The Greater Republic Part 45

At the best, however, the night must pa.s.s before help could arrive, and it need not be said that the hours were long and anxious ones to the troopers hiding in the woods, with the Federal camp-fires burning on every side, and the men moving about and likely to come among them at any moment. They were so close, indeed, that their laughter and conversation were plainly heard.

The alert hors.e.m.e.n suddenly observed two Union officers coming toward them. Their careless manner showed they had no thought of danger, and they were strolling along, when several dark figures sprang up from the ground, shoved their pistols in their faces, and warned them if they made the least outcry they would be instantly shot. The prisoners saw the shadowy forms all around them, and were sensible enough to submit and give no trouble. The night gradually wore away, and just as it was growing light, and while the Union division on the heights of Cedar Run, where they were posted to protect the rear of General Warren, were preparing breakfast, they were alarmed by the firing of musketry from the advance of a Confederate column coming up the Warrenton road.

"That means that Uncle Bob has sent us help!" was the gratified exclamation of Stuart to his delighted friends; "we must take a hand in this business."

The cavalry opened fire on the Union lines, which were thrown into some confusion, during which Stuart limbered up his guns and quickly rejoined Ewell.

STONEMAN'S RAID.

As has been stated, General Hooker at the opening of the battle of Chancellorsville was confident that he was going to defeat Lee. In order to cut off his retreat, he sent General Stoneman, with 2,300 cavalry, on April 28th, to the rear of the Confederate army. Stoneman crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, where his force was divided. One-half, led by General Averill, headed for the Orange Railroad, a little way above Culpeper, then occupied by Fitzhugh Lee, with a force of 500 men. He was attacked with such vigor that he hurriedly retreated across the Rapidan, burning the bridges behind him. Averill, instead of pursuing, turned about and made his way back to Hooker, in time to accompany him in his retreat to the northern bank of the Rappahannock.

Meanwhile, Stoneman crossed the Rapidan on the 1st of May, and galloped to Louisa Station, on the Virginia Central Railroad, a dozen miles to the east of Gordonsville. There he paused and sent out several detachments, which wrought a great deal of mischief. One of them advanced to Ashland, only fifteen miles from Richmond, while another went still closer to the Confederate capital. These bodies of troopers caused much alarm, and a general converging of the enemy's cavalry caused Stoneman to start on his return, May 6th. For a time he was in great danger, but his men were excellently mounted, and, by hard riding, they effected a safe escape along the north bank of the Pamunkey and York Rivers, and rejoined their friends at Gloucester.

GRIERSON'S RAID.

During the siege of Vicksburg a daring raid was made in the rear of the city by Colonel B.H. Grierson. In this instance his work was of great help to General Grant, for he destroyed the Confederate lines of communication, and checked the gathering of reinforcements for Pemberton. Grierson, who conceived the plan of the raid, left La Grange on the 17th of April with three regiments of cavalry. After crossing the Tallahatchie, he rode south to the Macon and Corinth Railroad, where the rails were torn up, telegraph lines cut, and bridges and other property destroyed. To do the work thoroughly detachments were sent in different directions, and they spared nothing.

Grierson now changed his course to the southwest, seized the bridge over Pearl River, burned a large number of locomotives, and forced his way through a wild country to Baton Rouge, which he found in the possession of Unionists. He had been engaged for a fortnight on his raid, during which he destroyed an immense amount of property, captured several towns, fought several sharp skirmishes, and carried off many prisoners.

John S. Mosby was the most daring Confederate raider in the East. Some of his exploits and escapes were remarkable, and an account of them would fill a volume with thrilling incidents. General Lee did not look with favor on such irregular work, but accepted it as one of the accompaniments of war, and it cannot be denied that Mosby gave him valuable help in more than one instance.

MORGAN'S RAID.

John H. Morgan was famous in the southwest as a raider and guerrilla. At the beginning of July, 1863, he seized Columbia, near Jamestown, Kentucky, and advanced against Colonel Moore at Greenbrier Bridge. His reception was so hot that he was obliged to retreat, whereupon he attacked Lebanon, where there was considerable vicious fighting in the streets. One of Morgan's regiments was commanded by his brother, who was killed. The incensed leader set fire to the houses, and, although the defenders surrendered, the place was sacked. Then the invaders retreated before the Union cavalry who were advancing against them. Their course was through Northern Kentucky, where they plundered right and left, and spread dismay on every hand.

Reckless and encouraged by their successes, they now swam their horses over the Ohio River, and, entering Indiana, gave that State its first experience in war. The local militia were called out, but the experienced cavalry easily brushed them aside. They knew, however, it would be different when they met the regular Union cavalry who were riding hard after them. To escape them, Morgan started for western Virginia. When he entered Ohio, the State was terrified, and even Cincinnati trembled, but the raiders had no thought of stopping until they readied western Virginia, where they would be safe.

The telegraph had carried the news of Morgan's movements everywhere, and the determination was general that he should not be allowed to escape from the entanglements in which he and his men had involved themselves.

The militia guarded all the fords of the Ohio; gunboats steamed back and forth; the roads were blocked by felled trees, and everything possible was done to obstruct the band, who were so laden with plunder that their exhausted animals had to proceed slowly.

It is stated by credible witnesses, who saw the formidable company riding along the highway when hard pressed, that nearly every man in the saddle was sound asleep. They dared not make any extended halt through fear of their pursuers, and when they did pause it was because of their drooping animals.

Reaching the Ohio at last, Morgan planted his field guns near Buffington Island, with the view of protecting his men while they swam the river.

Before he could bring them into use, a gunboat knocked the pieces right and left like so many tenpins. Abandoning the place, Morgan made the attempt to cross at Belleville, but was again frustrated. It was now evident that the time had come when each must lookout for himself.

Accordingly, the band broke up and scattered. Their pursuers picked them up one by one, and Morgan himself and a few of his men were surrounded near New Lisbon, Ohio, and compelled to surrender. He and his princ.i.p.al officers were sentenced to the Ohio penitentiary, where they were kept in close confinement until November 27th, when through the a.s.sistance of friends (some of whom were probably within the prison), he and six officers effected their escape, and succeeded in reaching the Confederate lines, where they were soon at their characteristic work again.

Morgan was a raider by nature, but, as is often the case, the "pitcher went to the fountain once too often." While engaged upon one of his raids the following year he was cornered by the Federal cavalry, and in the fight that followed was shot dead.

Far below these men in moral character were such guerrillas as Quantrell, who were simply plunderers, a.s.sa.s.sins, and murderers, who carried on their execrable work through innate depravity, rather than from any wish to help the side with which they identified themselves.

Most of them soon ran their brief course, and died, as they had lived, by violence.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ADMINISTRATION OF LINCOLN (CONCLUDED), 1861-1865.

WAR FOR THE UNION (CONCLUDED), 1864-1865.

The Work Remaining to be Done--General Grant Placed in Command of all the Union Armies--The Grand Campaign--Banks' Disastrous Red River Expedition--How the Union Fleet was Saved--Capture of Mobile by Admiral Farragut--The Confederate Cruisers--Destruction of the _Alabama_ by the _Kearsarge_--Fate of the Other Confederate Cruisers--Destruction of the _Albemarle_ by Lieutenant William B. Cushing--Re-election of President Lincoln--Distress in the South and Prosperity in the North--The Union Prisoners in the South--Admission of Nevada--The Confederate Raids from Canada--Sherman's Advance to Atlanta--Fall of Atlanta--Hood's Vain Attempt to Relieve Georgia--Superb Success of General Thomas--"Marching Through Georgia"--Sherman's Christmas Gift to President Lincoln--Opening of Grant's Final Campaign--Battles in the Wilderness--Wounding of General Longstreet and Deaths of General Stuart and Sedgwick--Grant's Flanking Movements Against Lee--A Disastrous Repulse at Cold Harbor--Defeat of Sigel and Hunter in the Shenandoah Valley --"Bottling-up" of Butler--Explosions of the Petersburg Mine--Early's Raids--His Final Defeat by Sheridan--Grant's Campaign--Surrender of Lee--a.s.sa.s.sination of President Lincoln--Death of Booth and Punishment of the Conspirators--Surrender of Jo Johnston and Collapse of the Southern Confederacy--Capture of Jefferson Davis--His Release and Death--Statistics of the Civil War--A Characteristic Anecdote.

THE WORK TO BE DONE.

Two grand campaigns remained to be prosecuted to a successful conclusion before the great Civil War could be ended and the Union restored. The first and most important was that of General Grant against Richmond, or, more properly, against Lee, who was still at the head of the unconquered Army of Northern Virginia, and who must be overcome before the Confederate capital could fall. The second was the campaign of General Sherman, through the heart of the Southern Confederacy. Other interesting and decisive operations were to be pressed, but all were contributory to the two great ones mentioned.

Several momentous truths had forced themselves upon the national government. It had learned to comprehend the magnitude of the struggle before it. Had the North and South possessed equal resources and the same number of troops, the latter could not have been conquered any more than the North could have been defeated had the situation been reversed.

But the North possessed men, wealth, and resources immensely beyond those of the South. The war had made the South an armed camp, with privation and suffering everywhere, while in the North a person might have traveled for days and weeks without suspecting that a domestic war was in progress. It was necessary to overwhelm the South, and the North had not only the ability to do so, but was resolved that it should be done. Its estimates were made on the basis of an army of a million men.

Large bounties were offered for soldiers, and, when these did not provide all that was needed, drafting was resorted to. There had been rioting and disorder in New York City and other places during the summer of 1863, when there was a vicious revolt against drafting, but the government persisted and obtained the men it needed.

THE RIGHT LEADER.

Another proven fact was that the war could not be successfully prosecuted by a bureau in Washington. This attempt at the beginning had brought disaster; but the excuse for this interference was that the right leaders had not yet appeared. General after general was tried at the head of the armies, and had either failed or come short of the expected success. The events of 1863, however, indicated unerringly the right men to whom the destinies of the nation could be safely intrusted.

Foremost among these was General Ulysses S. Grant. With that genius of common sense, which always actuated President Lincoln, he nominated him to the rank of lieutenant-general, the grade of which was revived by Congress in February, 1864, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on the 2d of March. In obedience to a summons from Washington, Grant left Nashville on the 4th of the month, arrived on the 9th, and President Lincoln handed him his commission on the following day.

"I don't know what your plans are, general," said the President, "nor do I ask to know them. You have demonstrated your ability to end this war, and the country expects you to do it. Go ahead, and you may count upon my unfaltering support."

Grant modestly accepted the tremendous responsibility, which placed him in command of all the armies of the United States, and he established his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac at Culpeper, Va., March 26, 1864.

THE GRAND CAMPAIGN.

The plan of campaign determined upon by Grant was to concentrate all the national forces into a few distinct armies, which should advance on the same day against the opposing Confederate armies, and, by fighting incessantly, prevent any one of them from reinforcing the other. The armies of the enemy were themselves to be the objective points, and they were to be given no time for rest. Sherman was to advance from Atlanta against Johnston, who had an army larger in numbers than that of Lee; Banks' army, as soon as it could be withdrawn from the disastrous Red River expedition, was to act against Mobile; Sigel was to pa.s.s down the valley of Virginia and prevent the enemy from making annoying raids from that quarter; Butler was to ascend the James and threaten Richmond; and, finally, the Army of the Potomac, under the immediate command of Meade, was to protect Washington, and essay the most herculean task of all--the conquest of Lee and his army.

Orders were issued by Grant for a general movement of all the national forces on the 4th of May. Since they were so numerous, and began nearly at the same time, it is necessary to give the particulars of each in turn, reserving that of the most important--Grant's own--for the last.

BANKS' RED RIVER EXPEDITION.

One of the most discreditable affairs of the war was what is known as Banks' Red River Expedition. That officer was in command at New Orleans, when it was decided to send a strong force up the Red River, in quest of the immense quant.i.ties of cotton stored in that region, though the ostensible object was the capture of Shreveport, Louisiana, 350 miles above New Orleans, and the capital of the State.

The plan was for the army to advance in three columns, supported by Admiral Porter with a fleet, which was to force a pa.s.sage up the Red River. General A.J. Smith was to march from Vicksburg, with the first division of the army, which numbered 10,000 men; Banks was to lead the second from New Orleans, and Steele the third from Little Rock.

General Edmund Kirby Smith was the Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department. Although he had fewer men than the invaders, he prepared for a vigorous resistance. He sent Generals Price and Marmaduke to hara.s.s Steele, directed General d.i.c.k Taylor to obstruct the Red River as much as he could, while he made ready to make the best fight possible.

Fifty miles above the mouth of the Red River stood Fort de Russy, which, although considerably strengthened, was carried by a.s.sault, March 13th.

On the 15th, Porter's twelve gunboats and thirty transports joined Franklin at Alexandria. The Federal cavalry occupied Natchitoches, on the last day of the month, and in the van of the army; they arrived at Mansfield on the 8th of April, several days after Admiral Porter had reached Grand Ech.o.r.e on the Red River.

Meanwhile, the Confederate General d.i.c.k Taylor kept fighting and falling back before the Union advance, but he was continually reinforced, until he felt strong enough to offer the Federals battle. This took place on the 8th, a short distance from Mansfield. The a.s.sault was made with vehemence, and the Union troops, who were straggling along for miles, were taken by surprise and driven into headlong panic, leaving their artillery behind, and not stopping their flight until under the protection of the guns of the Nineteenth Corps. Then a stand was made, and Banks fell back to his old camping ground at Pleasant Hill. His intention was to remain there, but his command was so disorganized that he continued his flight. The Confederates had already chased them so long that they were worn out, while Banks continued retreating until he reached Grand Ech.o.r.e, where he breathed freely for the first time, since he had the protection of the gunboats.

Disgraceful as was the overthrow of the land forces, a still greater disaster threatened the fleet. Porter had gone further up the river, but returned to Grand Ech.o.r.e upon learning of the defeat of Banks. He had to sweep the sh.o.r.es continually with grapeshot, to clear it of the Confederate sharpshooters, who succeeded in capturing two of the transports and blowing up another with a torpedo. The Red River was low, with the water falling hourly. The retreating army reached Alexandria on the 27th of April, but the fleet was stopped by the shallowness of the water above the falls, and the officers despaired of saving it. The only possible recourse seemed to destroy all the vessels to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy.

HOW THE UNION FLEET WAS SAVED.