From Fort Henry to Corinth Part 8

Heavy rain fell again Monday night. Next morning General Grant sent General Sherman with his two brigades, and General Wood with his division and the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, in pursuit. The miry road was lined with abandoned wagons, limber-boxes, and with hospitals filled with wounded. The advance was suddenly fallen upon by Forrest and his cavalry, and driven back in confusion. Forrest coming upon the main column retired, and was pursued in turn. General Sherman advanced about a mile farther, and returned to camp. Breckenridge remained at Mickey's three days, guarding the rear, and by the end of the week Beauregard's army was again in Corinth. The battle sobered both armies. The force at Pittsburg Landing saw rudely dashed aside the expectation of speedy entry into Corinth. The force at Corinth, that marched out to drive Grant into the river, to scatter Buell's force in detail, and return in triumph to Nashville, was back in the old quarters, foiled, disheartened.

CHAPTER VIII.

CORINTH.

When news of the two days' fighting was received at the North, the people of the Ohio Valley and St. Louis were stirred to active sympathy.

Steamboats bearing physicians, nurses, sisters of charity, and freighted with hospital supplies were at once despatched and soon crowded the sh.o.r.e of Pittsburg Landing. There was need for all the aid that was brought. Besides the thousands of wounded, were other thousands of sick.

The springs of surface water used in the camps, always unwholesome, were now poisonous. The well lost their strength; of the sick many died every day. Hospital camps spread over the hills about the landing, and the little town of Savannah was turned into a hospital. Fleets descended the river bearing invalids to purer air and water.

General Halleck arrived at the landing on April 11th, established his headquarters near the river bluff, and a.s.sumed personal command. General Pope, with the Army of the Mississippi, summoned from the operations just begun before Fort Pillow, arrived on the 21st, and went into camp at Hamburg. Seasoned troops from Missouri and fresh regiments from recruiting depots arrived. The camps were pushed out farther from the river, and Halleck found 100,000 effective men under his command. The army was organized into right wing, centre, left wing, and reserve. The right wing comprised all the army of the Tennessee except the divisions of McClernand and Lewis Wallace, together with the division of General Thomas from the army of the Ohio, and was commanded by General Thomas.

The remnants of the commands of Prentiss and W.H.L. Wallace were incorporated in two new divisions. The centre, composed of the Army of the Ohio, except Thomas' division, was commanded by General Buell. The left wing, the Army of the Mississippi, to which General Granger's cavalry division was still attached, was commanded by General Pope.

General Pope, General Rosecrans having been a.s.signed to him for duty, divided his command on May 29th into two wings, the right commanded by General Rosecrans, the left by General Hamilton. The reserve, under General McClernand, comprised his division and that of Lewis Wallace.

General Grant was appointed second in command, without command or duty attached to that position, though he still remained commander of the District of West Tennessee.

Beauregard was reinforced, almost immediately after his return, by Van Dorn with 17,000 troops seasoned by campaigns in Missouri and Arkansas, raising his effective strength to 50,000. The Confederate Government at Richmond and the State governments in the Southwest strained every resource to increase his force. Unimportant posts were denuded of their garrisons, new regiments were recruited, and Price, of Missouri, whom the Government at Richmond had refused to recognize, was appointed major-general. Beauregard found his force amount on the muster-rolls to an aggregate of more than 112,000. But sickness and absence were so prevalent that the return of effectives never quite reached 53,000. The position at Corinth was naturally strong. Standing on a long ridge in the fork of two streams, which run parallel to each other nearly to their junction, protected on the front and both flanks by swampy valleys traversed by the streams and obstructed by dense thickets, a line of earthworks running along the crest of the highland bordering the valleys, it could be approached with difficulty. The difficulty was enhanced by a belt of timber which screened the works from view.

Railroads coming into the town facilitated reinforcement and supply.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Approach to Corinth.]

Beauregard kept strong parties well advanced to his front, while the National force at the river, absorbed in the work of organization and supply, made little effort to ascertain his position. As late as April 27th, a reconnoitering party sent out by McClernand discovered that Monterey, twelve miles from the landing, was held in some force. Next day General Stanley, of Pope's command, sent out a detachment that drove this force beyond Monterey. General Halleck began his march about the close of April, moving slowly, keeping his army compact, intrenching at every halt, and ordering his subordinate commanders strictly to refuse to be drawn into a general engagement. The right wing halted and intrenched immediately beyond and to the west of Monterey on May 4th.

The enemy's outposts kept close in front of Halleck's army and opposed every advance.

General Pope, moving out on the left from Hamburg, stretched in advance of the adjoining part of the line. On May 3d, his command being encamped with Seven Mile Creek in his front, General Paine, with his division, pushed forward to Farmington, within four miles of Corinth, attacked a considerable force and drove them from their intrenchments, compelling them to leave their dead, as well as their tents and baggage, behind.

Next day Pope advanced his entire force within a mile and a half of Farmington, but had to return next day to his former position behind Seven Mile Creek, to keep up his connection with Buell. On the 8th, he again moved his whole force to Farmington, and pushed two divisions on separate roads almost up the intrenchments at Corinth; but was again informed that the army to his right was not ready to advance. One brigade was still kept as advanced guard at Farmington. On the 9th, a heavy force from Corinth emerged from the timber just as Plummer's brigade, then on post, was being relieved by Palmer's. The two brigades met the attack briskly and a severe combat ensued. Pope's army was within a mile and a half behind the creek, but forbidden by Halleck's order to cross. To prevent a general engagement, the two brigades were withdrawn. It was not till after May 20th that Pope finally occupied Farmington with Buell's line.

Observing indications on the night of the 26th, he next day advanced, and connecting with his right, sent Colonel W.L. Elliot, of the Second Iowa Cavalry, with his own regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel E.

Hatch, and the Second Michigan Cavalry, commanded by Colonel P.H.

Sheridan, who was only a.s.signed to the regiment that day, to make a circuit around Corinth and strike the railroad forty miles in its rear, doing all practicable destruction to it. Next day, the 28th, Stanley's division was pushed far forward and after a sharp skirmish secured possession of a ridge directly upon the creek, in front of the enemy's works, which he at once fortified. Paine's division was moved out the same day and occupied on Stanley's left. The same day Buell advanced Nelson and Crittenden to the front on a line with Stanley.

General Thomas held Sherman on his extreme right, with his skirmishers extended out to sweep the Mobile & Ohio Railway.

After several successive advances, meeting more or less opposition, on May 17th, Sherman moved with his division--supported by Hurlbut--and with batteries, against a commanding position in his front, called Russell's, just two miles from the main entrenchments, held by a brigade. It was some time before he could get a position for his batteries. Resistance was more obstinate than at any previous encounter. But, finally, the point was carried, and was found to cover a sweep of open ground to the south, the direction toward Corinth, and the division entrenched. Beyond the open land--stretching southward from Russell's--and intervening woods was other open land, and still beyond, a rising ground, with a high wooded ridge behind it. On this rising ground was a loop-holed, double loghouse, having complete command of the open ground north of it. A force stationed here exceedingly annoyed Sherman's pickets. On the morning of the 27th he moved with his division and batteries, supported by Veatch's brigade, from Hurlbut, and John A.

Logan's brigade, from McClernand, quietly and unseen through the timber as near as practicable. Two of Silversparre's twenty-pounder Parrott guns were moved silently through the forest to a point behind a hill, from the top of which could be seen the house and ground to be contested. The guns were unlimbered, loaded, and moved by hand to the crest. A quick rapid fire demolished the house. The infantry dashed forward, drove the enemy from the ridge across a field and into a thick forest beyond. In the afternoon the repulsed troops suddenly reappeared, but after a short contest they were again driven. The advanced position thus carried was at once intrenched. The intervening forest concealed from Sherman the fact that, though he was more than three miles from the town, he was now less than a mile from the main defences of Corinth, that he was between the creeks, and there was no obstruction but the forest between him and the works. Next day General Thomas advanced the rest of his command, wheeling it to the right so as to bring the whole upon the bank of the creek, which flowed between him and Corinth. This advance brought his left division, T.W. Sherman, within half a mile of the main entrenchments, but separated from them by the swampy valley.

The same day Buell advanced McCook to connect with T.W. Sherman. Halleck had been a month gaining with his 100,000 men a few miles, but he was now closing in upon Corinth.

Beauregard, though contesting pertinaciously every advance, had already began his evacuation. Detailed instructions, regulating the evacuation and the subsequent march of the troops, were issued on the 26th and 27th, and three o'clock A.M. of the 29th was appointed for the time. On the 28th an order was issued postponing the movement till the morning of the 30th, to gain more time for removing stores. On the 29th the final order was issued, which required, among other precautions to hide the movement, "whenever the railroad-engine whistles during the night, near the intrenchments, the troops in the vicinity will cheer repeatedly, as though reinforcements had been received." The sick and wounded were sent off by railway, as was the heavy artillery. All valuable stores were carried off; though considerable quant.i.ties of stores of all kinds--commissary, quartermaster, and ordnance--were neither removed nor destroyed. Elliot, with his cavalry, struck the railroad at Booneville before daylight of the 30th, destroyed there a locomotive, twenty-five box-cars loaded with ordnance, ammunition, and quartermaster stores, one or two platform-cars with field-pieces, a depot building filled with ordnance stores, tore up the track and destroyed two culverts, and returned to Farmington, having prevented the further use of that railway for the purposes of evacuation.

General Pope, hearing the engines whistling and men cheering after midnight, understood it as Beauregard intended--to show the arrival of reinforcements. But skirmishers were sent forward to ascertain, if practicable, the fact. Trains were heard leaving, and, at six o'clock, explosions, followed by clouds of smoke, satisfied both him and Sherman that Beauregard was leaving. By eight o'clock, his advance had felt their way through the intrenchments and marched into town. Sherman, having farther to go, was but little later in entering.

Pope's army moved at once in pursuit along the roads leading south--Rosecrans in front, Hamilton following, and Granger with the cavalry keeping in advance. Two divisions from Thomas' command, Davies and T.W. Sherman, were added to the pursuing column. The pursuit developed the fact that Beauregard, or a large part of his force, halted at Baldwin, fifty miles south of Corinth, in an inaccessible position behind swamp and jungle, while his line extended to the northwest, to Blackland, an approachable point west of the railroad. Pope had made all preparations to attack at Blackland and issued the order, when Buell arrived at the front and suspended the attack. Beauregard retreated farther and the pursuing force returned to Corinth.

General Pope, while detained a few days at Danville, by illness, was continually receiving despatches from his officers at the front, and telegraphing them or their substance to General Halleck, at Corinth, a few miles off. General Granger said in one despatch there were ten thousand stragglers from the retreating army in the woods, all of whom would come in and surrender. All knew the woods were full of stragglers, and it was generally believed that General Granger's estimate of their number and intentions was reasonable. Pope, condensing into one, despatches received from Rosecrans, Hamilton, and Granger, telegraphed to Halleck, "The two divisions in the advance under Rosecrans are slowly and cautiously advancing on Baldwin this morning, with the cavalry on both flanks. Hamilton, with two divisions, is at Rienzi, and between there and Booneville, ready to move forward, should they be needed. One brigade from the reserve occupies Danville. Rosecrans reports this morning that the enemy has retreated from Baldwin, but he is advancing cautiously. The woods, for miles, are full of stragglers from the enemy, who are coming in in squads. Not less than ten thousand men are thus scattered about, who will come in within a day or two." General Halleck despatched to the War Department "General Pope, with 40,000 men, is thirty miles south of Corinth, pushing the enemy hard. He already reports 10,000 prisoners and deserters from the enemy, and 15,000 stand of arms captured." This despatch of General Halleck's made a great sensation. The expectation that the stragglers would come into the National camp was disappointed; the prisoners taken were few, and Pope was censured for making a statement of fact which he neither made nor authorized.

Fort Pillow was abandoned June 1st. On June 6th, Admiral Davis, who had succeeded Commodore Foote, destroyed the Confederate fleet in front of Memphis after an engagement of an hour and a half. The same day, the two regiments that Pope left with the fleet, entered the city. The objects proposed in the spring were accomplished, though not in the manner designed. The railway connection at Corinth was broken, though not by a mere dash from the river. Fort Pillow was possessed, Memphis was occupied, and the Mississippi open to Vicksburg. The volunteers had been through a hard military school. After their experience in fighting, they had practice in the slow advance to Corinth, in picket duty and field fortification. They had learned something of the business of war and were now ready for campaign, battle, and siege.

END.