The National tribune., 1910-05-05
Up the Red River Again.

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Editor National Tribune: Allow me
space to describe the part l took in the
Red River campaign and what 1 know
about the Sabine Crossroads battle. The
S7th Ill Mtd Inft., and the 1st La. Cav.
were brigaded under Col. Robertson and
took the advance the day before the
Sabine fight. We had several little en-
gagements with the enemy that day, and
the S7t;l lost two men killed and sew
eral wounded. Just at night the rebs
made stand; we fired on them; they
| fired volley into us and charged with
| a yell, and we fell back across a creek
and formed new line--Cos. E, III, q,
l and K, of the 87th, and we had to lie
in line of battle all night in cold
rain. The next morning an Ohio regi-
ment passed thru our picket line and
proceeded a short distance, when the
rebs fired on them and killed their
Colonel whose name was Webb. The
18th KY. and the Cavalry Corps. with
that Ohio regiment, took the lead, with
several pieces of artillery, on the day
of the Sabine battle. Then all the am
munition and division wagons followed:
next, the S7th and the 1st La. Cav. fol-
lowed. We got within about one mile
of the battlefield, when the fight begun
and the wagons all halted in the road.
The 87th Ill. and 1st La. Cav. were
moved to the right of the road, in the
timber, and halted, as they could not
pass the wagons The fighting and the
battle-cheers kept getting closer, and
our men came struggling past us, de-
moraliZed, bareheaded. without guns.
BY that time Col Robertson was shot
thru the hip. when the command fell
to Col. Crebbs, of the S7th III. An Or
f.nI1 lI
move his men out of there, and he
labout-faced the brigade and marched
out. The rebels were yelling and charg-
ing and shooting as they came thru the
woods, not over 200 yards away. AS the
S7th Ill. was moving out of the timber,
as ordered, 1 met Gen. Emery coming
from Pleasant Hill. He ordered me to
stay with him and help rally the re-
treating troops He said there was no
use retreating any further, as the Nine
teenth Corps was coming. But our ef-
forts did no good; they kept going like
lstampeded cattle. Presently the Nine
teenth Corps came up and filed to our
right, and formed as nice a line of bat
tie as l ever saw and poured volley
into the yelling rebels, which put stop
to their yelling and to their farther ad-
vance that night, and the army fell back
to Pleasant Hill, where Gen. A. ].
Smiths command was, and the next day
the Pheasant t1lll Ddlllt was anu
Gen. A. ]. Smith and Gen. Banks gave
Taylor a good thrashing and did not
know it until too late to do us any good.
Before the battle at Pleasant Hill, about
noon that day, our regiment and the
lst La. Cav. were ordered about two
miles to the rear, to guard a bridge. AS
well as / remember the Pleasant Hill
battle commenced about o'clock p m.
Ii was one continuous cannon boom
from that time until night. About day
light next morning some Union strag-
glers commenced passing US from the
front-the New York Zouaves and, 1
think, Maine regiment. The Colonel
breakfast with us. He reported that
Banks's and Smiths forces were cut all
to pieces and captured. About an hour
later the Union army came marching
past us with 500 rebel prisoners, and we
fell in the rear and marched along to
the Red River, and all went into camp.
Our brigade was put on picket. Some
time before noon Gen. Banks sent staff
officers to get permit to bury our dead
and take care of our wounded at Pleas
ant Hill. They met the rebels coming
with a flag of truce for the same pur-
purpose. and they fired on our flag Of
truce and wounded an Adjutant in the
shoulder. Gen. A. ]. Smith wanted to
remain on the battlefield at Pleasant
HILL The next day Gen. Banks would
not consent to it, and ordered a retreat.
If there were any Of the Nineteenth
Corps in the battle at Sabine Crossroads
do not know Ii, tho they were all in
the Pleasant Hill battle and did their
share of fighting, except that brigade
that ran. 1t has always been a mystery
to me that Gen. A. E. Lee, the cavalry
commander, did not use his cavalry for
fiankers at Sabine Crossroads and pre-
vent the rebs from surrounding our
men, as his Cavalry Corps was about
mile long. We could have gone to
la creased log, II the campaign had been
managed right. Who is to blame? i
say Gen. Banks. We had several other
pretty tough engagements with the en-
emy before we arrived at the Mississippi
River. The rebs got In front of us at
"a little town called Chaneyville, and
planted IA pieces of artillery in the edge
of the woods, and as our brigade ad-
vanced in line of battle they opened on
us with the IA guns and never even
wounded a single man in our brigade,
tho they killed several men in our rear.
We soon pushed them out of the way
and passed on. Then they fell in our
rear and followed US to Yellow Bayou,
and there charged Gen. A. J. Smiths
men, SO I was informed, in about Is
minutes fighting; tho Gen. Smith gave
them a good thrashing, and they never
followed us any further. The boys said
Gen. Smith cried about losing so many
men. He accused Gen. Banks of put
ting him and his men in all the tight
places.
wonder what has become of all the
old S7th III. boys? Co. f went out with
1G3 men. / know of but eight living
now.