davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

right, Gen. T. ". Sherman on the left. The
order of the day was a heavy artillery
bombardment early in the morning, followed
by an assault. At 10 o'clock it was begun by
Weitzel on the right. Grover and Paine con-
tinued it toward the left.
The orders for a simultaneous attack were,
however, as usual, not carried out. The
left, under Gen. r. w. Sherman, with Gen.
Augur on his right. did not attack till the
afternoon. Weitzel's attack was continued
till 4 in the afternoon. His extreme right
was held by two regiments of negro troops.
1t was the first time they had been called ON to
fight, and many eyes were watching to see
how they would behave. During that
bloody day they made three charges on the
Confederates, driving them into their forti-
fcations. Weitzel, on the right, was able to
advance his line and hold it.
For the fight the Confederates had chosen
a strong position on the plain outside of
their principal defenses. On the Union left
the attack, after it did begin, was desperate,
bloody and persistent. The troops even
reached the ditch around the parapet, but
could not mount the breastwork itself.
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

1t was 1890 o'clock when the Mississippi
grounded. She lay there helpless for thirty
five minutes, drawing all the fire of the shore
batteries, her engines meantime backing
with all their force, but in vain.
Her commander, Capt. Melancthon Smith,
determined to set fire to and abandon her.
Her wounded were put upon shore, the fires
were lit, and the captain and some of the
crew took to open boats and foated down
the river past the batteries in the darkness.
The gunboat Essex, Capt. c.. H. B. Caldwell,
picked them up below.
Some of the Mississippi's crew Of 800 men
met with a tragic fate. The fires in one part
of the vessel were Lit soone than was in
tended. A panic ensued and many jumped
into the river. Some were drowned; others
swan to or were landed On the west bank.
Seventy started afoot down the west bank to
rejoin the feet. They suffered great hard
ships, wading hayous, enduring hunger Inc
lodging the Confederates, finally reaching
the point opposite the fleet in safety. The
Essex took off the wounded from the west
bank.
The Mississippi, lighted by throwing over
board the small guns and by the absence
of 800 men from her decks, loated again.
She drifted down stream "a floating noun
tain of fire." At Prophets Island there
was a tremendous explosion. The flames
had reached the powder magazine. Then
the brave old Mississippi sank out of sight.
Tn this attempt che Union forces lost 113
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

LII. CoM. ABNER REEF the air, national
songs added to the rejoicing, so that the
sounds penetrated Gardeners lines.
whats that fuss aboutg" Confederate
pickets asked those on the Union side.
"Vicksburg has gone up" shouted the
Union picEets in reply.
Gardner had replied to Banks demand for
surrender in June that as long as Vicksbure
held out, he felt it his duty to hold Port
Hudson. When. therefore, the news reached
him he sent a messenger asking for official
assurance that the news was true. For
answer, Banks sent him a copy of Grants
letter announcing the fact,
Gardner sent back word that he would sur.
render. Mule meat had for some time been
distributed among the troops. They had
even eaten the flesh of rats. Gardner in.
formed Banks that he had provisions to hold
out three days longer, but he was willing to
capitulate at once.
July 9 the formal surrender was made.
The number of men taken and paroled was
nearly 5000. In the siege Gardner had lost
about 500.
Many remarkable incidents occurred during
this siege, as the Union batteries, having
guns of very recent make, necessarily tried
many experiments in gunnery. In a few in
In hiliClA SAC1lo pub d tlUUi0 way
from the muzzles of the guns from which
they were fired, and in other cases shells
chung fire. as the phrase is, exploding some
time after striking. But the most astonish-
ing occurrence was the killing of q Union
soldier some distance in the rear of the
Twenty-first Indiana volunteers (acting as
First heavy Artillery by a shell fired in the
other direction. Sergt. Rufus Dooley, who
was sighting the gun and noting the effect
of the shots. says:
THE immense ~shell-more like a big iron
| key than q shot-went straight to the
,lark aimed at, and exploded just as it struck
the hard packed face of the rebel work.
In fact, it timed the explosion SO well
that the reaction was all one way; it hardly
faxed the work, and all the pieces flew back
to us. One big piece sailed high above our
heads and struck in a hollow behind us. I
only watched it till I saw it clear of us and
went on with my business, thinking, though,
that we were a little too near the mark for
comfort. Soon after we learned that the big
piece had struck a man who was down in the
hollow and crushed his skull"
With the fall Of Port Hudson almost the
last shadow of Confederate power on the
Mississippi vanished. In three months the
armies under Gems. Grant and Banks, and
the fleets cooperating with them, had opened
the Mississippi, deprived the Confederates Of
100000 square miles Of territory, defeated
and broken in pieces three opposing armies
and captured 40,OO0 men, with all their small
arms and 400 cannon. Not since Bonaparte,s
campaign in Italy had there been such rapid.
brilliant and effective work.
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

b~atross, that had
run the Port Hudson batteries, and the Es-
trella and Arizona, that had come up through
the Atchafalaya. They We're under COM
mand of Lieut.. Com. John E. Hart. Then
Admiral Farragut returned to New Or
leans, turning over the Red river fleet to
Admiral Porter.
The gunboats reached Fort De Russy, be-
low Alexandria, before the Confederates had
left on the Sd of May. The Union %gunboats
attacked with grear~vigor, but the Confed-
crate steamers escaped to Shreveport with
their guns, giving VI Alexandria.
In the month from April 8 to May 9, 1863,
Banks had advanced from Brashear City to
Alexandria-from the Gulf to the interior
Red river region. He had captured 1900
prisoners, destroyed three Confederate gun
boats and taken twenty-five large guns.
He had cleared well nigh all of Louisiana
of Confederate rule. There was no danger
longer of molestation to the Union troops on
the Mississippi from the west. He now
turned his attention seriously toward Port
Hudson. Part of his instructions had been
to cooperate with Grant in opening the Mis-
sissippi. Considerable correspondence as tc
re-enforcements from ore to the other passed
between the two generals. But it seems
never to have been quite convenient fof
either one to re-eaforce the other. Con-
sequently the correspondence ended by each
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28
StIBS ,RIBE FOR
THE OPELOUSAS G0URlk!.
AVN TuE- t
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
Both for $3.50.

The value of a Newspaper
as an Advertising medium
consists in it's Circulation.
When you can secure the
Combined Circulation Of
Two Papers for the Price
of One, it is Money Saved
!" The st. Landry Democrat
was consolidated on the
Sd of March, 1894, with
1.-THE Opelousas Courier.
The Advertising Rates
have not been increased
J. while the Price OF SUBS.
cription has been reduced
to Two Dollars a year.
The COURIER being by ODDS
the Best Paper in the I'm
pire Parish of st. Landry
is therefore the Cheapest
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28
RUNNING THE BATTERIES.

Feb. 2 the Federal ram Queen of the West,
Col. Charles r. Ellet, commander, had run
past the Vicksburg batteries from the Fed
eral fleet above, with the transport De Soto.
1t was customary for a gunboat to attempt
to run past batteries with a transport dashed
to her on the side away from the batteries.
The Queen of The West made her way tri-
~umphantly down the Mississippi and up Red
river, capturing Confederate supplies and
spreading something like panic through the
rich regions Whereabouts. But ere long she
grounded and was captured, and the De Soto
was destroyed. When he heard Of the cap
ture. Admiral Farragut determined to take a
portion Of his fleet up past Port Hudson to
patrol the river and cooperate with the fleet
above.
He asked Banks to go up the river to Port
Hudson with his land forces, and make an
attack against it while he should be steam
ing up past the river front with his gunboats.
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

duty. would give my other leg if we could
pass those batteries"
Afew days later he died, as bravea man
as ever fell in discharge Of duty.
The Richmond and the Genesee passed down
the river till they were out of range and
were moored.
The Monongahela, with her %consort, the
Kineo, came next. She grounded in the
darkness on the west shore. The Kineo
broke loose from her and attempted to pass
ahead. But her rudder was gone and she
grounded speedily. She floated presently,
however, and backed down to the Mononga-
hela and succeeded in dragging her free.
Again the Kineo and Monongahela started
ahead, dashed together. Fate was against
them. In a few minutes the M~onongahela's
engines stopped dead. A heated bearing
made it impossible for her to proceed. Moth
ing could be lone but to wait until it cooled,
which was impossible, and these boats, too
drifted down the river defeated.
The Mississippi was now the only one left.
She was a sidewheel steamer, and hence
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

withdraw more closely within their lines,
and enabled the Union forces to advance pro-
p%ortionally. Banks lost in this assault 1,9oo
men. Among the wounded was Gen. Neal
Dow, of Maine. He was also taken prisoner
during the siege of Port Hudson. He is a
native of Maine, born in 1908, an uncom-
promising temperance reformer, and author
Of the famous Dow prohibition law passed
in 1851.
\ strange incident happened during this
assault that nearly resulted i'll the surrender
of Port Hudson. At one moment a white
flag showed above a rampant in the fort. A
regiment of men in butternut gray filed out
at an opening and stacked arms.
"What does that mean?' asked the Union
troops nearest them.
eve uppose we have surrendered" re-
piled the men in butternut gray.
If any Union officer Of sufficiently high
rink had been present to order the Union
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28
PORT HUDSON.

May "a, Banks force crossed the Missis-
sippi and besieged Port Hudson on the north.
The same day Gen. Augur marched from
Baton Rouge with $500 men and invested
the place on the south. May 25, the Confed-
crate troops inside the garrison made an
attack on Gen. Augur, but were repulsed.
The general conformation of the river
shore is the same as at Vicksburg. A great
bluff rises abruptly from the water to a
height of eighty feet, and extends for a mile
along shore. Behind this cliff is semicircle
of hills, in the ravines of which were the
buildings, not more than a dozen, all told.
But Port Hudson was one of the most al
mirable points for defense on the Mississippi,
a fact the Confederates were not slow to
recognize. In the summer of 1862 Admiral
Porter called the attention of the Washing
ton authorities to the Port, telling them seri-
Gus trouble would arise unless they should
occupy it. This was not done, and by 1868
Port Hudson was a frowning fortress whose
capture could only be comprised at a cost of
many lives and many weeks of waiting.
The Union assaults on Port Hudson, ineffec-
tual ones at that, form a bloody chapter in
the wars history
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

%
Banks force there numbered nearly 3 ,OOO
men. Among them were several colored
regiments. Augur's division increased the
number to over SO, 200.
From the top of the Port Hudson parapet
to the bottom Of the ditch below was a dis
lance of fifteen feet, and the parapet was
twenty feet thick. Twenty siege guns were
mounted along the front bluff. The works
had been constructed late in 1869. largely by
slave labor. On the landWard side the heavy
parapet extended continuously around Port
Hudson in a semicircle for a distance Of
some four mile. The parapet mounted
thirty guns.
In December, 1862, the Confederate Maj.
Gen. Frank Gardner, a West Point gradu-
force was 1000 men.
May 10, Gen. Joe Johnston, in chief COM
mand of Mississippi, sent an order to Gen.
Gardner to evacuate PortHudson and march
with his troops to jackson, where Grant
was making inroads. But before the order
could be obeyed Banks had closed in on Port
Hudson. winding itself like a great SER
pent closely about the rebel lines, our army
entered uponthe labors of the siege,' writes
Capt. j. r. Fits.
After the first skirmish, May Is, the Union
army prepared for an assault. The attack
was made May q, both by land and water.
On the river front, Admiral Farragut, with
five gun madea heavy bombardnent which
was partly successful. The fleet captured
the lower battery and disabled several Of the
shore guns
On the land side the troops were ranged in
the order shown BY the map, Weitzal on the
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28
) took charge Of the de-

q Of his state three terms, and major
general Of volunteers during the war, and
congressman after it.
The new commanders instructions devel-
oped q triple plan. He was to guard the gulf
merits. TO cooperate with Grant in opening
The Mississippi, clear the country south OF
Red river and west Of the Mississippi from
Confederates, and take possession Of the
state Of Louisiana. The Confederate COM
mander, Gen. Richard Taylor, was in full
control of most Of the region across the Mis-
eiesippi from Vicksburg.
TO fulfil the first part OF his commission
Gen. Banks dispatched Brig. Gen. Cuvier
Grover up the Mississippi Immediately on
hfs arrival 1T New Orleans. The places
above New Orleans which the government
desired % capture were Baton Rouge, $50
miles above New Orleans; Port Hudson, rs
miles above Baton Rouge, and Vicksburg,
nearly $50 miles above Port Hudson and 400
miles above New Orleans.
Soon after Gen. Banks arrival he sent a
regiment to Galveston, Tex. This port had
been captured from the Confederacy in Oc-
tober. BankS, regiment reached Galveston
the last Of December. The place was imme
diateiy attacked by b Confederate force
under Gen. Magruder and captured. They
held III to the end Of the war.
Gen. Banks first important move was to
send two expeditions west from the Missis-
stppi. His army was called the Nineteenth
srmy corps. It was in four divisions, under
Mat. Gen. Augur and Brig. Gems. T. w.
Sherman, Gfover and Emory.
Gen. Richard Taylor, q son OF Zachary,
was popularity called ssDick, r and was famous
both for dash and strategy. The Confederate
earrisons 1T Vfcksburg and Port Hudson
wero supplied with provisions from the west,
and IL capture was therefore Of the first i'm
portances
On tho map the reader viii note the course
of Bayou Teche and the A~tchafalaya. The
Isttcr ssnme q COMMONLY pronounced Chat
arlysn. Along that were Gen. Taylorss forti-
6cationa, from A~lexAndria, "a Red rive, To
6raehear City. Near the mouth 1t Bayou
1sehe "A : work called Fort Bis
hnls OF NE A~tchnfalayn, twenty miles
nokth AZ 0fspd IAkss vas another AZ 4
6lAt eaiIsa Butte ! a Rose, ! few miles b
x4lS1en1fiA ~ ri river. - Fort de
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

Gardner himself, rode out Of the opening
and ordered the surrendering regiment back
within their intrenchments.
An incident both ludicrous and tragic
caused the display of this white flag. A New
York colonel had been leading the advance
column. Carried away by his enthusiasm,
he had approached nearer and nearer the
Confederate works till, turning suddenly, he
found himself, single handed, up to their
very lines. Either to advance Or retreat
would have been certain death. At this
emergency he tied his handkerchief to a stick
in token of his personal surrender. A Con-
federate colonel some distance away saw the
handkerchief above the Confederate lines,
fancied it was displayed by the southern
side, and at once got out his handkerchief
and waved it, believing that the proper
thing to do. The New York colonel sue
ceeded in getting away, but the Confederate
colonel was court martialed.
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

tsICd w IA III hiiiA
water and carry h1n to a place of safety, but
all lost their lives or were wounded in the
attempt.
For more than twelve hours Gen. Paine
lay there in agony. The hot sun fell upon
his blistering face, and he did not dare turn
it for fear Of drawing the Confederate fire.
The spot was so near the fort that its defend
ers could see him move. HE he lay quite
still, he could easily be mistaken for dead.
Swarms of flies settled upon him, adding to
bis torture. In agony not to be pictured in
words Gen. Paine lay there till darkness fell.
Then comrades came and bore him gently to
a place of help and safety. His leg was am
putated.
Gen. Paine was in command of the
Third division of Banks army when he was
wounded. He recovered, returned to his
home in Wisconsin after the war, and repre-
sented Milwaukee in congress during several
terms. He was q native of Ohio, and by pro-
fession q lawyer.
These assaults on Port Hudson were mostly
made by men new to camp and field.
But the assault was unsuccessful, except
that the Union lines were advanced several
hundred feet. The ground thus gained was
held permanently.
The attack of Dwights division, on the
left, was directed against a large fortifica-
tion called 1.-The Citadel" They gained an
eminence that brought them very close
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

Russey, thought to be strong enough to pre-
vent the passage of Federal gunboats.
Banks determined to work his way through
the swamps by way of woods leading along
Bayou Teche and the Atchafalaya to the Red
river country.
He sent Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, late in Jam
uary, 1858, up Bayou Teche with 1000 men.
Gen. Emory, with the other expedition, was
to start from Plaquemine and advance to the
Atchafalaya and meet Weitzel, who was to
move eastward from the Teche. The two
were to cooperate and attack and capture
Butte a la Rose. But Emory could not fol-
low out the route laid down on account of
the swamps, and the expedition came to moth
ing. Emory returned to New Orleans, leav-
ing Weitzel on the Teche.
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

pass the batteries. His flagship was
the Hartford, Capt. j. 8. Palmer, COM
mander. Other vessels were the Rich
mond, Commander j. Alden; Monongehala,
Capt. J.. P. McKinstry; Mississippi, Capt.
Melancthon Smith; Albatross, Lieut.. Com.
J. E. Hart; Genesee, Commander W. H.
Macomb; Kineo, Lieut.. Com. John Waters.
The Mississippi was a sidewheel steamer;
the others were screw propellers. The vessels
left Prophets Island, a few miles below Port
Hudson, at 10 o'clock at night, March IA, and
steamed quietly up the river, the flagship
leading. Every vessel except the Mississippi
towed another, dashed to her side opposite
the batteries, thus diminishing the perils Of
the expedition. Five mortar boats were tied
up to shore at Prophets Island. They were
not to run the batteries, but were to bonn
bard them from shore. They opened fire OF
the afternoon Of March IA. The mortars
were of large size, 13 inch, and the roar they
made YVES terrific. They were fred at an
angle of As degs.. the shells went Whistling
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

no rest for him, however, in this sharp chase.
From there he was forced on Jrthward to
Alexandria, on Red river.
April 90, Banks took possession of Opelou-
sas. Lieut.. Com. Cooke with his gun
boats supplemented on the Atchafalaya the
work of Gen. Banks up the Teche, capturing
the Fort Butte a la Rose April 20. The only
one now left of Taylor's important fortified
tions was Fort De Russy, on Red river, just
below Alexandria.
Banks remained at Opelousas from April
20 till May. The first week in May Taylor
retreated once more, going to his last strong
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28
eRAsHEAR CITY TO ALEXANDRIA.

Eighty miles west Of New Orleans is
Brashear City, at the southern end of
Grand lake. The A~tchafalaya flows through
Grand lake and empties into the Gulf Of
Mexico. The Atchafalaya river rises near the
mouth of Red river, SO near that in high
water the Red discharges a portion Of its
waters into the A~tchafalaya. Bayou Teche,
or Teche river, empties into the Atchafalaya
near Brashear City.
By commencing operations at Brashear
City, Banks expected to be able to work up
the Teche and Atchafalaya to Red river,
capturing and conquering as he went.
OF Banks four, divisions, Weitzels was at
Brashear City early inApril. Growers and
.Emory's Joined him there by April 10. There
were now 1900 troops ready for action.
April 8 Banks reached Brashear City. April
IL the movement began up the Teche. Gen.
Weitzels attempt on the same stream a short
time before had been unsuccessful, the Con-
federate Gen. Mouton driving him back
down to Brashear.
But now. with the three Federal divisions
united, the advance told a different story.
Gen. Taylor's first considerable work was
Fort Bisland, a short distance up the Teche
river. April Is the advancing army met the
Confederates at P~attersonville, near Fort Bis
land. There was a sharp, brief fight, and
the Confederates retreated inside the fort.
During the night they retreated up the
river. Growers division had been sent up
Grand lake in boats to land at Franklin and
meet this very contingency Of the Confed-
crate retreat. But simultaneous military
movements are very rarely successful, and
Growers was no exception. Grover was nm
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

ever. Hardly had the boats started when
signal lights flashed from point to point in
the Confederate Notifications, and soon the
whole shore was ablaze. The land force
meantime had been delayed SO that it only
approached near enough to exchange picket
shots.
The shore batteries extended along the
bank a distance of four miles. One after
another they opened on the fleet.
The Confederate guns were concealed by
the trees, at this time in full foliage, so the
feet could take no accurate aim, but it re-
piled to the Confederates with broadside
after broadside. The blackness was lit by
binding flashes as round adtsr round was
fired. A roar from the shore was replied to
by1a broadside from the fleet.
1t was one of the most exciting episodes Of
the war.
The Hartford was a vessel of twenty-eight
guns. Immediately behind her came the
Richmond, twenty-five guns. In the midst
of the heavy firing, smoke added to the dark
ness, and soon a steamer could not be distin-
guished from a shore battery or the pilots see
their way.
The officers of the Richmond saw q flash
which they believed came from a Confeder-
ate gun. They were on the point of pouring
9 full broadside into the supposed battery
when suddenly a lieutenant exclaimed:
"Hold on, you are firing into the Hart
ford.n
1t was true, but the terrible mistake was
prevented.
The Hartford, with the Albatross dashed to
her port side, succeeded in clearing the bat
ferries soon after midnight mi i,,Yod . h,,t
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

Com. Cookies feet attacked the Queen of the
West, now flying Confederate colors, and
destroyed her.
When Gen. Taylor retreated he destroyed
9 gunboat, the Diana, and some other boats
he still had left ct Franklin. Gen. Banks
army hastened in pursuit.
New Alberta, on the Teche, was the next
objective point in Taylor,s hurried flight.
He only paused there, however, to destroy
five boat loads Of provisions and ammunition.
April IL, Banks occupied New Alberta, and
destroyed what Taylor bad left, among other
things i cannon foundry and 4 salt mine.
Up To this time be had captured I 800 prison
ers and many stores.
I6zlptAaGtnaat IL QpelQulas There was
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

They lay there I'M
til d en-
abled them to cross
in safety the bloody
road by which they
came, and then re-
turned to p.
When they did re-
turn, their leader,
Gen. T. W. Sher-
man, had lost a leg
on tina hotly
fought field.
The land assault
was unsuccessful,
except as it caused
the ~onfederateS to
The Opelousas courier., 1894-07-28

e The Confed-
crate loss was praca
ideally nothing.
Only two boats sue
ceeded in passing
Port Hudson, yet
they e r as good
as a feet. They
bloc k ade the
mouth Of Red river
complete y. No
more Confederate
supplies came from
that direction.
The land move
rnanf against; Port