The Washington herald., 1914-05-20
THE WAR DAY BY DAY
Fifty Years Ago.
May lS6The Red River Expedition Ended When Federal eaa and
Transports Bearing the 5000 Men Loaned p Banks BY
Sherman L the River and Steamed Up the Mississippi Toward We.
burg-The Red River DAN.
Copyright. lNl)

branches of trees to make it tight.
wheeling brick out to the cribs, carry
ing bars of railway iron to the barges
and in various other ways contributing
to the completion of the work, while
on each bank Of the river. were to be
seen thousands of spectators, consist
ing of Officers of both SERVES, groups
of sailors, soldiers, camp followers and
citizens of Alexandria, all eagerly
watching our progress and discussing the
chances OF success.
''At night the scene was even more
striking and picturesque, the fire burn
ing on both banks of the river and At
different points on the dam; the thous-
ands swarthy figures at work on land
and water. passing to and fro, the camp
fires of the Army which surrounded US
on every side, the loud commands Of the
officers experimenting the work. the
noisy shouts Of the teamsters, the sound
Of the falling trees and the roaring Of
the rushing waters, formed in ITS tout
ensemble one Of the most impressive
scenes We ever witnessed. f''-
Mingled with these sounds We often
heard, as We passed on our rounds among
the men. the sweet strains of Annie
Laurie or the martial notes of the Bat
tie Cry of Freedom while at the other
end of the dam. among the dusky mern-
bers of the Corps d'Afrioue, the popular
refrain Of John Bronw's Body Lies a
Wondering in the Ground and some Of
those peculiar and plantive plantation
melodies of the South, would greet US
as we pursued our way
May s, when 1t was found that the
water in the river had been raised about
seven feet for a distance Of consider
ably more than \ mile, giving a total
depth of from nine to twelve feet. In the
afternoon the gunboats Usage, Hlndman
and Neosho passed over the rapids
and anchored just above the dam.
The pressure of water on the struc-
ture was terrific and the next morn
ing two of the barges which had been
sunk at the end of the tree dam in
midstream. were swept out Of position.
The water rushed through the opening
at terrific speed. Orders were issued
for the gunboats to run down with the
current.
The Lexington was the first to make
the attempt. She came down from above,
through the rapids, and then under
full head of steam, she made for the
opening and soon was caught in the
rush of waters. For an instant she rolled
heavily, hung for a moment on the
rocks, and then swept around into deep
she had cleared the rocks they cheered.
then waited in silence for the next ves-
sci. The Neosho. Hindman. and Usage
passed through in safety before the
waters of the river fell to their normal
level
The fate of the dam showed Col Bailey
the futility of attempting to hold the
river in check for any length of time,
so he determined to construct a series
of wing dams and to raise the height Of
the river by confining its waters to a
narrower channel.
These dams were run out from each
bank at intervals in the rapids, wide
opening being left between them in the
middle of the stream.
The new series of dams was completed
on May u, and in the afternoon Of that
day all the boats passed below the rapids
to the original dam At o'clock in the
evening the ironclads Neosho, Hindman,
and Usage passed through the dam. The
other boats remained above until the
of May Is. --.
On that day Gen. Banks ordered his