The National tribune., 1902-02-13
The Captain gave him the "chaw."

l, to fire upon our rear, believing, it wa:
e said, the position was taken.
y \ messenger had to run the gantle
e back to Miles, TO tell him of his mistake
k for 1t was an appalling position to be in
between two fires.
j The storming party was beaten back
i and Col. Miles quickly ceased firing wheI
It notified of the mistake, and was very
S sorry it occurred, though not half so sorry
= as were the men of Abbey's Battery anC
# their support.
In a somewhat varied experience il
T war, OF home and abroad, the writer
wishes to say that he never saw bravel
and more dashing work done on the fielt
Of battle than that by the United States
soldiers at Port Hudson. and they richly
deserve this tribute from one-time foe.
On May 81, when Gen. Neal Dow, OF
2 Maine and temperance memory, was
wounded in the assault of his brigade, and
a desperate one it was, for many brave
! officers and men went down, il was q soul
. thrilling sight to see the masses of blue
: and steel rushing on into the hail of fire
ahead oe them.
Some reached the works, to die by bay
onet, sword and revolver; others were
beaten back, wounded, into the ditch. and
the brigade of blue, shattered, bleeding,
Surged Sullenly back, and so brave in de-
feat they won n cheer from their foe.
They were New England troops, and
they had come on under a blazing sun.
under q terrible fire, their flags flying, and,
failing in their mighty effort. swung back
i'll goOG order, uncowed by defeat.
The memory of that charge must still
haunt the men who made it and the men
who beat it back.
After the assault of June Is the writer
was OF the field under flag of truce, aid
ing in :burying the dead, and gave orders
to some Union soldiers to go to ditch
near the Confederate works for some Of
their wounded, when a United States Off
Ger came up and said:
This order must come from one in au-
thority: for my men to go there"
1t was suggested that the writer might
be an officer.
lie was Captain then, now Mai.-Gen.
/ Henry G. Merriam, commanding the De-
pnrtment of the Pacific. and than whom
no better and Drawer officer ever donned
shoulder-Straps; he looked the writer over
cuIiously, for he had the appearance of
an ont and out hobo, and raising his hands
CALCULATED:
"An officer? Then God help the pri-
vatcsr'
As to the exact force Gen. Banks had
at Port Hudson, opinions are divided,
even his official REPORTS differing, az they
vary between 10000 and 10000 men of all
arms, irrespective of the fleet, which lat
| Ter WIS dlSD very UluCD III evidence.
There were under the command of Gen.
Banks at that time, in the Department
of the, Gulf, certainly $4,000 men. and
over half of this force was assuredy at
Port Hudson. and it is fair to say that
the COufcderateS there fought seven times
their humber. and full credit was never
given 10 either the assailants or the de-
Tenders, for at that time Grant and
Viclisburg" overshadowed the lower key
to the Mississippi.
VickSburg surrendered on July Fourth:
Port HudsOn's garrison grounded arms
on July 8.
A comparison may be drawn between
the Santiago siege, where Shafter's army
numbered 10000, supported by SIMPSONS
fleet, and 10000 Spaniards were the ac-
tual defenders of the city.
The total losses in killed, wounded and
missing in Shafter's army can be set down
as 1,300, while the Spaniards' loss is IN
known. even to themselves. as they use
subtraction in reporting thIr killed and
wounded, and multiply by FIVE in their
reports of an enemy's losses; witness
their numerous engagements with the Gu
ban troops.
The Santiago siege lasted three weeks |
and the time of year, climate and other
setbacks were about the same that |
Banks's army had to contend with
The siege of Port Hudson lasted half |
n hundred days, and it was defended by |
$500 men only. inclusive of hOsnital at
tendants. teamSters. cooks. servants etc, |
and at the surrender on July g. 'G3. only |
LOO fighting men fit for duty grounded |
arms before the magnificent army that
marched in as victOrs the most of the
garrison were in the hospital, wounded |
or sick or in the grave.
The losses of the C0nfederates were
93S. one-fourth of their fighting force.
The losses of the United States army,
according to official reports, from "The
Plains the tragic Opening of the mill
tarv drama, to the end of the siege, were
) ,j::}3
Fighting Standards is not like fighting
civil war in the United States, for, in the
family quarrel" where the tug of war
came Of brother against brother, son
against father, each side fought with a
herOism never matched in foreign wars,
for it was war to the knife, knife to the
hilt.
hold painfully short OF food. but also of
save powder, for chains,
knives, forks and bits of iron were fired
from the guns, and even nails from the
Such was the case when Ullmans
Corps dAfriqre, as the Negro Legion was
called, charged on the Confederate left
wing.
The negro troops marched boldly ont of
the willows. with flags flying. bands play
ing, and in good order, and faced hot
artillery and rifle fire in their splendid
ny white officers: but when
bullets ran short and the missiles above
aamrd were used, the horrible shreking
md din they made spread decentralization
lmong the storming party. and. though
thrice rallied to again charge, they at last !
broke and fed to shelter. leaving the
meadow filed with dead and wounded.
Bnt the 'coiored troops" had been put
% the test, and deserved the added tribute l
If having fought nobly," for under Off
'ers of the Regular Army the negro
makes an ideal soldier. yet not under q
eaders OF their own race.
They are well disciplined. have courage,
AXE an interest in their duties, and have
proved their worth upon the plains against ;
he Indians and later in the Spanish war :
Upon marching into Port Hudson the :
Northern soldiers shared their provisions !
md tobacco with the men of Dixie. and y
'ach side gave full credit to the other for q
is pure American grit. :
And all that the Confederates had TO a.. .
i've the Northerncrs in return for their :
,indness was-taffy; but that was wisely :
Ieclined, preferring after seeing a few
pecimens of the stuff, to do their own
The writer well remembers how lih-
raj rasher of bacon, -four hoe-cake, cup
f coffee and roasted potato made him
anl at h. |