The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1919-05-29
Wisconsin soldier had another idea
of tho matter Lieut. Col. JOSenh Raj

lev of the Fourth Wisconsin,, who was
serving at the time as acting engineer
of the Nineteenth army corps, came
forward with plan for bringing the
ironclads to safety. It was to raise
the level Of the water above the rap
ids by constructing a great dam across
the river. When sufficient depth of
to break the dam in the center, thus
forcing the vessels with the Outrushing
flood through the shadows and into
the deep water below. Before the war
Colonel Bailey had been lumberman,
ana nad Orten seen This scheme en-
ployed in the Wisconsin pineries to
Gift" stranded RATS of logs to safety.
The project was at first received with
ridicule by Colonel Bailey's superiors.
1t was declared impossible of achieve
ment by the best engineers in the
army. Only General Franklin, Bal
ley's immediate superior, offered any
encouragement.
But there was nothing else to be
done, and at length the Wisconsin
lumberman was obviously granted
permission to put his project to the
proof. His first step was to requisi-
ton detachments of 'pinery boys"
from the 23d and Goth Wisconsin regi-
ments, who understood what was to
be done and how to 60 about it.
In all, 5000 men were employed in
the enterprise. Brawny lumberjacks
from Maine We'd with those from WIS
consin in prosecuting the work; catch
ing the spirit of these instructors, SOL
diers who had never. seen log-raft
also worked with a will. Hundreds
Of men were set to telling trees; other
hundreds toiled in the quarries that
were opened for the occasion; and
200 or 800 wagons were engaged in
the essential work of transporting the
materials for the dam. Up to their
necks in the swift current, which
swept over the rapids at the rate of
nine miles an hour, under the blister
ing southern sun, the men tOiled with
utmost good humor and never a word
of complaint.
At the end of eight days the river
was sufficiently high to permit three
of the lighter gunboats to pass the
upper falls, where they had been held
and come down to a position imme'
the lower rapids. One more day, and
the dam would be high enough tC
permit all to come down in readiness
for the final attempt.
With success thus about to be
achieved, however, discOuraging dis
aster occurred. On the morning OF
the ninth day the steadily increasing
pressure of the water caused two OF
the stone barges in the middle of the
dam to swing aside, and through the
opening thus created the accumulated
torrent swirled. The three lighter
vessels that were in position to make
the passage, together with a fourth
that had meanwhile come up, promptly
took advantage of the break, and pass
ing the remaining rapids on the food
tide, safely reached the deeper water
below.
Somewhat encouraged by the escape
of at least four of the vessels, the
men bravely set about repairing the
damage that had been done. Within
three days the break had been closed
and in addition two wing-dams con.
structed on the upper falls. The re-
naming gunboats, somewhat lifted
by the backwater of the wing dams
were now hauled over the upper falls
and on May -, amid the tumultuous
cheers of 5000 soldiers lined up along
the shore, made the perilous passage
over the lower falls to the deep water
below.
"Words are inadequate to express the
admiration l feel for the ability OF
Lieutenant Colonel Bailey" wrote Ad.
miral Porter in his official report to
the Navy department. 'This is with
out doubt the best engineering feat
ever performed. Under the best cir
cumstances, a private company would
not have completed the work under
one year, and to an ordinary mind
the whole thing would have appeared
an ippossibility. Leaving out his jabil-
ity as an engineer-the credit he has
conferred upon the country-he has
sawed the Union valuable fleet worth
nearly $2,0OO,OOO; more, he has de,
prived the enemy of a triumph which
would have emboldened them to carry
on the war a year or two longer, for
the intended departure of the army
was a fixed fact, and there was moth
ing left for me to do in case that
event occurred but to destroy every
part of the vessels so that the Con-
federates could make nothing OF
them"
On June II, 1864, congress adopted
a resolution of thanks to Lieutenant
Colonel Bailey "for distinguished serv.
ices in the recent campaign on the
Red river, by which the gunboat flo.
tilla under Rear Admiral David D.
Porter was rescued from imminent