Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-18

post and removed all the stores and
munitions Of war down the Mississippi
TO the new stronghold established by
General Beauregard at Island No. 10
and New Madrid. Beauregard had just
arrived from Virginia to help stem the
tide Of conquest which the Federais
were making In the central west
This move against Columbus had been
initiated by General W. 7. Sherman.
Sherman had just returned to the field
after an absence Of some months. In
the fall Of 1861 he had held a COM
mand In Kentucky on the so called
big Sandy" line From this duty he
had been relieved by his superiors in
manner which placed him under
cloud. On his return from his leave
Sherman was assigned to the drilling
of recruits at a camp Of instruction at
Benton barracks, ST. Louis. Here
through the lowering days Of an I'M
usually wet winter he went doggedly
on his work
After the fall of Fort Henry General
Halleck ordered Sherman to repair i'm
mediately to Paducah. KY, and take
command of the post there. In this
service Sherman was to come into con-
tact with Grant and emerge from the
cloud that had hung over him all Win
ter. His soldiers occupied the aban-
doned Confederate works at Columbus
on March >. His activities were short
" directed southwark by way Of the
Tennessee river instead of the Missis-
sippi. Orders reached him March l to
organize a division to proceed up the
Tennessee and to cooperate with forces
under General Grant and G. F. Smith,
who were to advance by the same
route.
Leadership in the Federal operations
against the new Confederate strong
hold at New Madrid and Island No. &c
were intrusted to General John Pope
whose forces for the campaign were
drawn from camps west of the Missis
sippi. Owing to the strength of the
Confederate position a siege was pre-
pared for, the army to be supported by
the navy. The Confederates had re
solved to defend Island No. 10 to the
last, because upon that depended the
success of their cause in Missouri. Ii
support of their 1000 troops on the
scene they mustered Il respectable flo
tilla of wooden gunboats. converted Il
the service from river passenger steam
ers, the same as the Federal boats Ty
! Ter and her consorts.
Lincoln and the Mortar Boats.
Additions had been made in Febru
| airy TO the ironclads in Commodor
! Foote'S fiOtilla and. what was equal.
| important, a feet of mortar boats
These were especially adapted to sieg
| operations. 1t was said that their ar
/ rival in time to play part in the sieg
| OF island No. 10 was due to the impa
! thence and energy of President Lincol
! in person. The boats which would cal
! ~ the mortars were built at st. Loui
under the eyes of Commodore Foott
but the iron beds upon which the mo!
/ tars would rest were cast at Pitts
! burgh. The getting of these morta
beds to the boats was the probler
which troubled Lincoln. Foote finall
sent a representative armed with du
authority to the Pittsburgh plant
hurry the matter up. In spite of al
the boats had not been ready for us
at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, bu
twenty Of them reached Mississippi
time to strengthen the guns of Foote
feet at island No. 10.
The impending clash all along th
! front from tidewater Virginia to til