USA > Indiana > History of the Forty-sixth regiment Indiana volunteer infantry : September, 1861-September, 1865 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
18. Fifteen miles to Vermillion bayou.
19. To Camp Fair View, near Grand Choteau, eighteen miles.
20. Eighteen miles to a point two miles beyond Washington. Camped on Bayou Cortableaux.
21. In camp.
=
86
THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
22. Sixteen miles and camped on Bayou Beof.
23. Still on Bayou Beof. Twenty-three miles.
24. Fourteen miles. Camped near a saw-mill.
25. Fourteen miles. Camped on a rebel captain's plantation ..
26. Six miles beyond Alexandria, on the Bayou Rapids.
27. In camp. The cavalry routed the enemy and captured. some prisoners.
28. Eighteen miles on the Bayou Rapids.
29. Fifteen miles. Encamped on Big Cane.
30. In camp.
31. Sixteen miles, on Little Cain.
April 1. To Natchitoches, twenty-two miles.
2 to 5. In camp, in rear of town.
6. Fifteen miles, to Oak Bottoms.
7. To Pleasant Hill, twenty miles.
8. Fifteen miles, to Sabine Cross Roads.
On leaving Algiers, all superfluous and considerable necessary- baggage was left. The regiment traveled lighter than ever before. The men had no tents, and were expected to make shelter with their ponchoes and blankets. It was not many days before even those articles were thrown away.
On the mareh toward Alexandria the route laid over the same. road already twice traveled by the Forty-sixth. This mareh was enlivened by frequent attacks by the rebels, and the knowledge- that a serious battle would be fought.
At many points on the road where it was supposed it might . occur, the promised "veteran furlough" was looked for. At Natchitoches hope fied, and the subject was dropped.
On the night of the 7th of April, 1864, the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Corps encamped at Pleasant Hill, nineteen miles from Mansfield, or Sabine Cross Roads. The cavalry near this point overtook the rebel rear guard, under General Green, and after a brief skirmish drove the rebels forward, killing thirty and wound- ing sixty men, General Lee's loss being twenty killed and fifty wounded. The cavalry then moved on about six miles, and went into camp. The infantry force mentioned was well concentrated and in high spirits. The baggage and supply trains were well up, and the artillery was conveniently parked. Long lines of camp. fires gleamed brightly through the thick pine forest. Groups of dusty men with high hopes sang patriotic songs around blazing pine faggots, while others reposed on the soft carpet of leaves,.
87
SABINE CROSS ROADS.
dreaming of home and those who were there watching for their return, little thinking that the next night would find them hurry- ing to the same spot, broken and scattered, with many lying stiff in death, or, with mangled limbs, in the hands of a heartless and exasperated foe. A happy, joyous night was soon to be turned to a day of mourning.
On the Sth, the sun rose bright in a cloudless sky, ushering in a beautiful but to the Union army a disastrous day. At 5 o'clock, the Fourth Division of the Thirteenth Army Corps, com- manded by Colonel Landrum, of the Nineteenth Kentucky, moved forward to support the cavalry. At 6 o'clock the Third Division, under General R. A. Cameron, numbering, exclusive of train guards, about 1,200 men, followed. After this force came the supply trains of the Thirteenth Corps.
At 7 o'clock, General Emory, with one division of the Nine- teenth Corps, followed by the remaining trains of the army, moved out. The remainder of the Nineteenth Corps, which was the bulk of the army present, followed under Major General Franklin. The train numbered over 600 wagons, of which those of the gener- al's staff formed no inconsiderable portion.
The road over which this enormous train was to pass was a narrow, tortuous passage, through a dense pine forest -- so narrow in many places that a single horseman could scarcely pass the mov- ing wagons. The rear guard of the army did not get away until after 12 o'clock. At this time the Sixteenth Corps, under General A. J. Smith, was on the road from Grand Ecore, where it had dis- embarked from boats.
. About 7 o'clock the cavalry discovered the enemy, about 5,000 strong, posted on a deep bayou, eight miles from Pleasant Hill -- a position chosen for the advantage which it gave to them. A brisk skirmish ensued -on our side principally with carbines, our cavalry being dismounted. The Fourth Division was hurried forward and the enemy soon dislodged and driven back. The contest here was brief but fieree. The enemy fell back slowly, stubbornly contesting the ground, closely pursued by the cavalry and the small body of infantry. A running fight was kept up for a distance of eight miles, when, at 2 o'clock, the enemy, after passing a plantation of 600 acres, made a determined stand. A council of war was now held, at which were General Banks and all the general officers. It was proposed to go into camp, issue rations and give the Sixteenth and Nineteenth Corps time to get up, and
.
.
88
THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
be prepared on the next morning to fight the battle that now appeared inevitable. This wise proposition was overruled, and General Lee was ordered to push the enemy. It was argued that the enemy was not in force in front, that it was nothing but the foree that had been opposing the expedition the day or two previous, and that the cavalry, supported by the infantry then up, was sufficient for the work.
During this halt the Third Division had moved up to within four miles of the scene of action. While the consultation was going on, it was ordered to go into camp. It remained at this point about two hours, when General Cameron received orders to move at onee to the front.
By this time the battle raged furiously. It was found that the entire rebel army was in position behind hastily constructed works of logs. The cavalry bad broken and fallen baek in disorder. The cavalry train had been halted in the road, blocking it up against the advance of artillery and preventing the mass of retreat- ing horsemen from escaping, except through the lines of infantry. The Fourth Division fought with desperation. The rebel lines were forced, only to be reformed. It had to oppose the entire rebel army, and the struggle was decided by numbers. Only 1,800 men, with a very small portion of the cavalry, were engaged on the Union side in this contest.
The Federal lines being comparatively short, the extended lines of the enemy were enabled to close around this small force, and the retreat of a large portion was cut off. The cavalry retreated, leaving infantry, artillery and ammunition train at the merey of the enemy. The infantry cut through, only to find itself again surrounded. The ammunition, after two hours' hard fighting, was exhausted, and a surrender was inevitable.
Such was the condition of affairs when General Cameron arrived on the ground with the Third Division, numbering not over twelve hundred men. Line of battle was immediately formed with the First Brigade, composed of the Forty-sixth Indiana and five companies of the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, under Lieutenant Colonel A. M. Flory, on the right, and the Second Brigade, com- posed of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-eighth Iowa, and the Fifty-sixth Ohio, under Colonel Raynor, on the left. The position of the division was on the edge of a wood, with an open plantation in front. It was about three-fourths of a mile aeross, with noth- ing to obstruet the view except an occasional swell of the ground.
89
SABINE CROSS ROADS.
The width of this open space was more than thrice the length of the front of the Third Division, now the only troops left to con- front the enemy.
The rebels, elated with their success, came pouring over the clearing in successive lines and closely massed columns. They were permitted to come within close rifle range before the Third Division opened upon them. The Federal position was such that, concealed behind logs and fences, it could not be located by the rebels, giving an unusually fine opportunity for deliberate aim. A deadly volley broke forth from the whole line, breaking the rebel ranks, hurling them back in confusion, and leaving the ground strewn with their dead and wounded. The rattle of the deadly rifle was unceasing, and the rebel slaughter terrible.
The enemy rapidly retreated, but again formed heavier lines with fresh troops. Now was the time for the Nineteenth Corps to have been brought up, and, forming on the right and left, prevented the flanking by the enemy, through which they gained their victory. But that was not the arrangement. The Nineteenth Corps was four miles in the rear, in camp, and could not be brought up until the Third, like the Fourth Division, had been sacrificed.
The rebel lines, numbering not less than 8,000, advanced again and again, but could not maintain themselves. Each time they were driven back by this little force of 1,200.
Another but a feebler demonstration was made on the front by a small portion of the enemy, while the bulk of the force, under cover of the woods on either side, passed around to the flanks and rear of the Federal lines. This closed the contest. The division 'was surrounded. It maintained the line, and endeavored to fall back; but the rebels, actually coming among the men, forced them to break, to enable the few that could escape, to do so. The men fought to the last moment, and continued firing until forced to cease by capture, or by the want of ammunition. The struggling division fought from tree to tree, pursued by the rebel cavalry for a mile and a half, when the Nineteenth Corps, coming up, saved the remnant not killed or captured.
The Nineteenth Corps drove back the rebels with considerable slaughter, and night coming on, the conflict ended for the day.
The cavalry train being in the road, blocked it completely. The pine woods were so thick that artillery could not be moved through them, so it was impossible to bring off the wagon, artillery and ambulance trains, which fell into the hands of the rebels. The
.
90
THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
cavalry train was heavily laden with commissary stores and officers" property, and furnished rich booty.
This was the battle of Mansfield, or Sabine Cross Roads, where an expedition fitted out without regard to expense, finely appointed in every necessary material, with an army never before defeated - men who had stood at Vieksburg, Jackson, Port Hudson and Baton Rouge-was defeated and destroyed with the loss of material inestimable, and a sacrifice of life terrible to contemplate, through a plan of battle which threw into the fight detachments of troops. only as fast as they could be destroyed. One of the great blunders of the war was committed here- one for which nobody, as yet, has. been called to account.
The loss of the Federal army at this battle was 600 killed and wounded, and 1,250 captured. The loss of the rebels, as taken from their official reports, was 3,100, of whom, ten days after, 1,000 were dead. Texas and Louisiana were in mourning for the calamity that fell upon them. Very many prominent officers were. killed. General Mouton, of Louisiana, and General Green, of Texas, the hope of the Confederacy (in that portion of it) were victims. Scarcely a company came out without the loss of all or nearly all of its commissioned officers, and the victory in every way was most dearly paid for.
The loss of the Forty-sixth regiment was as follows:
Company A .- Killed: Archibald Smock. Wounded: Cap -. tain William A. Pigman. Missing: David C. Murphy, Levi Can- ter, Lewis Canter, John W. Creson, John T. Rees, Horace Deyo .. Company B .- Killed: None. Wounded: Captain Frank Swigart, William HI. Guard. Missing: John W. Castle, John R. Cunningham, Joseph Davis, William H. Grant, George W. Oden,. Benjamin F. Shelley, Joshua P. Shields.
Company C .- Killed: George Lane and Robert Lewis.
Wounded: Joseph Henderson. Missing: William Bacom, Thomas S. Evans, Anthony Babanoe. George Huntsinger, Jacob Kashner, John Shepherd, Francis M. Speece.
Company D .- Killed: Jacob Cripliver. Wounded: John McTaggart, Michael J. Blue, Porter A. White, Terrence Dunn, Samuel W. Cree, Julius C. Jackson. Missing: Anthony A. Eskew, James HI. Gardner, Hiram Lumbard, George W. Nield, William. II. Small.
Company E .- Killed: None. Wounded: David Bishop. Missing: Ellis J. Hughes.
.
91.
6
SABINE CROSS ROADS.
Company F .- Wounded: George W. Yates. Missing: John Shaffer, George Huffman, Jonathan Hiney, Edward H. Berry,. James Coleman, Jacob Gates, Samuel Gable, James Hastings, John Meredith, Jacob Sell.
Company G .- Missing: Joseph Carr, Jacob Guess, Daniel Cronan, William R. Clouse, William Hayward, Allen White, James C. Chamberlain, Dennis Bagley.
Company H .-- Wounded: Thomas P. DeMoss, Johnson Lid- yard. Missing: Jasper N. Mullins, William Fahler, James Fisher, James Parsons, Daniel Garbison, Lawrence Hartleroad.
Company I .- Killed: George Schleh, Lieutenant Jacob Hud- low. Missing: Cyrus S. Peabody, John A. Wilson, Bradley Por- ter, John Hamilton, Amos Orput.
Company K .- Killed: Lieutenant John McClung, Thomas' Scott. Wounded: Jefferson Marshman. Missing: John M. Van- ineter, David C. Jenkins, Jesse Shamp, William Cook, Samuel Johnson, William Kreekbaum, Ambrose McVoke, George Moore, George Matthews, Elihu Shaffer, Ehnore Shelt, John Stallard.
Of the field and staff, Lieutenant Colonel A. M. Flory and Chaplain Hamilton Robb were missing. Captain William DeHart, of Company D, was also missing.
Recapitulation: Killed, seven; wounded, thirteen; missing, eighty-six.
That portion of the regiment not killed or captured made its. way back until the advance of the Nineteenth Corps was met. The lines were opened and the retreating mass passed through and. formed with or behind Franklin's lines, when the rebels were , checked and driven back.
On the 9th the entire army was in line of battle at Pleasant Ilill, fifteen miles from the battlefield of the 8th. The Sixteenth: Corps had reached that point from Grand Ecore. Here the rebels were whipped, and the entire army marched to Grand Ecore, which point was reached at noon on the 11th.
On April 12 the regiment went to work on intrenchments. Portions of the army straggling in.
13 and 14. Work on intrenchments. Reports of rebels- coming in. Bad news from the gunboats above.
15 to 21. Work on intrenchments. Rebels waiting and watching for the Federals to move. Fleet comes down. Ordered to march. Did so at 2.30 A. M., the 21st. Meanwhile the town caught fire. Marched until 2 o'clock, the morning of the 23d.
1 i
:92
THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
·
23. Started at 6 A. M. Reached Big Cain. The rebels were there, and attacked. the front and rear of the column. They were beaten off with great loss to them.
24. Left Big Cain at S A. Jr., and marched eighteen miles to 1
Bayou Rapids.
25. Eighteen miles, to within two miles of Alexandria. Hot and dusty.
26. In camp. Work on intrenchments.
27. First Division of the Thirteenth Army Corps arrived from Texas.
28. Ordered to attack the enemy. Did so and returned.
29 and 30. Working on the dam. Very hot. Forty-seventh Indiana arrived from home.
May 1. In line of battle all the time. Rebels get below, on the river, and threaten trouble.
2. Ordered to advance on the enemy. Skirmished all day. Rebels followed to camp and threw in shells. Transport "Emma" captured below and burned.
3. Very hot. In line of battle all day. Rebels threatening. Work on dam progressing.
4. Intrenching. Heavy firing down the river. The "City Bell," with the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio, captured. Boat burned and Colonels Mudd, Bassett and Speigle killed. Fifty-sixth Ohio start home on veteran furlough.
5. Met the rebels. Fought all day. Sharp shelling. Steamer " Warner," with Fifty-sixth Ohio, captured. Many of the regi- ment killed and wounded. Gunboats Eighteen and Twenty-five were burned. "Veteran furloughs" at a discount.
. 6. Skirmished nearly all day. Went five miles. Laid all night at Middle bayou.
7. Started early. Met the enemy at once. Skirmished all .day. Stopped at 5 r. M. at Bayou Rapids bridge. Drove the rebels across. A Major MeNeil, of Texas, was seen examining the piekets, and shot. There were found on him 8700 in Confederate money, and very important papers.
A mistake, or an omission, made at headquarters, came near landing the First Brigade into a rebel prison. General Cameron, commanding the division at the time, was at Alexandria, sick. He had gone back in the afternoon. At 10 o'clock at night orders came to fall back to Alexandria. General Cameron was not found, and it was never known to whom the orders were delivered.
93.
ALEXANDRIA.
Colonel Bringhurst was then the ranking officer, and should have received them, but at 11 o'clock he had not. Adjutant Watts. was sent out to discover the meaning of the artillery and several regiments retiring. He returned with the information that the Second Brigade and the artillery were falling back; that Lieutenant Funston, commandant of the ordinance train, was packing up and leaving, because of the impression that all were going back. The. colonel then led out the brigade, and the division got out without alarming the rebels. When near Alexandria, a courier was met, hurrying out to correet the mistake.
8 to 12. In line of battle at Middle bayou, keeping the rebels back, while the dam was being built. Constant attacks from the rebels. Heavy explosion at Alexandria.
13. Ordered to leave at sunrise. Started at 2.30 P. MI. Struck the river some miles below Alexandria after dark.
River crowded with boats. Their lights looked like those of a city. On both land and river the confusion was great. Appre- hensive that the rebels would follow immediately, the boat officers entangled the boats in their haste to start down. On the land the confusion arose from the difficulty in getting the corps and divisions in their proper places. Meanwhile, several conflagrations broke ont in the city.
14. Finally started at 6 A. M. Troops took the levee; the wagons the road. Halted at midnight. No time to cook. Build- ings burning along the road. Constant alarins from front and rear. Men exhausted.
15. Started at 7 A. M. Went a mile and a half by 3.30 P. M. , Attack on the rear. Rebels shell sharply and stood detenninedly. The head of the column built a bridge over Bayou Chotean. Again started at 5 p. M. Made twelve miles by 1.20 next morning. Road full of refugees. Many wagons burned.
16. Laid down in line of battle at 2 A. M. Ordered to march at 3. Started at 4. Met the enemy at 7. Their lines were a mile and a half long. The army was closed up and preparations made for battle.
Driving the rebels through Marksville, the lines passed over a plain. As a general engagement was expected, the entire Federal army was in line and in sight. Not less than 25,000 men -infantry, cavalry and artillery-were visible at onee. The cavalry on the front were dashing about, while lines of battle and columns of infantry, in support or reserve, and batteries, either in position or
'94
THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
getting into one, could be seen. On the front the artillery was pushed well out, and a short practice drove the rebels to their right. The Sixteenth Corps advanced rapidly on the left of our line, and turned the rebels back. The fight then rolled back to our line, but soon ceased with the retreat of the enemy. The rebels were driven to and through Mansura, a distance of four miles, where they disappeared. Meanwhile both towns had fires.
After a halt of an hour for lunch, the division was again on the road. At 2 o'clock five miles were made from Mansura, and the regiment went into eamp and slept on the bed of a bayou.
At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 17th, the division was again on the road, without breakfast. Halted at 7, and made coffee. An attack was made on the rear of the column, but repulsed. The Third Division marched beside the wagon train, with an African brigade in front. A dash was made by the rebels upon the train, ahead of the negroes. They pushed ahead, repulsed the attack, and killed two rebels. One negro was killed and two wounded, and it was said that a rebel captain killed both the wounded men.
Yellow bayou was reached in the afternoon. 'The trains were rclosed up, and haste was made to get the Thirteenth and Nine- teenth Corps over before dark. The rebels were close up and con- 'stantly firing. The two corps got over and went into camp.
Early on the 18th firing began on our pickets and outposts. The Sixteenth Corps had been left west of the bayon. General Mower's division was on the left, or the farthest west in the column. The rebel firing at 2 o'clock terminated in a determined charge by a heavy force. The rebels had twelve pieces of artillery and fought desperately. Mower beat them back, only to be again driven by them. The rebels charged twice with mounted infantry, but were repulsed with great loss.
The Thirteenth Corps was held in camp all day. The fight was near enough to be plainly seen. The battle was fought near and on a large deadening. It soon took fire, and the smoke and flame more plainly marked the scene of carnage, and added to its horrors.
During the entire afternoon the Thirteenth Corps was in line, expecting to be called out. Field officers had, without orders, .called their regiments in line, anticipating the order to support the force in action. All over the camp men were at arms, artillery horses hitched up, officers in saddles all ready to dash out, but no
.
95
ATCHAFALAYA.
orders came. All that afternoon General A. J. Smith, command- ing the Sixteenth Corps, and General Banks, commander-in-chief, were at the Atchafalaya bayou, not two miles from the conflict, and neglected to give an order that would have sent 15,000 men to the relief of General Mower's 4,000 that were being slaughtered by 8,000 rebels. Six hundred Federal soldiers were killed and wounded in this terrible fight. The rebel loss was 1,000. Many wounded men were burned in the fire of the burning deadening.
On the 19th, the Third and Fourth Divisions were sent down the Atchafalava, in search of rebels. Found but two, who were couriers, with dispatches. The divisions returned to the big pon- toon and remained until morning.
The pontoon was laid on steamers anchored close together. String pieces were bolted down across the decks, and, upon them, a floor of the flat cypress rails of the country was laid. It made a good bridge, but exceedingly crooked from the unequal height and length of the boats. Wagons, mules and men crossed on it. The artillery was ferried over. On both banks of the bayou, graves were dug for the dead of the day of the fight.
The Forty-sixth passed over at 10 o'clock, the morning of the 20th, and marched two miles down. Here the regiment received a large mail, but the pleasure of the occasion was clouded in finding letters addressed to so many who would never receive them. Let- ters were also received from officers who were in prison.
: The march from Alexandria to the Atchafalaya was continuous. There was not a halt that could be counted on sufficient for cook- ing. Day and night the columns pressed on, stopping a minute or an hour, as compelled by circumstances. At each halt the men would lie down and sleep, or not, as time permitted, but there was no fixed time announced sufficient for rest or refreshment. The · rebel army was constantly closely on the rear, and kept the retir- ing columns always on the alert. The sight of the Atchafalaya was most welcome, for it promised rest.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the brigade started toward the Mississippi, nine miles distant. The road was blocked, and no move forward was made until 11 at night, when the sleepy line moved slowly on. Frequent halts were made, lasting from five minutes to half an honr.
At 8 o'clock orders were passed to get breakfast, and crackers and coffee were enjoyed. In a short time the men were gladdened with the sight of the Mississippi river. The fleet of gunboats and
96
THE FORTY-SIXTIL INDIANA.
transports had already arrived, and were awaiting orders. General McGinnis, with some of his staff, had come from New Orleans to meet his division and resume his command.
The Third Division had been commanded by General Cameron. The First Brigade was under Colonel Bringhurst. The Twenty- fourth and Twenty-eighth Iowa and the Forty-seventh Indiana were alternately in the First Brigade. Colonel Slack commanded the Second Brigade of the Third Division. Captain Henry Snyder, of Company E. had command of the Forty-sixth until he was. wounded, near Alexandria, when he was succeeded by Captain Liston.
Upon arriving at the river, the brigade pushed on toward Morganza, twenty miles distant, marching until 8 o'clock. The men laid down to sleep, where they remained until 3 o'clock in the morning, when they again started, and reached Morgan's Bend at noon.
And now the unfortunate Red river campaign was over. An expedition, fitted out with the greatest care and liberality, had come to naught through the neglect of the controlling officers to regard the plainest military rules. Human life, money and prestige had been sacrificed for nothing.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.