothing OF
our designs, they had been informed
by the Western prints what wcro
our strength and purpose, the river
failed to perform its part, and the
Navy spent its time in ondeavorlng
70 pass the falls. | had remained in
Natchi,oches TO see the Transports
depart, and that the column Of
troops had started upon its march,
rs it was necessary that ! should do.
then rode to the front, The
head Of the column was under Gen.
Franklin, and was marching through
donsc woods in n narrow road, in
which two army wagons could not
pass each other, moving in opposite
directions, As | passed General
Franklin, he said there would beno
fight, but ! forward and reach
cd the scene Of action at II o'clock,
aud was informed that tho enemy
were in front in great force,
! Immediately sent word hack to
Gen. Franklin, who was in camp
about seven miles to the rear, that
we were in great danger, and unless
he Immediately should bring his men
forward, the result might be disas
trous. While these orders were go
ing back, the enemy fell upon our
front and envelopod our tanks, and
we were obliged to retreat 1t was
impossible to bring off our artillery.
and we lost ten guns and one hun
dred and fifty wagons. This was
the whole extent of the loss of ma
terial in that campaign in which we
had several terrible and bloody bat
ties with vastly our superiors in
force. We had only $4,000 men en-
gagged and the cnemy's force under
Gen'ls. Taylor and Smith numbered
1000 men. In the evening we met
the enemy at Pleasat Grove, and re.
pulsed him and held the position
In the morning, however, we fell
back to Pleasant Hill, and met q
force uedcr Gen. Smith, which at.
tackled us again. A severe battle
ensued in which he lost about TWEEN
lty-tivc hundred men and was driven
from the field. 1t was then the 10th
of the month, and L had received
orders from Gen. Grant--thon Lieu
tenant General of the United States
that if | could not accomplish the
object of his expedition within the
time specified. was to return the
forces to Gen. Smith, although it
should involve the entire abandon
ment of the expedition.
Therefore it was important that l
should not delay, l had my choice
whether to attempt to go forward
and complete the purpose Of the ex
petition in the few days left me, or
fall back and save the army and Ma
vy-for on the preservation of this
fleet, which Admiral Porter said was
the cream of the Navy, depended
the preservation of the control of
the Mississippi and the safety of
New Orleans. Knowing it was i'm
possible to execute the purposes of
the campaign in the allotted time.
determined to retreat. When. we
reached Alexandria it was found
that the gunboats could not go over
the rapids. A rise of two feet was
necessary.
There was no other alternative
but to hold our position atthat point
till we could get achievements OF
dam the river. The work was COM
menced at once, and the army alone
engaged in it with o skill unsur-
passed In such q work, the navy,
with the exception ofone officer, the
captain of the Mound City, giving
us no assistance. When the dam
was completed the pressure Of the
water was so great that | saw it
could not long be witnstood, and
notified the admiral that he must
pass before midnight or not a" all;
but he had not lightened his vessels
one pound, nor was there a boat
with steam up.
In tho morning / was just in time
to see the dam swept away and the
main body of the fleet still above the
falls, while only two vessels had come
through the crovasse. We had no
alternative but TO rebuild the dam,
which took not far from six days
In the meantime, the Admiral light
ened his vessels by taking off their
iron cssematcs. The second dam
being completed and thewater rails
ed tx sufficient height, he carried
his vessels over and reached in safe.
ty and good order the Atchafalaya
River. The reports of the bad con-
dition Of the army were without
foundation, as were the statements
of its relations to the Commanding
General, were entire misrepresenta-
tions, for | never met a reception
more hearty and enthusiastic than
that given me by the troops under
my command, after we had escaped
the dangers of the march to the Mis-
sissippi.
That will be the testimony OF