The news & observer., 1904-12-25
Commander-in- Chief of the


liant Confederate telegraph operators
prevented the almost complete SUI
prise of the Southern army at Vicks-
burg. The story has never been pub
lished before)
AS is we'll known now. telegraph op-
orators We're at premium in the
Confederacy during the war of 1861
1866. Most of the operators then
home when the struggle began. Major
l.. S. Daniel, of Victoria. Tex, now on
General Van Zant's staff. United
Confederate Veterans, and Colonel
Phillip II. Fall, Houston, Tex, on GEN
eral s. d. Lees staff, United Confeder-
ate Veterans, early enlisted at Vicks-
burg, one in an artillery company and
the other in the Vicksburg Southrons
Company. They were soon found out
and detailed for telegraph work. The
writer has recently come in possession
of some interesting minutiae of their
work, which played an important part
in preventing the almost complete sur
prise of the Confederate army at
Vicksburg in December, 1852, and
being personally cognizant of
the incident of the break
eve, 1862. at Vicksburg; he feels is due
to the two operators to put on record
their valuable service. 1t brings OUT,
too, the important part played by the
telegraph in war, and how the real
scouting duty in many ways was per-
formed. The operators frequently ran
great risks and endured many hard
shins in common with the soldiers In
campaign. The incident. too, gives an
insight into the vigilance of both
armies in that mighty struggle.
11I,o 4n
capture Vicksburg was ably launched.
The Confederate army of General Van
Dorm recently defeated at Corinth, was
at Grenada, Miss, about $4,000 strong;
While General Grants Union army,
about 10000 strong, was below OK
ford, Miss. General Grant was to at
tack Van Dorm, and if he went to the
assistance of Vicksburg he was 10
follow him up by Jackson or Yazoo
City toward Vicksburg. General Sher-
man at the same. time organized an
army of 1000 men and sixty pieces of
artillery, which, with Admiral Por-
ter's Mississippi gunboat feet and
some seventy transports, was to move
rapidly down the Mississippi river and
attack and canture Vicksburg before
the garrison $4,000 strong) could be
reinforced. The part General Grant
was to play was frustrated by General
Forrest, who raided into west Tennes-
see and tore up the railroads supply
ing Grants army. while at the same
time General Van Dorm with Confed-
crate cavalry captured Holly Springs
with its accumulated SUPPLIES, de-
stroying them. This necessitated Gen
eral Grants falling back through the
country to Memphis to feed his army.
General Sherman, however. was not
appraised of General Grants troubles,
and he got safely off from Memphis.
December 20. with the greatest army
and flotilla with gunboats combined
escorting, known at that time in the
war He arrived at the mouth of the
Yazoo river near Vicksburg Christmas
day, proceeded up the Yazoo river and
disembarked his army December 26
and %, 1862 and attempted to reach
the bluffs near the city of Vicksburg.
There was severe fighting on Decem-
ber 81 2S, and on the E3th he was de-
feated at ChickasaW Bayou, six miles
from Vicksburg, with a loss of about
1000 men, and re-embarked his army
and left the vicinity of Vicksburg.
Story of Daniel and Fan.
With this introduction the writer
who was at the dance Christmas eve
and can vouch for the details. will let
Major Daniel and Colonel Fall tell the
most interesting details AS early as
October, 1868, after the fall of Mem
phiS and the river was open to the
Union gunboatS as low down as Vicks-
burg, a telegraph station was es-
tablished al De Soto on the river bank
opposite Vicksburg, with Colonel
Philip Fl. Fall as operator, and con-
nected with station i'm the woods IL
miles south of Lake Providence. with
Major l.. S. Daniel as operator. Daniel
was to report the movements of the
boats on the river. The splendid scout
ing organization of General Pemberton
had informed him and General Smith
at FickSburg of the assembling of the
boats at Memphis. and the concentra~
ton of troops but for what exact OBJ
ject was not clearly known, and the
first reliable information was the
telegram from Daniel Fall tell
in of the positive approach of the
great army and flotilla.
But let Daniel Fall tell the resi-.
At my request they bave sent me then
recollection of the incident l.. S. Dan.
iel in Il letter of November 28 1904, TO
p. Fl. Fa1l. at Houston, Tex. and trans
mitted to me, says:
Major Earnhart, after telling me of
the danger of a picket outpost. asked
me to go to Point Lookout, La. miles
below Lake Providence and 65 miles
dDOSe NlChSDuIS, lIle lGEIlIHuS VI the
little private telegraph line owned py
that rich planter Horace b. Tibbotts,
and you (Philip II. FalD were station.
ed at the Vicksburg end of it; that is,
at De Soto just across the river. and
was strictly instructed to watch the
river day and night and report to you
morning and evening. And it was
Christmas eve, about S:45 y. M. dear
old Major e. G.. Earnhart and l were
in our 'eerie playing old sledge' when
little girl, who lived on the place,
came in and said, 'Marse Ainhart, you
and Marse Daniels better come out
here, ahears a boat coming: Come
now, says the Major, you are dream
ing, Artay.' No. sab. | heers it sa,
choo choo, pat, pat pat. Thus illu--
trating the steam escape and pat or
the wheels We went on the porch ana
listened intently; the sounds which we
had not heard for months were just
audible, the little ones acute ears haa
detected it miles away. Major Earn
hart and | were --eoking, Indian fash
ion large merchaum pipe (oWnec
jointly. We ran to the river bank,
about one-third of a mile from our
watch house, and waited perhaps -
minutes. We could hear the painting
and pat nat directly a monster turned
the bend two miles above IT'S, and came
slowly as if feeling the way. II was the
l. 4 i