and the De Kalb, the flagship of the attacking squadron, an ironclad mounting thirteen guns, was sunk by a torpedo. The small garrison of three hundred men made no resistance to the land attack and the place was surrendered. This entailed on the Confederacy a loss that was severely felt. Twenty vessels were destroyed.

During the remainder of the year Federal operations were confined to predatory expeditions, by mounted troops usually, that seemed to have no other purpose than burning towns and villages and causing as much suffering to the people as possible. The Confederates contented themselves with endeavoring to hold these raiders in check. In Mississippi, much of this warfare was along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, where Brigadier-general D. Ruggles with Ferguson's brigade and ten or twelve field pieces, and Brigadiergeneral J. R. Chalmers with his brigade of cavalry and a field battery tried to hold the enemy in check. Another mounted brigade under Colonel J. A. Logan operated near Natchez and Port Hudson, Louisiana. After Sherman retired from Jackson to Vicksburg, General W. H. Jackson's division of cavalry watched the Federals beyond Big Black River and protected the reconstruction of the railroad from Jackson north and south where it had been destroyed by the Federals. Lieutenant-general Hardee was transferred from the Army of Tennessee to that of Mississippi, and after his arrival at Morton General Johnston went to Mobile to complete the examination of its defences, which he found very imperfect.

On August 15th, General Jackson sent Whitfield's Texas brigade in pursuit of a body of 800 or 900 Federal cavalry that moved from Yazoo City toward Grenada, but learning that the Federals had united with a similar expedition from Grand Junction, Tennessee, Whitfield turned back and destroyed in his retreat the railroad and all the rolling stock that was found on it. The two Federal detachments moved north after burning about one-fourth of the town of Grenada and the engines and cars at that

place. On the 6th of September, in response to a dispatch from General Bragg, Gregg's and E. McNair's brigades were started from Meridian and Enterprise to Atlanta, but when it became known that Atlanta was not then in danger these brigades joined General Bragg's army near Chattanooga, and assisted in the battle of Chickamauga. On October 6th, General Chalmers drove a detachment of 800 Federals from Coldwater, after a slight skirmish, and on the 8th routed 2,000 of the enemy in an engagement of three hours. Other successes were achieved by him at Collierville and Byhalia a few days later. Reports that the Fifteenth Corps had gone to relieve the Federal army in Chattanooga caused the dispatching of Generals W. A. Quarles's and W. E. Baldwin's brigades to the Army of Tennessee. A telegram from President Davis, on December 18th, directed General Johnston to transfer the command of the Department of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana to Lieutenant-general Polk, and to repair to Dalton and assume command of the Army of Tennessee. The year witnessed no further events of importance in Mississippi or in eastern Louisiana.

The Federal losses during the Vicksburg campaign, including Port Gibson, Port Hudson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black River Bridge, the assaults of May 19th and 22d, siege operations and miscellaneous skirmishes, aggregated 1,514 killed, 7,395 wounded, 453 captured or missing-making a total of 9,362. On the Confederate side official returns, which are incomplete, give losses aggregating 9,059, of which 1,260 were killed, 3,572 wounded, and 4,227 captured or missing. Complete returns would undoubtedly swell the total to a little over 10,000.

CHAPTER XV

CAMPAIGNS OF 1863—THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI AND
THE COAST

FOLLOWING fast upon the fall of Vicksburg came other losses to the Confederacy on the west of the Mississippi, one especially grave disaster being the repulse of the Southern army at Helena, Arkansas.

In the Trans-Mississippi Department those portions of the Confederate army under Generals Hindman, Marmaduke and Sterling Price had from the beginning of the year maintained a restless activity. Early in January, 1863, General Marmaduke's command had marched rapidly down Arkansas River to a point near Clarksville, and then turned north with the purpose of capturing and destroying the large quantity of Federal stores and supplies accumulated at Springfield for the Army of the Frontier. He had gone by an indirect route to avoid trouble from the Federal forces under Generals J. G. Blunt and F. J. Herron, hoping to accomplish his purpose before they heard of his movements. Deprived of their supplies, those generals would of necessity have been compelled to flee from that part of the State or surrender to General Hindman. Springfield's defences were not completed, and the scheme was well planned and promising. The Federal troops were scattered through southwestern Missouri, two or three companies in a place. January 7th the Confederates burned Lawrence Mills, and were due in Springfield the following day. Brigadier-generals Egbert B. Brown and Colly B. Holland

sent most of their stores north, gathered all the available troops and successfully resisted the capture of Springfield. Marmaduke had divided his small force into two parties, one commanded by himself and the other by Colonel J. C. Porter. He thus not only failed to capture Springfield but encountered defeat for both divisions. His own division lost five hundred men or more killed, wounded, or captured, while the other division under General Porter lost almost as many. Two months were spent after this in recruiting the army, and there was no important movement until April.

General W. L. Cabell with 2,000 men made an attack on Fayetteville, Arkansas, on the 17th of April, but was unsuccessful. Then, Generals Marmaduke and Price, having collected a large number of troops, mostly Texans, largely consisting of cavalry, determined, as a preliminary to a contemplated invasion of Missouri, to attempt the capture and destruction of Cape Girardeau, then the depot of supplies for a portion of Grant's army. Leaving Little Rock about the middle of April, they reached the State line on the 20th; Fredericktown, Missouri, the 22d, and came before Cape Girardeau on the 25th. General McNeil had reached Cape Girardeau on the 23d; he had been actively engaged in removing the government stores over into Illinois and had sent to St. Louis for reinforcements. Marmaduke's attack was unsuccessful and he retreated southward. Pursuit was made, but the Confederates crossed into Arkansas May 2d. On the 11th, Marmaduke's command, much divided, was met by a force of 1,000 cavalry which had left Helena under command of Colonel Powell Clayton on the 6th to destroy the Confederate stores accumulated between White and St. Francis Rivers. The Confederates lost heavily in this encounter. A Confederate detachment under Colonel John T. Coffee attacked a body of Federals on May 20th near Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, and capturing a lot of cattle escaped with slight loss. There were repeated skirmishes in the Indian Territory, but no severe fighting occurred until