New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-10

! The situation was further complicated ny
the fact that communication with Gencral
Grant, with whom General Banks was sup
posed TO cooperate, was very poor. Weeks
would eapse between the sending and the
receipt Of dispatch For instance, mes
sage sent by General Grant on March %
did not reach General Banks until April
| Il. General Banks sent q dispatch on April
TO- telling General Grant when he could
meet him. but this message reached the ad-
/ oressee only after Grant had won at Port
Gibson, and the way was open to Jackson
/ II he took prompt action; which. Of course,
I be did.
/ While General Grant was preparing his
campaign he sent a dispatch to Banks say
/ ing that he would send army corps TO
layou Sara, near Port Hudson. by the 2oth.
TO cooperate with him; but when the mes
sage was received at New Orleans. April.
the month in which 1t was dated. had
passed into May, and General Banks err
roneously believed the date when the troops
D.. were TO reach him was May %. General
Banks replied that he probably would be
there by the 18th, ard certainly by the lst-
meaning June /. The difficulties of COM
municating across this neck of the enemy's
! territory. only two hundred miles wide.
are illustrated by the fact that In one OF
; Banks's letters he said that, under certain
circumstances, he would communicate by
way of New York, and asked that dis
| patches be sent him by the same route.
| The net result was a serious misunder'
standing between Halleck, Grant and Banks
I-Haeck being very anxious that the two
generals should work together in the open
ing of the river.
The capture and possession OF the two
| Union gunboats made Farragut more
! anxious than ever TO get up into the reach
! beyond Port Hudson with some of his YES
sells and cut off the Confederate supplies
from the Red River country. General
! Banks was in sympathy with Farragut's
| desires, and. massng seventeen thousand
| troops at Baton Rouge. marched to the
| rear OF Port Hudson TO draw away from
| Farragut'S move the attention of the
| enemy, assembled within the works to the
number of perhaps twenty thousand, with
sixteen thousand ready for duty. 1t had
been Farragut's intention TO pass in the
gray of the morning OF March Is, but II
| was decided at the last moment to make
! the attempt before midnight OF March H.
Port Hudson was a formidable work.
! armed with more than fifty guns. The
! earthworks inclosed a considerable area,
including about two miles of the easterly
shore OF he Mississippi River and covering
the elbow of the river. at the acute bend
Of which was the village of Port Hudson
Just beyond gunshot TO the south was
| Poplar Island.
| While Banks was marching his men 10
Port Hudson and taking his position Far
J pIr,i he
| passage Of the post. Everything being in
readiness the feet. led by Farrag CUTS nag
ship. the Hartford, moved up to Poplar
| Island where lay :he Essex and the
/ 'bombers" as the bomb vessels were tocu-
| larly styled. The vessels came to anchor
and the commanders of the different YES
| sells came aboard for the purpose OF
minute rehearsal Of the plans. They dis
cussed every possible contingency-every
accident that could happen-and the
remedy. II was hoped that In the darkness
the fleet would be able TO pass the long
/ line Of batteries unobserved The hour for
! the start on the pcrlous voyage was al
| most at hand when river steamer. with
| naring lights and whistles sounding came
! up the river in search Of the flagship.
| hearing a message from General Banks.
| 1 ii"S"' Sd'' H't'I"S' "u' - was cosy W
| sec that he was seriously annoyed al the
| disturbance the dispatch steamer was
making. 1t ieopardized the success Of the
project by drawing the cnemy's attention
to his position and probable purpose in
| occupying il. As the vessel came within
! speaking distance the commander of the
| craft shouted: General Banks's army IS
| within five miles OF the rear Of the Port
! Hudson works Doubtless. Farragut felt
the message hardly important enough to
warrant imperilling the success Of the Joint
| movement by its delivery.
However, the damage had been done.