Chapter VIII: Part 8

The rebel leaders were Generals Sterling Price, Ben McCulloch and Brigadier-General John B. Clark. Somewhat singularly, both parties had planned an attack at the same hour, but the darkness of the night induced the rebels to postpone their movement. Their tents were pitched on either side of Wilson’s Creek, extending a mile east and south of the road, crossing to two miles west and north of the same, the creek running nearly in the shape of a horizontal ᔕ. At the crossing of the Fayette road the hills on each side of the stream are from two to three hundred feet high, sloping gently on the north, and abrupt to the south side. The valley is about half a mile wide.

While on the verge of this, his last engagement, General Lyon was impressed with a sad presentiment—not regarding his own fate—but a fear for his brave command. A terrible responsibility rested upon him. With no adequate strength with which to cope with the enemy, hemmed in and growing weaker every day, his position was both perilous and painful. Unsupported, with his cry for help passed over, he saw nothing before him but the barren satisfaction of dying, bravely performing his duty, and protecting to the last the little army that he felt to be doomed. With these feelings—sadly bitter they must have been—this glorious man entered upon his last battle field.

The following day was one of remarkable quiet, and enlistments in the Springfield regiment went on rapidly. During the afternoon, Captain Woods’ Kansas cavalry, with one or two companies of regulars, drove five hundred rebel rangers from the prairie west of the town, capturing eight and killing two men, without loss on their part.

At eight o’clock in the evening, General Sigel, with six pieces of artillery and part of Colonel Salomon’s command, moved southward, marching until near two o’clock, and passing around the extreme camp of the enemy, where he halted, ready to press forward as soon as he should be apprised by the roar of General Lyon’s artillery that the attack had begun. The main body, under General Lyon, had moved at the same time, and halted about five miles west of the city, from whence, after resting, they proceeded again about four miles in a south-westerly direction, and slept until 4 A. M. on Saturday, the day of battle.

At five o’clock the pickets of the enemy were driven in, and the northern end of the valley, with its thousands of tents and camp-fires, became visible, and this most destructive battle, when the numbers engaged are considered, commenced. The roar of the artillery was terrible,—the rattling of the musketballs was like a storm of great hailstones, and the clash of steel like hammers ringing on countless anvils.

Riding forward in the thick of the fight, his war-horse bearing him more proudly than usual that fatal day, General Lyon performed the work of a dozen heroes. A stern sadness was on his face—a resolute fire burned in the gray depths of his eyes. Twice was he wounded, leading on his men, and his war-steed fell under him, pierced to the heart with a bullet. Those who loved him grew anxious for his safety, for there was something wonderful in the steady courage that made him forget the wounds that would have driven another man from the field.

A member of his staff approached him as he stood by his dead horse, and seeing blood upon his forehead, asked if he was hurt.

“I think not seriously,” he answered; and mounting another horse, he plunged again into the terrible melee.

At one time, when the whirlwind of battle was at its height, General Lyon desired his men to prepare for a charge, and the Iowans at once volunteered to go, and asked for a leader. On came the enemy, crushing in their strength, and there was no time for choice.

“I will lead you,” exclaimed the impetuous and fearless General. “Come on, brave boys,” said he, as he took his position in the van, while General Sweeney prepared to lead on a portion of the Kansas troops, and the serried ranks of glittering deadly steel resistlessly moved on.

In the very act of leading those valiant men, with his hand uplifted in an effort to cheer them on, and his noble face turned partly to his command, but not altogether away from the enemy, a bullet pierced him, and he fell, regretted not only by his devoted little army, but by every man, woman and child who ever heard how bravely he fought for the flag they love.

The battle continued from six until eleven o’clock, with but little cessation; and then the gallant Unionists, overwhelmed by superior numbers, were forced to retreat. In good order they accomplished it, and _the enemy made no attempt to follow_, though their combined forces amounted to about 20,000, while General Lyon’s command did not exceed one-quarter of that number.

DEATH OF GENERAL LYON.
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The Federal loss was 223 killed, 721 wounded and 292 missing; the rebel loss, (McCulloch’s report,) 265 killed, 800 wounded, 30 missing; Price’s report of Missouri troops, 156 killed and 517 wounded.

The death of the brave General Lyon was universally deplored. Countless were the tributes to his memory, and deep the sorrow when his body was borne homeward, surrounded with military honors. From amid the murky smoke and fearful glare of battle his soul was called home—the flashing eye dimmed—the good right hand unnerved, and the fiery spirit, that scorned danger and hated treason, was quenched forever.

SKETCH OF GENERAL LYON.

Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon was born in the State of Connecticut, in the year 1818, and entered the military academy at West Point in 1837, where he graduated four years afterwards with the rank of Second-Lieutenant of the Second Infantry. In February, 1847, he was made First-Lieutenant, and for gallant conduct in the battles of Contreras and Cherubusco, during the following August, was breveted Captain. On the 13th of September he was severely wounded in a most desperate assault, and in June, 1851, was promoted to a captaincy, which rank he held at the time of the troubles in Kansas. As has been stated, he was in command of the Missouri Volunteers at the capture of Camp Jackson, and was for his well-proven bravery and eminent ability, promoted to the rank which he held at the time of his death. In personal appearance he was about five feet and eight inches in height, his frame wiry and muscular. His hair was long and thick, his whiskers sandy and heavy, and his eyes of a blueish gray. His forehead was high and broad, with a firm expression of the lips, and a countenance that indicated an intellect of no ordinary capacity. He was a strict disciplinarian, endeared to his soldiers, and universally regretted by the whole country which followed him to the grave with deep and mournful affection. In his will, made before he started on his last campaign, he left his entire property to the country for which he gave his life.

RETREAT OF THE UNION ARMY.

The Federal troops remained in Springfield until Monday morning, and then started on their retreat towards Rolla, unmolested by the rebels. The enemy entered the town immediately after its evacuation by the Federal forces, having suffered the loss of a large portion of their tents, baggage and camp stores by the attack of Sigel.

Hundreds of the inhabitants of this section were now compelled to leave their homes, and the exiles were seen every day on the roads leading to St. Louis, fleeing for refuge beyond the lines of the insurgents, plundered of everything and destitute, having been forced to abandon their homes and property to save their lives.

The loyal people who remained were favored with proclamations by McCulloch and Price, which abounded in abuse and misrepresentation of the Federal army, and were filled with professions and promises which strikingly contrasted with their administration and conduct.

This calamity was not merely disastrous by its positive loss, but it gave a prestige of success to the rebel leaders, and afforded an opportunity for them to increase the spirit of rebellion among the people, as well as to nerve themselves to other enterprises. On the 17th, fifteen hundred recruits had assembled in Saline county, and were preparing to join General Price, or to engage in local operations in the surrounding counties. On the 18th, about one thousand men from Chariton county crossed the Missouri at Brunswick, with a large number of horses and wagons, on their march to join Price’s division.

The rebels were so much elated with the death of General Lyon and the abandonment of Springfield by the Federal troops, that they became more reckless than ever in their depredations and persecutions of the loyal citizens. In St. Louis on the 14th, after the retreat became known, they became so bold and defiant that General Fremont proclaimed martial law, and appointed Major J. McKinstry as Provost-Marshal.

On the 20th, a train on the Hannibal and St. Joseph’s railroad was fired into, and one soldier killed and six wounded. The train was immediately stopped, and two of the guerrillas were killed and five captured.

Five days afterwards, on the 25th, Governor Gamble issued a proclamation calling for forty-two thousand volunteers to defend the State, restore peace and subdue the insurrection; the term of service to be six months, unless sooner discharged.

KENTUCKY.

Kentucky occupies a central position among the States, and is about four hundred miles in length, by one hundred and seventy in width at the widest point, where the State stretches from the boundary of Tennessee across to Covington, opposite Cincinnati, on the Ohio river. This river, from the Virginia line, follows a circuitous course along the Kentucky border, a distance of six hundred and thirty-seven miles, until it flows into the Mississippi at Cairo. The Cumberland and Tennessee rivers pass through the western part of the State, as they approach their confluence with the Ohio. Big Sandy river, two hundred and fifty miles in length, forms for a considerable distance the boundary between Kentucky and Virginia. The Kentucky river rises in the Cumberland Mountains and falls into the Ohio river fifty miles above Louisville. These geographical facts are necessary to a perfect understanding of the struggles in that State, and are worthy of remembrance.

When the President of the United States, on the 15th of April, 1861, issued his proclamation, in which the Governors of the States that had not already committed themselves to the cause of secession, were called upon to furnish their quota of seventy-five thousand men for the national defence, Beriah Magoffin, Governor of Kentucky, replied by saying, that, “Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister States.”

This act was looked upon with both sorrow and surprise by the loyal people of that State, and was hailed with delight by the Confederate Government at Montgomery. The rebel Secretary of War congratulated Governor Magoffin on his “patriotic” response, informed him that Virginia needed aid, and requested him to send forward a regiment of infantry without delay to Harper’s Ferry. Though sympathizing with the enemies of the Union, Governor Magoffin was not prepared to set at defiance the wishes of the people of Kentucky, and commit himself unqualifiedly to the work of overthrowing the Federal Government.

Many of the prominent men of Kentucky, including a large number of the wealthy citizens, were zealous in the promotion of the secession interests. The most indefatigable efforts were made by them to force the State into the ranks of the revolted States, and thousands of her young men were induced to enlist, and encamp on the adjoining borders of Tennessee, waiting for the hour when they could sweep Kentucky with the rush of armed battalions, and overwhelm her peace and prosperity with the clash of arms, and the thunders of artillery. The loyal sentiment was, however, in the ascendant, although it was subdued and overawed to a considerable extent. Between the two forces, therefore, it was deemed expedient by her rulers that Kentucky should hold a neutral position, and not ally herself with either the Federal or the Confederate interest.

To render this neutrality more certain, on the 8th of June, General S. B. Buckner, then the acknowledged commander of the State militia, entered into negotiations with General McClellan, at Cincinnati, the terms of which stipulated that Kentucky should protect the United States property, and enforce all the United States laws within her limits—that her neutrality should be respected by the Federal army, _even though the Southern forces should occupy her soil_; “but in the latter case General McClellan should call upon the authorities of the State to remove the said Southern forces from her territory;” if the State were unable to accomplish this, then the Federal forces might be called in.

This negative position was found, however, to be one of positive advantage and aid to the traitors. They desired to secure a “masterly inactivity” on the part of loyal men, of which they might avail themselves by secret organizations. Taking advantage of this confessed neutrality, large numbers of the young men of Kentucky were enticed into Buckner’s camp; while bodies of men from Tennessee were thrown into several localities in the southern and western portions of the State, and boldly avowed their determination to march on Frankfort, the capital, and revolutionize the State. Home Guards were organized by the loyal men, and it became apparent, that if the tide were not resisted by active measures, there was no security for Kentucky.

The election for members of the Legislature, however, early in August, the result of which showed an overwhelming majority in favor of the Union, signed the death-warrant of neutrality, and thenceforth Kentucky was regarded as loyal to the Union. The Legislature assembled at Frankfort on the 5th of September, ordered the United States flag to be hoisted on the court-house, and proceeded to adopt various measures calculated to promote the Union cause in the State.

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS.
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SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS.
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The great Union majority now revealed gave such decided evidence that Kentucky was not likely to be seduced from her loyalty, that the secessionists became convinced of the necessity of accomplishing their purpose by other means. The rebel forces were, therefore, ordered to take possession of several important points, which they did on the 4th of September, and commenced fortifying Hickman and Columbus—the former being in the western part of the State, near the line, and the latter some twenty-five miles further north, on the Mississippi river. Generals Pillow and Polk now took command of the rebel troops, and were soon reinforced, their combined forces amounting to thirteen regiments of artillery, six field batteries, a siege battery, three battalions of cavalry, three steamers, and a gunboat. In the mean time, Jefferson Thompson, with two regiments, took possession of Belmont, on the Missouri side, opposite Columbus. The assumed neutrality having thus been broken by this invasion, the Federal commander, General U. S. Grant, then at Cairo, Illinois, lost no time in making a movement to intercept the further progress of the rebels northward. He accordingly sent a sufficient force up the Ohio, to the mouth of the Tennessee river, and effected

THE OCCUPATION OF PADUCAH.

On Thursday evening, the 5th of September, the gunboats Tyler and Conestoga were ordered to convey the troops to Paducah. The Ninth Illinois, under the gallant Major Philips, and the Twelfth Illinois, Colonel John McArthur, with four pieces of Smith’s Chicago Artillery, under Lieutenant Charles Willard, embarked on the steamers G. W. Graham and W. H. B., and left Cairo at 11 o’clock, P. M., the gunboat Tyler, Captain Rogers, leading, and the Conestoga, Captain Phelps, in the rear. The fleet pushed out into the stream amid the cheers of thousands of spectators, and steamed grandly up the Ohio.

They reached Paducah about eight o’clock, A. M., on Friday, the 6th. The troops were speedily disembarked. Colonel McArthur’s regiment landed at the Marine Hospital, in the lower part of the city, and the Ninth at the foot of Main street. The Twelfth found quarters at the hospital, and the Ninth repaired to the depot of the Ohio and New Orleans railroad. The citizens were sullen and unfriendly, and closed their places of business.

On arriving at the depot the troops found that the rolling stock of the road had all been removed, but a large quantity of stores for the confederate army was discovered, and promptly seized. They were marked for Memphis, New Orleans, and other points south, and were worth about $20,000.

Captain Rogers immediately took possession of the telegraph office. The post-office was next visited, and a large amount of rebel correspondence secured. Five companies of infantry, and a battery of Smith’s Light Artillery, Lieutenant Willard, were sent under Major Philips down the railroad about seven miles without meeting any of the rebel troops. Pillow was reported to be advancing, and a large bridge and trestle work were burnt to prevent him from reaching Paducah and falling upon the place by surprise.

A rumor became current that a large force of rebels from Tennessee were on their way down the Tennessee river in steamboats. To ascertain the facts, and to intercept their progress, the gunboat Conestoga was dispatched up the river some thirteen miles to watch the rebel movements, and to capture suspicious vessels. Although no hostile forces were seen, a steamer was discovered on Friday, which, on seeing the Conestoga, turned about, was run ashore, and the officers and crew abandoned her. It was the Jefferson, a small stern-wheel boat, loaded with a cargo of tobacco. On Saturday the Conestoga captured a fine propeller, called the John Gault, and a boat called the Pocahontas, belonging to John Bell, of Tennessee. The prizes were all safely taken to Cairo.

The inhabitants of Paducah were now seized with panic, and large numbers left the town, apprehending an attack from Pillow, in which case they expected the gunboats would freely use shell. On Saturday part of Colonel Oglesby’s Eighth regiment, the Forty-first Illinois, and the American Zouave regiment, from Cape Girandeau, entered the town, increasing the forces to about 5,000 men.

THE REBEL TROOPS ORDERED TO WITHDRAW FROM KENTUCKY.

On the 9th of September a dispatch from General Polk to Governor Magoffin was laid before the Legislature, the substance of which was that he had occupied Columbus and Hickman, on account of reliable information that the Federal forces were about to possess those points; that he considered the safety of Western Tennessee and of the rebel army in the vicinity of Hickman and Columbus demanded their occupation, and that, as a corroboration of that information, the Federal troops had been drawn up in line on the river opposite to Columbus prior to its occupation by them, causing many of the citizens of Columbus to flee from their homes for fear of the entrance of the Federal troops. General Polk proposed substantially that the Federal and rebel forces should be simultaneously withdrawn from Kentucky, and to enter into recognizances and stipulations to respect the neutrality of the State.

But it was well known that the cry of neutrality was only an invention of the enemy to work his plans in Kentucky, so that when the appointed time should come Kentucky would swarm with rebels from Tennessee and Virginia; and two days afterwards both branches of the Legislature, by a vote of 71 to 26, adopted a resolution directing the Governor to issue a proclamation ordering the rebel troops then encamped in the State to evacuate Kentucky. A counter-resolution, ordering both Federal and rebel troops to leave the soil, was negatived under the rules of order. Governor Magoffin accordingly issued a proclamation to the effect that “the government of the Confederate States, the State of Tennessee, and all others concerned, are hereby informed that Kentucky expects the Confederate or Tennessee troops to be withdrawn from her soil unconditionally.”

ATTEMPT TO FORM A REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT IN THE STATE.

After this decisive action of the Legislature, which effectually destroyed the hopes entertained by the conspirators of obtaining a semblance of legal authority for their designs, their next expedient was to hold an informal meeting at Russelville, a small town in the southern portion of the State, on the 29th of October. Here they drew up a declaration of grievances, in which they charged the majority of the Legislature with having betrayed their solemn trust, by inviting into the State the “armies of Lincoln,” with having abdicated the government in favor of a military despotism, and thrown upon the people and the State the horrors and ravages of war. They recommended the immediate arming of a “Guard” in each county, of not less than one hundred men, to be paid as Confederate troops, subject to the orders of the “Commanding General.” Finally, they called for a Convention to be held at Russelville, on the 18th of November, to be “elected, or appointed in any manner possible,” by the people of the several counties, for the purpose of “severing forever our connection with the Federal Government.”

John C. Breckinridge, late Vice President of the United States, was appointed one of the commissioners to carry out the orders of the convention. This Convention met at the time designated, composed of about two hundred persons, professing to represent sixty-five counties, though self-appointed, and without any form of election. On the 20th of November they adopted a “Declaration of Independence, and an Ordinance of Secession,” and appointed a “Provisional Government, consisting of a Governor, and a Legislative Council of Ten,” and dispatched H. C. Burnett, W. E. Simms, and William Preston, as commissioners to the Confederate States. On the 9th of December, the “Congress’” of the Confederate States, in session at Richmond, passed an “Act for the admission of the State of Kentucky into the Confederate States of America,” as a member “on equal footing with the other States of the Confederacy.”

George W. Johnson, of Scott county, who was chosen as Provisional Governor, by the Convention, in his “Message,” declared his willingness to resign “whenever the regularly elected Governor [Magoffin] should escape from his virtual imprisonment at Frankfort.”

Governor Magoffin, in a letter, dated December 13, 1861, says of this Convention, “I condemn its action in unqualified terms. Situated as it was, and without authority from the people, it cannot be justified by similar revolutionary acts in other States, by minorities to overthrow the State Governments. My position is, and has been, and will continue to be, to abide by the will of the majority of the people of the State, to stand by the Constitution and laws of the State of Kentucky, as expounded by the Supreme Court of the State, and by the Constitution and laws of the United States, as expounded by the Supreme Court of the United States. To this position I shall cling in this trying hour as the last hope of society and of constitutional liberty.”

MILITARY MOVEMENTS OF THE REBELS IN KENTUCKY.

While Pillow and Polk were invading the south-western part of the State, General Zollicoffer was operating in the east. With some six thousand rebels he came to Cumberland Ford—which is situated near the point where the corner of Virginia runs into Kentucky—capturing a company of Home Guards. On the 17th of September the Legislature received a message from Governor Magoffin communicating a telegraphic dispatch from General Zollicoffer, announcing that the safety of Tennessee demanded the occupation of Cumberland and the three long mountains in Kentucky, and that he had occupied them, and should retain his position until the Federal forces were withdrawn and the Federal camp broken up.

That portion of Kentucky lying west of the Cumberland river was then declared under insurrectionary control, and Secretary Chase instructed the Surveyor at Cairo to prevent all commercial intercourse with that section, and to search all baggage and all persons going thither. Just about the same time the gunboat Conestoga captured the rebel steamers Stephenson and Gazelle, on the Cumberland, and one of them was found to contain one hundred tons of iron.

DECISIVE MEASURES OF THE LOYAL STATE GOVERNMENT.

When the seditious plans of General Buckner became too plain for concealment, the Legislature found it necessary to depose him from the command of the State troops, and General Thomas L. Crittenden, a loyal citizen, was appointed to fill that position. Governor Magoffin, in obedience to the resolutions and the enactments of the Legislature, promptly issued a proclamation, authorizing that officer to execute the purposes contemplated by the resolutions of the Legislature in reference to the expulsion of the invaders, and General Crittenden ordered the military to muster forthwith into service. Hamilton Pope, Brigadier-General of the Home Guard (Union), called on the people of each ward in Louisville to meet and organize into companies for the protection of the city.

Great excitement existed at this time in Louisville. The Union Home Guards began to assemble, while other Union forces were arriving and being sent to different portions of the State. At nine o’clock on the morning of the 18th, when the Government troops reached Rolling Fork, five miles north of Muldragh’s Hill, they found that the bridge over the fork had been burned by rebels under General Buckner, who were then upon the hill.

The Legislature passed, over the veto of the Governor, a resolution to the effect that, as the rebels had invaded Kentucky and insolently dictated the terms upon which they would retire, General Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort Sumter, one of Kentucky’s sons, should be invited to take instant charge of that department, and that the Governor must call out a sufficient force to expel the invaders from her soil. General Anderson, who had been previously appointed by the Government to command in Kentucky, responded to the call, and on the 21st of September issued a proclamation calling upon the people of Kentucky to rally to the support of the Union.

General S. B. Buckner, who had previously acted under neutrality pretences, now gradually assumed an attitude of hostility, and in September was openly arrayed against the Government. On the 12th he issued an inflammatory proclamation to the people of Kentucky, in which he declared that he sought to make no war upon the Union, but only against the tyranny and despotism of the Federal Government, which was about to make the people of Kentucky slaves. By such means as these he aimed to arouse the freemen of that State to arms and to rebellion. The proclamation was dated at Russelville, while he was entrenching a position at Bowling Green, about thirty miles from the Tennessee line, on the Louisville and Nashville railroad.

Very soon the Government formed a new department, consisting of Ohio, Indiana, and that part of Kentucky within a commanding distance of Cincinnati, placing it under the charge of General Mitchell, in order to relieve General Rosecranz in Western Virginia and General Anderson of a part of their responsibility, and enable them to give greater attention to their own specific departments. The department under General Anderson seemed to require similar military discipline to that of Annapolis and Maryland, and, as a commencement, Martin W. Barr, the telegraphic news reporter of the Southern Associated Press, the medium for the transmission of correspondence from traitors at the North to rebels in the South, was arrested, together with ex-Governor Morehead and Reuben T. Murrett, one of the proprietors of the _Courier_, a rebel sheet.

The State had now become a portion of the ground which was to be so fiercely contested. Rebel journals and leaders made no concealment of their purpose to wrest Kentucky from the Union at every hazard. The Ohio river was to be the boundary of the Southern empire, and notwithstanding the emphatic voice of her people, all the energy of the combined forces of the rebel armies were to be brought to bear upon the work. The fact could be no longer disguised from the people, and the loyal men, finding that their patience and confidence in the disloyal portion, with their previous consent to a negative position of neutrality, were in vain, boldly declared that the time had come to arouse and resist the impending ruin. The attempt of the conspirators of the Cotton States to make Kentucky the battle-field, along with Virginia, was to be defeated at every cost, and the people, rising to a comprehension of their responsibility, hastened to the work of organization and defence.

Among the loyal men of the State to whom the highest honor is due for their bold and stirring advocacy of the Union, and for the most summary measures which patriotism and honor could dictate, were Hon. JOSEPH HOLT, and Hon. LOVELL S. ROUSSEAU, of the State Senate, and the gifted divine, R. J. Breckinridge, D.D.

NAVAL OPERATIONS.

At the commencement of hostilities the Government was unprepared to meet the naval requirements incident to the contest which had so suddenly been forced upon it. The necessity of a stringent blockade of the entire southern coast had become apparent; while the protection and supply of the naval stations in the rebel States still in possession of our forces, and the recapture of those which had been seized, required a navy vastly greater than that at the command of the Government; and no time was lost in preparing as far as practicable to meet this emergency.

Long before the attack on Fort Sumter, the enemy had given evidence of a determination forcibly to destroy their relations with the Government by seizing the revenue cutters belonging to the United States stationed in the harbors of Charleston, Pensacola and New Orleans, contemporaneously with their appropriation of the forts, arsenals, marine depots and other property belonging to the Government within the limits of the disloyal States.

Immediately upon the opening of hostilities, and to give the pretence of law and authority to the proceedings now determined on, Jefferson Davis, on the 17th of April, 1861, by proclamation, invited men of every class, without regard to nationality, to become privateers under letters of marque, to be issued by the Confederate Government.

A “reward” of twenty dollars was offered by the Confederate Congress for every life taken by these privateers in conflict with a Federal vessel, and twenty-five dollars for each prisoner. In view of the extensive commerce of the United States, the large number of vessels sailing to all parts of the world, and the supposed inefficiency of our navy, confident expectations were entertained by the rebels of a rich harvest of wealth from this source, as well as of the destruction of our commerce. The hope was also indulged that many vessels would be secretly fitted out in northern ports to engage in this enterprise. This hope soon proved to be futile; while the want of proper vessels for the service in their own ports, and the scarcity of able seamen, and, more potent than either, the rigorous blockade that was soon established, presented insurmountable obstacles to their plans. The English Government, by the Queen’s proclamation of June 1, decided that privateers should not take prizes to any of her ports; and France and Spain also declared that such vessels should remain but twenty-four hours within their harbors, and prohibited either confiscation or sale during such stay.

The first offensive act of the war on the part of our navy was the attack on Sewall’s Point battery, in Virginia, on May 18, 1861. This battery, then not completed, was situated at the mouth of Elizabeth river, commanding also the entrance to James river. On the 18th the United States steamer Star, two guns, and transport Freeborn, of four guns, opened their fire and dislodged the enemy from their entrenchments. During the night, however, the works were repaired and occupied by a larger force. On the following day the steamer Star again opened fire on them, and after exhausting her ammunition retired.

On the 31st of May, the United States steamers Thomas Freeborn, Anacosta and Resolute attacked the rebel batteries at the railroad terminus at Acquia Creek. As the tide was out, the vessels could not approach near enough to accomplish their reduction. On the following day the fire was renewed by the vessels, under command of Captain Ward, and returned by the enemy with spirit from three batteries on the shore, and one on the heights above. They were soon driven from the shore batteries, but that on the hill was at an elevation which could not be reached by shot from the gunboats. The vessels were struck several times, with but little damage, and two men were wounded. The loss of the enemy was not ascertained.

On the 6th of June, while reconnoitering on the James river, the steamer Harriet Lane discovered a heavy battery at Pigs Point, at the mouth of the Nansemond river, opposite Newport News. She opened fire on it to discover its character, and finding from the response that it was too formidable for her guns, she withdrew, having five men wounded in the encounter.

On the 27th of June, Commander J. H. Ward of the steamer Freeborn, accompanied by a party of men from the Pawnee, under Lieutenant Chaplin, who were engaged in erecting a breastwork at Matthias Point, on the Potomac, were attacked by a large force of the enemy. The men on shore were exposed to a galling fire, but made good their retreat in their boats, three only being wounded, taking all their arms and implements with them. Commander Ward immediately opened fire from his vessel on the attacking party, and drove them to cover. While sighting one of the guns of the Freeborn, Commander Ward was struck by a rifle ball, mortally wounded, and died within an hour.

Captain JAMES H. WARD was born in the year 1806, in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. His early days were spent in the usual studies of youth, and on the 4th of March, 1823, he entered the United States service, sailing as midshipman, under Commodore McDonough, in the frigate Constitution. After serving faithfully for four years with McDonough, he was promoted to the position of lieutenant, and was for some time attached to the Mediterranean service. Many years of his life were spent on the coast of Africa, and he was also in the gulf, as commander of the United States steamer Vixen. Nearly all his naval life was spent on the ocean. For some time he had a very responsible professorship in the naval school at Annapolis, and later was in command of the receiving ship North Carolina. His talents were not entirely devoted to naval affairs, for he is well known as an author by his works, entitled “Steam for the Million,” “Ordnance and Gunnery,” and “Naval Tactics.” The news of his death brought sorrow to many, and his memory is safely embalmed in the heart of an appreciating nation.

THE EXPEDITION TO CAPE HATTERAS

AUGUST 26–30, 1861.

The first naval achievement of the war which was attended with any important result was the successful attack of the fleet under Commodore Stringham, accompanied by General B. F. Butler, and his land forces, upon Forts Hatteras and Clark, at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.

ATLANTIC COAST FROM FORTRESS MONROE TO FORT MACON.
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The whole length of the Atlantic coast from Chesapeake Bay to Charleston has a peculiar character. A long line of low, sandy beaches, of variable width and elevation, rise above the surface of the ocean, broken at occasional intervals by a passage, ordinarily of shallow depth of water, communicating from the open sea with the lagoons inside. These bodies of water, by the indentations of the main land and the mouths of the rivers, expand into large bays, of which Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds are the principal. These two form capacious highways of safe and easy communication along the coast, and through the Dismal Swamp Canal connect with the Chesapeake Bay, on the north, at Norfolk, Va.

At the south-western extremity of the long, narrow island or beach, the outer angle of which has received the name of Cape Hatteras, and which gives its name to the inlet, the rebels had erected two strong fortifications known as Forts Hatteras and Clark. Captain Samuel Barron, late of the United States navy, was here in command of the naval forces, while Colonel William F. Martin, of the Seventh North Carolina Volunteers, and Major W. S. G. Andrews, commanded the garrisons.

Hatteras Inlet was one of the principal passages through which the vessels of the Confederacy made their way, in defiance of the blockade, and which it was desirable to command with the Federal forces and fleet. An expedition was accordingly planned, and the preparations were far advanced when General Wool reached Fortress Monroe. All things having been made ready, on the 26th of August, the fleet, under Commodore S. H. Stringham, left Hampton Roads for its destination. It consisted of the flag-ship Minnesota, Captain G. A. Van Brune, having in company the United States steamers Wabash, Captain Samuel Mercer; Monticello, Commander John P. Gillis; Pawnee, Commander S. C. Rowan; Harriet Lane, Captain John Faunce; United States chartered steamers Adelaide, Commander Henry S. Stellwagen; George Peabody, Lieutenant R. B. Lowry; and tug Fanny, Lieutenant Pierce Crosby, all of the United States navy. The transports Adelaide and George Peabody, towing schooners with surf-boats on them, and the Monticello and Pawnee surf-boats only.

General Butler embarked his land forces on the two transports Adelaide and George Peabody, having with him five hundred of the Twentieth New York regiment, Colonel Weber; two hundred and twenty of the New York Ninth regiment, Colonel Hawkins; one hundred of the Union Coast Guard, Captain Nixon; and sixty of the United States Second Artillery, Lieutenant Larned.

The expedition left Fortress Monroe on Monday, the 26th, at one o’clock, P. M., and the last vessel had arrived at Hatteras Inlet by four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon. Preparations for landing troops were made the same evening, and at daylight the next morning dispositions were made for an attack upon the forts by the fleet, and the landing of the troops.

CAPTURE OF FORTS HATTERAS AND CLARK.

At four o’clock on Wednesday morning, all hands were called, and by five, the whole fleet was in a state of the greatest activity with preparations for the conflict. The Monticello, the Pawnee, and the Harriet Lane were sent to cover and assist generally in landing the troops, and they took up a position about two miles and a half north of the forts. The Cumberland was taken in tow by the Wabash. The iron and flat boats were meanwhile filling with troops from the steamers, and one hundred marines who had been taken from the war vessels to increase the land forces. The Wabash went up to the battery first, drawing the Cumberland after her. The Minnesota followed, and as they drew near the point, the two batteries and the barracks of the rebels were plainly visible. In the sound, beyond the narrow neck of land, several vessels—three steamers, some schooners under sail, and a brig laying at anchor under the guns of the forts—were clearly seen.

Colonel Max Weber, of the Twentieth New York, was appointed to command the land expedition, and about ten o’clock the boats left the transports with the first detachments of the storming forces. They consisted of forty-five men of the New York Twentieth, Captain Larner and Lieutenant Loder; forty-five marines from the Minnesota; sixty-eight men, New York Ninth regiment, Captain Jardine; one hundred and two men of Twentieth New York; twenty-eight men Union Coast Guard, Captain Nixon; and twenty marines, making a total of three hundred and eighteen men.

A heavy surf was breaking on the beach at the time, and the landing was dangerous. The landing was handsomely covered by the Monticello and Harriet Lane. Compelled to wade through the water to the shore from the boats, the men were wet by the surf, and were obliged to march with their ammunition in no better condition than themselves.

The challenge from the Wabash, at a few minutes before ten o’clock, was soon responded to from Fort Clark, the smaller of the two, and for several hours the firing was maintained on both sides with great spirit. The shot from the forts fell short of the vessels, two or three only striking the Monticello, but without doing any damage. After getting the range of the forts from the various vessels of the fleet, the shells that were hurled into the enemy’s strongholds were directed with great precision, and almost uniformly reached the points at which they were aimed.

Three hours of cannonading from fifty-seven heavy guns produced a marked effect on the smaller fort, and by half-past one o’clock it became evident that the enemy were becoming discouraged, their firing having been almost abandoned. At this time, the flags of both forts were hauled down, the troops already landed were seen hurrying with their colors towards Fort Clark, and boats laden with men were trying to escape in the sound. General Butler telegraphed from the Harriet Lane a request for the fleet to cease firing, and the proper signal was made, but apparently not fully understood. About thirty of the Federal troops were by this time in and around Fort Clark, and had already raised the Union flag. They were fired upon by the Pawnee and Monticello, under the impression that it was a ruse, and several shells burst in their immediate vicinity. The two vessels were signaled to return, when the latter reported that the inner battery was still in the hands of the enemy; but on again reconnoitering, reported that it was an error.

But the victory was not yet won. The Monticello entered the inlet, and when within six hundred yards of the lower battery, was fired upon, and the real state of affairs became apparent. The gunboat responded, and for fifteen minutes a fire was kept up, which seemed likely to sink the vessel. All hands were called to quarters, and the Federal vessels prepared to resume the attack, the troops having in the mean time withdrawn from Fort Clark to a safer location.

Darkness was gathering thickly around, and the weather became threatening. The order to “cease firing” was reluctantly given, and the fleet withdrew, the Monticello, Pawnee and Lane remaining as near the shore as possible, in order to protect the landed troops, while the larger vessels anchored in the offing.

Early the next morning, all hands were again called. The smaller vessels had been driven ashore during the night by the gale, and the little band of troops were left to protect themselves, as best they might. The smaller steamers were sent in shore to be in readiness to cover the land forces, and to aid in any attempt that might be made to land the remainder. At about eight o’clock, the Wabash and Susquehanna proceeded to take up a position—this time at anchor. Twenty minutes later, the Susquehanna opened fire, followed immediately by the Wabash, and soon the Minnesota found an anchorage ground, and the action commenced in earnest. An hour later, the Cumberland took position near, and did good execution, as did also the Harriet Lane, with her rifled guns.

Thus for an hour a rapid fire had been kept up, but without eliciting any reply from the fort, or without any flag having been shown. Thirty minutes later, their batteries replied, having been mostly aimed at the Cumberland, and the fight continued for half an hour, without intermission, when a white flag was shown from the large fort. Again the order to cease firing was given, the sailors flew to the rigging, and from ship to ship rang the cheers of victory. General Butler sent Lieutenant Crosby ashore to inquire the meaning of the white flag. He soon returned, bringing Mr. Weigel, with a communication from Commodore Barron, offering to surrender, with all the arms and ammunition, the officers to go out with side arms, and the men to retire without arms. General Butler demanded a full capitulation as prisoners of war, which was subsequently complied with.

In three-quarters of an hour Lieutenant Crosby returned with Commodore Barron, Major Andrews and Colonel Martin. With these officers General Butler went aboard the flag-ship Minnesota, to make the agreement with Commodore Stringham, on the part of the navy. The articles were signed, and the forts surrendered and occupied by the Union forces. While the terms were under consideration, the Adelaide and Harriet Lane both got aground, and occasioned some fear lest the enemy, taking advantage of this circumstance, might renew the contest. But happily their fears were not realized. In reaching the Minnesota, Commodore Barron was obliged to pass under the guns of the Wabash, the vessel which he had himself commanded a few months before, and which he had just been endeavoring to destroy from his batteries.

The result of this expedition was the capture of seven hundred and fifteen men, including the officers, one thousand stand of arms, seventy-five kegs of powder, five stand of colors, thirty-one pieces of cannon, including a ten-inch columbiad, a brig loaded with cotton, a sloop loaded with provisions and stores, two light-boats, one hundred and fifty bags of coffee and smaller stores.

The prisoners were transferred to the Minnesota, and taken to New York. Their acknowledged loss was forty-nine killed and fifty-one wounded. On the Federal side, not a single life was lost, and only two or three wounded.

WESTERN VIRGINIA.

A series of active events in Western Virginia now claim our attention.

Governor Wise, on hearing of the death of General Garnett, and the defeat and dispersion of his army, commenced a retreat up the Kanawha, cautiously followed by General Cox. He intended to make a stand at Gauley’s Bridge, at the junction of Gauley and Kanawha rivers, and had erected defences for that purpose; but in consequence of the demoralization and desertion of his men, and learning that General Rosecranz had dispatched a large force to intercept him, he fled without fighting, on the 28th of July, destroying the bridge to cut off his pursuers. He left behind him a thousand muskets, and a quantity of powder, which were seized by General Cox. Early in the month of August, General Floyd was reinforced by fresh troops from the eastern section of the State, while Jackson was also advancing with a new army to attack the position of Rosecranz at the Cheat Mountain Pass, and General Loring, another rebel commander, was marching towards Huttonsville to act in conjunction with Jackson’s forces.

SURPRISE AT CROSS LANES.

On the morning of the 26th of August, the Seventh Ohio regiment, Colonel Tyler, attached to General Cox’s brigade, had just encamped at a position in the mountains called Cross Lanes, near Summersville, about twenty-four miles from Gauley Bridge, and eighteen from Twenty-mile Creek, where the main body of General Cox’s forces were.

While at breakfast they were surrounded and attacked in front and on both flanks simultaneously, by a rebel force of three thousand infantry, four hundred cavalry, and ten guns. Colonel Tyler’s men were immediately formed for battle, and fought bravely, though in an almost hopeless position. The enemy proving too powerful, the Colonel dispatched an orderly to the baggage train, which was coming up, but three miles distant, and turned it back towards General Cox’s camp, where it arrived in safety. The regiment met the advancing foe with desperate valor, and finally succeeded in cutting their way through the superior force by whom they were encompassed, Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton capturing the enemy’s colors and two prisoners in their progress. The ranks were much broken, and companies B, C and I suffered severely. The line was soon formed again, and prepared for a renewal of the attack, but they were permitted to make good their retreat without further molestation. Captains Dyer, Shurtleff and Sterling, Adjutant De Forrest, Lieutenant Narrent, and Sergeant-Major King were killed. The total loss is reported at fifteen killed, forty wounded, and thirty prisoners. The loss of the enemy is not known, but could not have been less.

BATTLE OF CARNIFEX FERRY.

SEPTEMBER 10, 1861.

More than a month had now elapsed since General Rosecranz had been entrusted with the Federal command in Western Virginia, and the commanders of the hostile forces had been intently watching the movements of the opposing armies, anxious for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow.

From his headquarters at Clarksburg, General Rosecranz moved forward to resume active operations, and at two principal points the enemy prepared to give him battle. The popular impression was that he intended to attack General Lee, at Cheat Mountain Gap, his nearest and most accessible opponent, then held in check by General Reynolds. Floyd had been permitted to cross the mountains at Summersville, and was known to be then in the Kanawha region, some eighty or a hundred miles distant, where it was the intention of the Federal commander to seek him. It was not until Monday, the 9th of September, that the General reached Birch river, where he concentrated his force, drawn from various encampments, and which had marched in detached bodies to the rendezvous appointed. After leaving the valley of the Big Birch the route lay through a mountainous and densely wooded country, infested with guerrillas, who gave them much annoyance; and as no reliable guide accompanied the army, Rosecranz was obliged to rely chiefly upon the inhabitants for information of the geographical and topographical features of the country. The position of Floyd’s forces was also unknown to him, and it was not until he had reached Cross Lanes, eight miles from Summersville, that he received reliable information that the enemy was strongly posted somewhere in the range of hills that line either side of the Gauley river, immediately facing that village. Floyd was known to be advised of the approach of the Federal army, as his scouts and skirmishers had been encountered frequently on the previous day, and it was the plan of Rosecranz to carefully reconnoitre the position of the enemy before advancing any considerable force within range of his guns; but the eager and importunate requests of various officers, as well as the impetuosity of the men, urged him forward.

Colonel McCook was first sent with a squadron of Chicago cavalry to Carnifex ferry, by a road which led through ravines to the Gauley river. In an attempt to destroy a boat found here he was fired upon by the enemy, who were out of range of the carbines of the cavalry. To overcome this opposition, he dispatched a man asking that _ten_ infantry should be sent to his aid. By some mistake the whole of Colonel Lytle’s Tenth Ohio, an Irish regiment, came hurrying down, eager for a fight, and opened fire on the woods on the opposite side that speedily banished the enemy. Colonel Lytle’s regiment continued in the advance, acting as skirmishers, and shortly drove in a detachment of the rebels from an exposed camp on the left, of the road. This road was very narrow, and shut in to the very wagon tracks with the jungle of underbrush.

General Rosecranz, who was still ignorant of the precise position of the enemy, or of the nature of his entrenchments, now sent orders to General Benham that Lytle should proceed down this road to make a reconnoissance, to be supported, if necessary, by the remainder of Benham’s brigade. Lytle was still a mile in advance of the rest of the brigade, pushing cautiously forward, with companies A, B, C and E, as skirmishers. They suddenly found themselves in front of some kind of fortification, and the enemy discovered them at the same time. At first there was sharp and scattered firing, when suddenly a terrific crash of musketry was followed by a storm of bullets. The enemy had opened along his whole front. The remainder of the Tenth was hurried forward to support the advance, and General Benham sent orders for the Thirteenth, Colonel Smith, and the Twelfth, Colonel Lowe, to come forward. The Federal troops stood their ground with the greatest heroism, in the face of a heavy battery. The firing on either side was not effective; and though the Tenth suffered severely, the loss was not great.

The Thirteenth, Colonel Smith, came in on the left, a little in the rear of the Tenth, and deploying towards Floyd’s right, opened in fine style. In the thickest of the firing, Colonel Lytle dashed forward in front of the enemy’s works, leading several companies, and as they left the cover of the woods, he received a severe wound. The ball which disabled him also wounded his horse, who dashed his rider to the ground, and in his death agony plunged over the parapet into the enemy’s works. Colonel Lytle was carried to a house near by, and lay in great pain, within hearing of the contest he was unable to share. The Tenth, discouraged and embarrassed by the loss of their leader, became somewhat scattered in the woods, but held their position and kept up a steady fire.