CHAPTER XIV.
On the morning of the 25th we were ordered on board the steamer “Joseph Pierce” and started down the river. We were hailed at Paducah the next morning. A force of rebels under General Forest had charged in and set fire to our commissary stores. The town was a cloud of smoke. They had charged on our fort, which was manned by a few guards, and the invalids. They were repulsed and had fallen back out of town, but they had had enough of it and failed to make the second attack. We lay here until eight o’clock, then ran on down the river.
At Cairo we met some veteran troops on their way home. Among them was the Eighth Iowa, or Eagle regiment. They were all rejoicing because of getting to go home. We ran down to Columbus. Here they were making preparations and looking for Forest’s army, but they did not come.
We ran on down to the mouth of White river in Arkansas. Here asquad of guerrillasfired into our boat. They killed one man in Company F. We arrived at New Orleans, April 3d, 1864.
On the 4th we got off of the boat and went into quarters in the First Louisiana Cotton Press. We were kept in under a heavy guard and the boys were angry, as they wanted to get out and run at large over the city.
On the 12th we received a month’s pay. At three p. m. we got marching orders. We boarded a gulf steamer and went up the river one hundred twenty miles. We got off at Baton Rouge, and went into camp on the south side of town.
Here we received news of Banks’ defeat at Sabine Cross Roads. General Green’s brigade made a charge on our ironclads, but were repulsed with a heavy loss. While at this camp two men of our regiment were wounded owing to the carelessness of a recruit while he was cleaning his gun.
May 2d three regiments and the Fourth Wisconsin cavalry, with the Black Horse battery, went towards Clinton on a scout. At night we halted and went into camp. The next morning at eight o’clock we ran into the enemy, and had a sharp little fight. We drove them back to Olive Branch Church. Our loss in this fight was two killed and four wounded. The Major of the Fourth Wisconsin was killed. We reached camp the 4th. On the morning of the 8th a salute was fired and the body of the Major of the Fourth Wisconsin cavalry was escorted to the boat and sent to his home to be buried.
On the 9th quite a skirmish took place on the picket line. On the 21st we drew two months’ pay and one installment of our bounty.
On the 16th of June we were inspected by Major General Sickles. The weather now was very warm, and our picket duty and drill kept us busy. We had plenty of watermelons to eat, and if one had the money, he could buy all of the luxuries of life. Nothing of importance happened until August 3d, 1864.
At that time a detail of sixteen picked men was sent out five miles east of camp to guard five hundred acres of cotton that was being raised by yankees. The government was to get a part of the cotton. We slipped out after night and about eleven o’clock came to the negro quarters. Thinking that we were rebels they skipped in all directions. There were all sorts, sizes and colors of them. They soon found out their mistake, and came back and cooked for us.
We moved our line down into the edge of the timber, one mile from quarters. The third evening two spies passed out through our line. They were dressed in female attire. Soon after the last one passed we could see some rebel cavalry about three miles distant. We drew off and had a run for our lives. They overtook us at our cavalry post and we had a skirmish. Two of our men were killed.
On the 4th we lay in line of battle all night. On the morning of the 7th at four o’clock, we were ordered into line and formed our line of battle on our picket line. Some of our non-veterans—who had come back to our regiment—raised a racket, as it was time for them to be discharged, but they had to face the music. They moved off on a boat in the afternoon, as they were anxious to get home and did not want to be killed after they had served out their three years’ faithful time.
The rebel army was threatening us every day, although several of them were coming in and taking the oath of allegiance.
On the 15th of August, 1864, our regiment was assigned to the Second brigade of the Third division, in the Nineteenth corps. On the 16th at eleven a. m., we struck tents and marched on board the steamer “Starlight.” We landed at Morganza Bend at seven o’clock. On the morning of the 14th we ran up the river two miles above the fort.
We got off of the boat and went into camp. We lay here until the morning of the 21st, when we struck tents and marched down the river five miles to join our brigade. September 6th, at two a. m., we were ordered on board the steamer “Chouteau.” We ran down to Bayou Saira, where one of our boats had been fired into by a rebel battery.
Our force, which consisted of two white regiments and one colored regiment, got off of the boats early in the morning, and marched out through St. Francisville. After a rapid march offive miles, we ran into a rebel camp, but the occupants had all skipped, except four, which we made prisoners of war. We returned to our boats, and at four o’clock got back to our camp at Morganza.
On the 12th a salute was fired on account of a victory which had been gained. It was the surrender of Forts Morgan, Gains and Powell, the defenses of Mobile. This let us through the pass. Companies B and K of our regiment were sent on board the ironclad Ozark on duty. We had almost all of the citizens in this parish protected by safeguards. The rebels took these men prisoners, and captured their horses. Our General gave them to understand that if they were not returned that that parish would be destroyed by fire. They thought that he meant it, and they came in with a flag of truce and delivered them up. But we failed to furnish any more guards to guard rebel property.
On the evening of the 16th we marched out to Bayou Atchafayala. We were in the Second brigade, which numbered two thousand, eight hundred. Our commander was Colonel Spicely.
A rebel force of three thousand men and nine heavy guns were posted on the opposite side of the bayou, behind the levee. We charged up at two o’clock that night and took possession of the levee. The rebels all along the line opened fire on us. We were running against a solid sheet of fire, and the air was full of cannister, but we got there all the same.
We lay here skirmishing all day. The hot sun came down on us and we had no water or food, but we could not get back until night. At night we drew off and marched back to camp. We had four men wounded. The rebel loss was three killed and seven wounded.
On the evening of the 19th another expedition was planned. Some of us were to go out against the rebels at Atchafayala atnight. Our brigade was chosen to try them again. In addition we took with us two good batteries. After a rapid march of fourteen miles we came near the bayou.
At four o’clock in the morning we went to work planting our batteries and protecting them with redoubts. The two cavalries kept up a skirmish all day, but we failed to get a reply from the rebels’ batteries. They had disappeared. Our batteries threw shells a mile into the timber, and our infantry and cavalry began crossing over.
That evening we crossed over in yawls, which were hauled for that purpose. The cavalrymen swam their horses over. We had no resistance. We could see a small force of rebels hurrying from behind the levee when we started to cross. These had been left as guards. The main armies evacuated their works. They had left four hundred beef cattle, which fell to our possession. They were guarded by three hundred rebel cavalrymen, but they skipped out.
We marched up the bayou two and a half miles and captured three prisoners who had been left out on picket duty. Seeing that the enemy had all disappeared, we marched back to the place where we had crossed the bayou. Here we went into camp.
Soon everyone was busy, preparing himself a good square meal, as almost all of the boys had a good piece of fresh meat. There was pork, mutton, chicken, goose, or almost any kind of meat that one could mention. The odor of the fried meat soon filled the air, and many hungry boys were working hard to satisfy their gnawing appetites.
At night several buildings were set on fire, thus causing a false alarm. Some of the officers thought that we were going to have a night attack. One of the fires was a large mill. We fell in line of battle, but soon found out our mistake. We thenwent back to bed, some of the boys swearing because of their night’s rest being disturbed.
All was well on the morning of the 21st, so we started out on a foraging expedition. We were soon loaded down with fowl and all kinds of meat and went back to camp. In the evening we learned that the rebel force had fallen back about eighteen miles to Yellow Bayou. We decided to not follow them any farther.
On the morning of the 22d we crossed the bayou, marched one mile, and went into camp near where the colored troops were building fortifications. Late in the evening our cavalry, which had been out on a scout, returned. They had burned and destroyed a great deal of property, and had captured three prisoners. Several negroes were following them. These had stuck fire to their quarters, and had started for the land of freedom.
On the morning of the 23d we began our march back to the bend. We arrived at camp at five o’clock in the evening. We found Companies B and K of our regiment in camp. They had been relieved from the ironclad.
On the 26th of August our regiment escorted General Lawler to Baton Rouge. We went on the steamer “Laurel Hill.” We got to the city at noon. We got off of the boat and marched up to our old parading ground. We were led by our regimental band, one of the best in the army. Here we stacked arms to await further orders. We were acquainted with many of the citizens, and were treated very well by them. At four o’clock we got on board the boat and went back to camp.
October the 1st, 1864, three regiments marched out to Atchafayala. We found a small force of rebels. After a slight engagement, we drove them off and returned to camp.
On the morning of the 2d a small force, with Colonel Spicely,went to St. Francisville. Here they had an engagement with the rebel general, Scott’s cavalry, and two batteries. They had to fall back to the gunboats for help. The gunboats shelled them back until our little force got on the boats and drew off. They then returned to camp. Our loss was four. The rebel loss was unknown.
On the morning of the 7th, a brigade, with Colonel Spicely in command, went back to try them again, but Scott was too sharp for us. He had slipped out and had taken other quarters, unknown to us.
On the morning of the 9th a detail was called out to guard a train of wagons. They were going after lumber with which to build winter quarters. We found the lumber at Echo Office, on General Scott’s plantation, which is near Point Coupee. We loaded the wagons and returned to camp.
In the evening a body of rebels came into our camp, bearing a flag of truce. They had come to turn over some arms and horses which they had captured from our safeguards. The citizens were getting tired of having so much of their property burned down, in retaliation oftheir guerrilla warfare. They also wanted two rebel officers, who had shot their lieutenant and then had come to our camp for protection.
Late in the evening our troops who had gone out to Atchafayala, returned to camp. They had had a sharp fight, losing fifteen men in killed and wounded. The rebel loss was not known, as the bayou separated the two armies. On the morning of the 10th we got on board the steamer “Chouteau”. We ran fifty miles up the river, near Fort Adams. The rebels were trying to swim cattle, which they had driven from Texas, across the river. They were trying to get them to Lee’s army. Our gunboats had thrown shell into the herd, killing a great many of the cattle.
On the morning of the 11th we marched off of the boat and marched out into a swamp. We lay in ambush all day at this place. After darkness had set in, we marched back on to the boat. On the morning of the 12th we marched out on track of the rebels. Their herd of cattle had left a good trail. We went to Black Pass. Here we captured two wagons and six prisoners. Two of them were officers. We marched back as far as Swamp Bayou. On the morning of the 13th we returned to the boat. We were all tired and hungry, for we were out of rations, and nothing grew in this swampy place, except alligators and snakes.
At three p. m. we got on the boat and started back down the river. We landed and at ten o’clock we were in our quarters. Here we learned that some sharp skirmishing had been going on since we left camp.
On the morning of the 18th we sent out a force from the bend consisting of two batteries, two thousand cavalrymen, and one thousand, six hundred infantry, to Sims’ Port, on the Atchafayala Bayou. They ran into the rebel force, drove them back and returned to camp, on the 20th.
On the 22d a wagon train was sent out after wood. It was guarded by two companies of the Second New York cavalry. They were surprised by a small force of rebels and captured. There were also twenty-two negroes, four of whom were killed. There was a force of our cavalry at the bend. They pursued the rebels, but did not catch up with them.
On the 23d heavy cannonading was heard from our gunboats on Red river, and we could see great clouds of smoke. On the 28th a national salute was fired over news received of a victory gained in the East by Sheridan’s troops.
In the evening of the 28th a brigade marched out to Atchafayala. They found no enemy and returned to camp that night.On the 31st a large detail and a train of wagons went after lumber with which to build winter quarters.
On the 1st of November all of our brigade except the Twenty-fourth Indiana, was sent out on an expedition. They ran up the river near the mouth of White river. On the 7th our regiment, the Twenty-fourth Indiana, embarked oh the steamer “Ohio Belle,” and ran up the river fifteen miles to where the gunboat “Ozark” was stationed. We got off and marched six miles out through the country. This is the most broken country which we were in while in Louisiana.
We found plenty of women on this trip, but no men. Almost all of the women claimed to be widows. One old Irish lady gave one of the boys a good cursing. She said that he was not a genteel Irishman or he would not be caught in the d—— yankee army. She also said that her husband was a genteel man and was captain of a company in the Second Louisiana regiment.
Our officers gave orders for the boys to not take off more geese and chickens than they could carry. While the old lady was swearing around the boys soon had her geese, turkeys and chickens divided up between themselves. The fellow that could run the fastest got the most.
We started back to the boat loaded down with poultry. It rained on the way back, making our march very disagreeable. We captured two prisoners on the return to the boat. We marched at will and were badly scattered. We got to the boat about sunset. It was a sight to be remembered to look back and see our straggling boys coming down the long slope to the river, loaded down with flopping geese and squalling chickens.
We got on the boat and landed at the bend at ten o’clock that night. On the 23d two hundred rebel cavalrymen made adash on our picket line, half a mile from camp. The colored troops were stationed at this place. The rebels killed a white lieutenant and six negroes and left. They also made a dash on the lower part of our picket line. Here they killed two of our white soldiers and then made their escape to the rear.
November 27th we had grand review by General Ulman. Nothing more of importance, except camp duty and drill, occurred until December 11th, 1864, when the captain of gunboat number fifty-three of our Mosquito Fleet, while the boat was near Hog’s Point, went on shore and waskilled by guerrillas.
We were immediately called upon to fit up an army to go on an expedition, and scour and destroy all of the country for twenty miles around that vicinity. The troops that were fitted up were the Twenty-fourth and Sixty-seventh Indiana, three companies of colored troops and two companies of cavalry, accompanied by four gunboats. We were under the command of Colonel W. T. Spicely.
We went twenty-five miles to Hog’s Point, where the cavalry and colored troops got off and marched down Old river. We went on down one mile and turned into the mouth of Old river. We went up twenty miles, near to the place where our cavalry was scouring the country. We landed and sent large details on shore to confiscate and burn all of the property in that vicinity.
At four o’clock our entire force got off and marched six miles out through the country, in the direction of the Cutoff. We set fire to all of the buildings and captured several horses, mules, and cattle. Here we went into camp and foraging parties were sent out in all directions. This was a very rich country and was settled mostly by the French. The boats were soon loaded to the guard with horses, hogs, cattle, sugar, molasses, and poultry of every description. We were learning them alesson for theirsneaking guerrillawarfare. Taking the life of one of our captains had cost them thousands of dollars.
On the morning of the 16th a detail was sent to guard the boats and the remainder of the force marched through by land to Morganza Bend. After we had marched fifteen miles, at nine o’clock we got to the camp. At ten the boats got to the bend and landed.
We almost got into a scrap over the private forage. Colonel Spicely and the provost marshall had some hard words over the boys’ chickens, pork, and other private forage which they were bringing to camp. General, the provost marshall, and his colored guards, marched down to take possession of our well-supplied boats. While Spicely and the General were parleying, the boys were getting their forage off of the boats by the means of skiffs, and several barrels of molasses were rolled down through the wheel house. Our boys were getting a little stirred up over the colored provost guards, and we all expected trouble, but we were mistaken.
We had regimental inspection on the 18th. On the 19th of December the Twenty-fourth and Sixty-seventh Indiana were consolidated and formed a battalion. On the 21st several officers of the Sixty-seventh were mustered out of service and sent home.