Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1903-01-10
THE BATTLE-FIELDS.
OLD SOLDIERS TALK OVER
ARMY EXPERIENCES.
The Blue and the Gray Review Incl.
dents of the Late War, and In q
Graphic and Interesting Manner
Tell Of Camp, March and Battle.


Confederate officers in command kept
all their men busy attending to the
hauling to the jackson Railroad" de-
pot of such stores as could be shipped
away. The delay between Farragut's
arrival and Buffers possession Of the
city was thoroughly improved Tele-
grams were sent up the road for all the
rolling stock that could be gathered,
and as fast as the cars came in they
were loaded and sent out.
1t was necessary to take them beyond
Pass Manchac in order to be out Of
reach of the Federal gunboats, which
took possession of the lakes nearly as
soon as the river. The old Jackson
Railroad depot n yer before or since
presented such Dusy appearance as
during the few days Of nc rule in New
Orleans and the departure Of the Con-
federate military forces and supplies.
For a mile the different side tracks
were dotted with the quick-moving
forms Of men hard at work, and the
| hasty arrival and departure of drays
| and floats. Carriages, also, with the
l SW cClhCd1 10 dAIu Aduy IL ChNo W IAAS WI
| diers, stood thickly scattered along the
| outer edge of the circle Of busy hui
| mainly.
The glitter of steel in the sunlight
| told plainly, even in the distance, that
all of this almost superhuman effort
was guided and controlled by military
| authority The first train out had
time to reach Camp Moore, on the out
skirts of the station Of Tangipahoa,
about eighty miles north, unload and
return before the Federal commander
saw fit to put stop to 1t. The last
trains out were unusually heavy, and
crowded with soldiers as we'll Slow
| time was made generally, but as we
reached Kennerville, ten miles above
the city, the road ran within a half
| mile Of the river, in plain view, and 1t
| was necessary to make as quick time
as possible to avoid the chance Of a
shot from the gunboats.
The commander Of the Federal fleet
seemed to have gained some informa-
ton as to our movements, for couple
| of gunboats were cruising slowly up
| and down the river. Our train was
| one of the latest, and all the pressure
| of the steam was forced on the drive
wheels as we passed Kennerville.
| There was about a mile Of open plan
| tation before we entered the swamp,
| and the gunboats opened on us as we
| cleared the town. At least a dozen
shots were fired at US, but except a
! crash through one or two box cars, no
| damage was done.
| Above Kennerville we got along
| finely until we passed Bayou de Sa1r,
where we had a stretch of about eight
miles of soft, trembling cypress swamp,
| and the wooden trestleWork would
spring and sway as we passed along.
| When within three miles of Pass Man
| chac the trestlework gave way and let
down two or three box cars. All hands
took hold and rolled them over, so
| that we could patch up the track and
60 on, as we feared being cut Off by
some Of the Federal gunboats at the
| Pass. We saw nothing as we rolled
| quietly out of the dense growth of the
| swamp. upon the lower edge of Lake
| Maurepas and Numbered upon the
bridge, The train was hardly its
| length on the bridge before we saw
| Federal gunboat approaching from be-
low, and at almost the same time the
| swash of a shell in the water beside
us impressed us fully with our danger
Gus position. The gunboat was barely
| three-fourths of a mile away and COM
| ing as fast as possible. Out Of a score
of shots but three or four struck our
train; one Of the shells entering box
car and exploded, blowing out both
doors. It did not take us long to cross
that bridge.
Fortunately for us, the draw was
closed. and we darted out upon the
trestlework of Johnson's Island like
fash of lightning. 1t was only two or
three miles across to the bridge over
| North Pass, but our speed was too
great for the decaying timber Of the
trestlework, and the rear portion Of
orr train broke through again.
# was too bad break to attempt to
repair, with the enemy in Smelling dis
lance and the locomotive, with the few
cars remaining on the track proceeded
on toward Pontchatoula, expecting to
send back a returning train to assist,
if possible, in saving the contents OF
the ditched cars. A detail Of about
dozen men were left to guard the prop
erty and watch the enemy.
We expected the Federal gunboat to
pass through the drawbridge and come
around the upper end of the island TO
the North Pass bridge, and thus cut OH
all chance Of our saving the cars; but
orr guard informed us that, after re-
heated trials to open the draw, the
gunboat gave it up, and set fire to the
bridge. The bridge was built on piles,
| and only the stringers and some of the
| cross-timbers were burned, but sutfl-
cient to prevent any crossing of cars
until near the close of the war, when
it was completely renewed.
We continued on beyond Pontcha-
toula nearly TO the Southern car