CHAPTER XXI.
Wherein Captain Galligasken follows the illustrious Soldier through the Campaign in Mississippi to the Siege and Surrender of Vicksburg.
I am continually prompted to pause in my narrative, and dilate upon the splendid conceptions of Grant, as I see him marching triumphantly over the strongholds of the Rebellion; but the grand facts themselves are enough to overwhelm the imagination. Never was so bold a scheme conceived on a scale so grand; never was one more brilliantly executed. Behold the conqueror issuing his mandates from the State House of the rebel capital of Mississippi! Sternly and resolutely he cuts away the veins and arteries of the Rebellion itself, as he tears up railroads and demolishes mills and public buildings. He is in the very midst of the powers of treason, but he is not dismayed. Far away from his supplies, the rebel stores feed the loyal troops. Dismay and demoralization radiated from his headquarters; and, astounded as the leaders of the Rebellion were, they failed to realize the full extent of the disaster which had befallen them.
Grant had struck the heavy blow in this direction, and, gathering up his forces, he retraced his steps, leaving ruin and desolation behind him. He did not carry on the war on peace principles. Months before he had solved the problem of subjugation. He had gone into the conflict as others did, with an inadequate idea of the work to be accomplished, believing that a few national victories would settle all the questions at issue. But the war was to be a death-struggle. The rebels manifested their hate and spite to a degree never before exhibited by any people. They declared that they never would submit, and their deeds did not belie their words. The question was not to be considered as settled when the national government had demonstrated that it was the stronger party of the two. The "last ditch," and a grave in the Gulf of Mexico, was the howl of the Confederacy. The contest was to be continued not only while large armies could be held together and subsisted, but by guerrillas and partisans burrowing in the mountains after all hope and all other resources had failed.
It was necessary to meet this view with one of corresponding severity. Grant realized the situation. It was his purpose to destroy the armies of the Rebellion, and all the material with which armies could be supplied. He did his work thoroughly, but it was a work of humanity, a saving of life and of treasure. He took a statesman's view of the situation; his solution of the great problem was the only one which could save the country, and which could confine the war within a reasonable period of time. The rebels were courting a war of extermination, but Grant's policy broke the spirit of the people, if not of their leaders.
The victorious general slept in the house in Jackson which Johnston had occupied the preceding night.
While the army was at the capital, an act of poetic justice was done, though in violation of orders. A number of Union prisoners had been conveyed by railroad through Jackson some time before. The cattle cars, in which they were transported, stopped in front of the Confederate Hotel, and the thirsty captives begged of its inmates "a cup of cold water only." It was refused, with scurrilous jeers and revilings. These prisoners had been exchanged, and were now in Grant's conquering army. They set fire to the hotel, and burned it to the ground: the tables were turned, and the indignity was avenged.
Johnston retreated towards Canton, and sent despatches to Pemberton, in which he suggested to him the necessity of cutting off Grant's supplies from the Mississippi. Grant had already cut himself off from his base, and was living upon the enemy. He also intimates that it is desirable to "beat" Grant, if he was compelled to fall back for the want of supplies. The rebel general was a long way behind the times, and, like many others, had entirely mistaken his man. He moved over to the north, intending to effect a junction with Pemberton; but the latter defeated the plan by disobeying his orders.
Grant, having obtained accurate knowledge of Pemberton's position, pushed forward to the battle, which was impending. Johnston was in his rear, and it was necessary to use the utmost haste, in order to fight them in detail. The enemy was strongly posted on Baker's Creek, the left of the line resting on Champion's Hill, from which his artillery commanded the plains below. The national forces, nearly exhausted by hard marching, but still buoyant and uncomplaining, approached by three roads, which converged at Edwards's Station.
As our gallant army approached, the rebels on the hill, seventy feet above the plain, opened fire, with shot and shell, from its bald summit, while a deadly fire of musketry blazed from the forest, in which the foe was concealed. The hill was the key of the position, and Hovey pushed on, forcing the enemy back, till he had captured eleven guns and three hundred prisoners. But the rebels massed their men in front of him, and drove him slowly and doggedly back, until the ground gained was lost again.
This was the crisis of the battle; but Grant himself was on the hill, in a position where he could see all that transpired. His plan always was to take advantage of a favorable turn to repair the mischief of an unfavorable one. He sent a brigade to restore the equilibrium, and Hovey held his ground. McPherson had stationed a battery where it was mowing down the rebels in swaths, and they made an attempt to capture it, but were repulsed with severe loss. Logan was sweeping all before him.
Again the foe drove Hovey, whose battalions were worn out by an incessant fight of three hours, and were also out of ammunition. Grant had been hurrying up McClernand all day; but still he did not appear. The tide of battle seemed to have set against the national army; but this was always the hour when its heroic commander was more than himself. The delay of McClernand galled him, and deranged his plans, but could not defeat him. He ordered McPher son to move on the enemy's right flank, and the contest was renewed with redoubled vigor. Logan marched upon the enemy's left. These dispositions, and a sharp attack, broke the rebels, and they gave way the third time. Logan's movement nearly to the rear of the rebel line, had startled Pemberton, and he made haste to save his line of retreat. The Union troops pressed on, and the bloody battle of Champion's Hill was won. It had lasted six hours, and our loss was twenty-five hundred in killed, wounded, and missing. The enemy lost thirty guns, and six thousand men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. It was the severest battle of the campaign, and reflects a brilliant lustre upon the national arms. So fierce was the struggle, that the soldiers christened the bloody height, where so many had fallen, the Hill of Death.
The pursuit of the fleeing rebels was continued until long after dark, Grant and his staff being at the head of the column. In their enthusiasm they outsped the advance of the army. Finding the situation unsafe, they retraced their steps, and the victorious general slept upon the porch of a house which was used as a rebel hospital, disturbed only by the groans of the wounded and the dying within.
That night came to Grant the order of the general-in-chief, directing him to return to the Mississippi, and coöperate with Banks against Port Hudson. Of course it had been written without a knowledge of the facts. The government had been alarmed at his temerity, and expected to hear that he was crushed in the embrace of the rebel armies, which beset him on both sides. But the campaign had been fought and won; and to obey the letter of the order would have been to disobey its spirit. By the boldness of his conception and the rapidity of his execution, he had effectually prevented the junction of the armies of Pemberton and Johnston.
Sherman left Jackson with his corps on the morning of the battle of Champion's Hill, hurried forward by an order from Grant. He reached Bolton the same day, and there heard of the victory. He was ordered to cross the Big Black at Bridgeport, either to turn the enemy's flank or to move up on Haines's Bluff, as circumstances might dictate, for by this time it was desirable to establish a base of supplies.
The main column pushed on towards Vicksburg, and found the rebels posted on a bridge over the Big Black. They had a line of intrenchments, defended by a garrison of four thousand men, with twenty guns. As soon as the pursuing army came up with this formidable obstacle in its path, the line was formed, and a heavy fire opened upon the works, which were finally carried by storm. Our men fought bravely, and the Confederate line broke and fled like sheep. In their terror the rebels on the opposite side of the river set their end of the bridge on fire, before half their force had crossed. The demoralized wretches fled to the river, and attempted to escape by swimming. The fire of the cannon was turned upon them, and the stream was crimsoned with their blood. Seventeen hundred and fifty prisoners, eighteen guns, and five standards were captured in this lively battle.
Bridging the river, Grant pushed on towards Vicksburg, uniting with Sherman, who came by a more northerly route. The two generals rode together to the farthest height, which looked down upon the Yazoo. The high ground they had longed to possess had been reached, and it was to them the promised land. They were elated at the prospect, and Sherman acknowledged that, until this moment, he had not deemed the movement a success.
In just twenty days Grant had marched over two hundred miles, fought five distinct battles, captured eighty-eight pieces of ordnance, and deprived the enemy of the services of thirteen thousand soldiers. He had destroyed the railroad, captured Jackson and Grand Gulf. Never was so brief a campaign productive of such successes. As Sherman congratulated him upon the splendid results he had achieved, he quietly smoked his cigar, but made no vain-glorious reply—no reply at all.
Vicksburg was immediately invested by a line which extended from the river above to the river below the town. The coveted base of supplies was obtained. Pemberton had thirty thousand men—a number fully equal to that of the besiegers—with two hundred cannon. On the 18th of May Johnston advised him that Vicksburg could not be held without Haines's Bluff, and recommended him to save his troops by withdrawing; but Pemberton decided, with the advice of his officers, to remain.
Grant's men were flushed with victory, and desired to storm the works. They were permitted to do so as soon as the line of investment was completed. A heavy attack was made all along the intrenchments, but it was not crowned with success.
The people of Vicksburg were requested to leave the town by the commander of the post: they declined to abandon their homes; but the heavy rain of shot and shell from the national gunboats compelled them to burrow in the sides of the hills for security, and families lived for weeks in these caves. Pemberton hoped to receive assistance from Johnston, who was organizing another army at Canton. The knowledge of this fact prompted Grant to order another assault on the 21st of May. His men were full of fight, and in this respect he was generally ready to gratify them. The most elaborate preparations were made for the great event, and as the prelude to the assault, the guns of the batteries and of the fleet in the river rained a deluge of shot and shell upon the city and its works. The thundering of guns shook the solid earth, and the place was girt with fire. At ten o'clock, after the bombardment had continued for several hours, the assault was made. The entire army pushed forward, and, though prodigies of valor were performed, the result was a failure. The strength of the works was too great to be carried by storm; but the spirit of the soldiers was unabated.
Grant was obliged not only to press forward the siege vigorously, but to keep a lookout upon Johnston in his rear. He was reënforced, so that by the middle of June he had seventy-five thousand troops, one half of whom formed the line in the trenches, while the other half constituted an army of observation, to watch the movements of the enemy in the rear. Grant was untiring in his labors, and felt that he had the place already. He had decided to save his men by regular siege operations. But the glorious day was at hand.
On the morning of the 3d of July, a white flag was displayed on the rebel works, and two officers came out, announcing that they were the bearers of a sealed communication from General Pemberton to General Grant. They were conducted to the most convenient headquarters, and the commander of the Union army notified of the fact. Pemberton proposed an armistice for the purpose of making terms for the surrender of Vicksburg. He stated that he submitted the proposition in order to save the effusion of blood, which must otherwise be shed to a frightful extent, for he felt fully able to maintain his position for an indefinite period.
General Grant replied, by letter, that the effusion of blood could be ended at any time by the unconditional surrender of the city and garrison. He complimented the endurance and courage of the defenders of Vicksburg, and assured the rebel general that they should be treated with respect as prisoners of war; but he had no other terms than unconditional surrender.
General Bowen, the bearer of the letter, desired to see General Grant, who promptly declined to meet him, but consented to see Pemberton himself at three o'clock in the afternoon. The messengers returned to the city, and hostilities were immediately resumed, and continued till noon.
At three o'clock Pemberton, attended by his messengers of the morning, came to the appointed place, in front of McPherson's line. The two commanders met under the shade of a huge oak, within two hundred feet of the rebel line. The works on both sides were crowded with unarmed men, gazing eagerly at the unwonted scene between these lines. The two high officers shook hands, and the other officers were formally introduced to each other.
"General Grant, I meet you to inquire what terms of capitulation will be allowed to me," said Pemberton.
"Those which have been expressed in my letter of this morning," replied Grant.
"Unconditional surrender!" exclaimed Pemberton, haughtily.
"Unconditional surrender," added Grant, quietly.
"Never, so long as I have a man left," protested the rebel general. "I will fight! If this is all, the conference may terminate, and hostilities will be immediately resumed."
"Very well," answered Grant, quietly, as he turned away.
General Bowen proposed that two of the subordinates present should confer together, and suggest terms. Grant did not object, but declined to be bound by any agreement of his officers, reserving it to himself to decide upon the terms. Smith and Bowen retired to consult together, while Grant and Pemberton walked up and down under the tree, engaged in conversation.
The subordinates returned to the tree, and Bowen proposed that the Vicksburg garrison should march out with the honors of war, carrying their muskets and field guns, but leaving their heavy artillery, which it was not convenient for them to carry. Grant smiled at the proposition, and declined it without any hesitation. It was finally agreed that Grant should send his terms to Pemberton before ten o'clock that night, and that hostilities should be suspended till that time.
Grant went to his quarters, and, for the first time, called together a council of war—not to determine how an attack should be made, but how a conquered foe should be surrendered. With the countenance of all his officers but one, Grant submitted the terms, which were, that the national troops should take possession of Vicksburg; the rebel army should be paroled, the officers and men to retain their private property, the troops to march out as soon as the necessary papers had been signed.
After some slight variations the terms were accepted on the morning of the 4th of July; and thus one of the most glorious events of the war occurred on the anniversary of the national independence.