CHAPTER X CAMPAIGNS OF 1862-OPERATIONS AGAINST MISSISSIPPI RIVER THE fall of Richmond alone excepted, the greatest disaster to the Confederacy was the loss of New Orleans. Not only was this city the most important commercial port in the Confederacy, but it was the outlet to European, Central and South American ports for the entire Mississippi valley. It had become before the war the greatest cotton market of the United States, and the Confederate government took early steps looking to its defence. By the spring of 1862 the impression of the people had grown into conviction that the attack on New Orleans would come from the North when it was made. Owing to the bar at the mouth of the Mississippi, which seldom afforded over eighteen feet of water, and to the construction of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip; because of the presence of a volunteer fleet of transports and of the fact that two powerful vessels were under construction, as well as the belief that any attack must come from the north, the citizens rested in supposed safety under the conviction that New Orleans was impregnable. The newspapers had so declared, regarding Forts Jackson and St. Philip, sixty or seventy miles below the city, as but the first or outer line of defences. The shores of the river were lined with batteries, and in the harbor were reported to be twelve gunboats and certain ironclad naval structures capable of dealing severely and speedily with any Federal fleet. But the Confederate fleet was in reality made up of seventeen vessels, only eight of which were armed, while drafts on this naval force for use at Columbus and other points above New Orleans, where defences were thought to be more needed, had further weakened it materially. Still, confidence prevailed. In order to obstruct the channel of the river a raft was constructed which should extend across the river above Forts Jackson and St. Philip. This raft was made of eleven dismasted schooners connected by six lines of heavy chains, and strongly moored to the banks. It was placed about a mile above the forts, in a most favorable position. The Federals also had realized the importance of New Orleans, but they too had neglected their opportunities. The fleet with which Samuel F. Dupont had attacked and captured the works at Port Royal in November, 1861, could have steamed on up to New Orleans and would have been able to take the city with little difficulty. But the Federal government was slow to take any step beyond blockading, and the Confederates had used their limited resources as best they could in fortifying the river as far north as Memphis. Captain David D. Porter, on a visit to Washington, had detailed to the president, the secretary of war, and General McClellan his plan for the capture of New Orleans, and it was undertaken. Captain David Farragut was placed in command. A fleet of seven large steam war vessels, sixteen gunboats, twenty-one heavily armed mortar schooners, and a transport fleet carrying fifteen thousand men, under General Benjamin F. Butler, was sent to Farragut; and this fleet, after its arrival at the mouth of the Mississippi, moved slowly up the river as far as Forts Jackson and St. Philip. The bombardment of these forts began on April 18, 1862, and lasted without intermission for six days. and nights. The forts made no sign of surrender, and Farragut determined to run by them. The fast rising river had swept away a portion of the raft across the channel, making the passage vastly easier, and the diminished ammunition supply of the Federal force made speedy action necessary. Farragut divided the fleet into three squadrons— one to fight Fort Jackson, one to fight Fort St. Philip, and the other to make its way up the river. Sandbags were piled on the decks, and chains were hung over the sides to protect the vessels as far as possible from the Confederate fire. When the effort to pass the forts was made before daylight on the morning of April 23d, a hot fight ensued, but eleven of the little Confederate gunboats and the ram Manassas were disabled or destroyed, and the thirteen of the attacking fleet which remained uninjured passed up the river. The utmost consternation prevailed in New Orleans. General K. R. Mansfield, commanding the troops, turned the city over to the municipal authorities and marched away with the Confederate forces. Cotton and provisions were destroyed. At one time the levee for miles showed an unbroken line of fire where cotton bales, sugar, and molasses fed the flames. The unfinished war vessels were launched and fired in the hope of their doing injury to the approaching enemy. Thousands of citizens left with all their portable property before Farragut, on April 25th, anchored in front of the city. The forts were still holding out, and the mayor refused to surrender the city. A party of marines was sent ashore, and hoisted the United States flag over the Mint, but it was taken down by a young man named William B. Munford. The forts were also attacked in the rear by Porter, and on land by Butler's men. Food and ammunition were exhausted in the garrisons, and on April 28th, after the guns had been spiked, the forts were surrendered. The brave defence made by the garrisons was recognized by the Federals, who allowed the officers to retain their side arms and left the Confederate flags flying until all the Confederate forces had withdrawn. Captain John K. Mitchell, of the Confederate naval forces, decided not to surrender his flagship, the Louisiana, which was his only formidable vessel, but withdrew his crew and set the vessel on fire. She floated down the river, exploded, and sank close under Fort St. Philip while negotiations were progressing for the surrender. Meantime, Farragut and Mayor John T. Monroe were still exchanging angry letters. On the 28th, complaining of the continued display of the State flag of Louisiana on the City Hall, Farragut threatened bombardment within forty-eight hours if the flag remained, and notified Monroe to remove the women and children. The flag remained, but the bombardment did not follow. On May 1st the flag was taken down by a detachment of men sent ashore by Farragut for that especial purpose. General Butler took possession of New Orleans; he ruled it in a manner that excited the disgust of the civilized world, and caused his outlawry by President Davis. One of his first acts was to hang, as a felon, Munford, who had pulled down the United States flag. Because of the contemptuous attitude of the women of New Orleans and because of their failure to extend courteous treatment to himself and his officers, he issued a proclamation known as "General Order No. 28," which secured for him the title "Beast Butler," by which he was ever afterward known in the South and in parts of the North. It read as follows: "Headquarters, Department Of The Gulf, "general Order No. 28. "As the Officers and Soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall, by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation. "By command of Maj.-Gen. Butler, "George C. Strong, "A. A.-G. Chief of Staff." This was the prelude to a rule of tyranny and oppression. Newspapers refusing to publish the order were suppressed. Mayor Monroe and city officials who protested against it were imprisoned for many months. A physician who jokingly intimated that a skeleton in his office was that of a Union soldier, as was claimed—for he had affixed a card bearing the inscription "Chickamauga"—was imprisoned at hard labor for two years. A lady, wife of a former member of Congress, who laughed while the funeral of a Federal officer was passing, was imprisoned at Ship Island as a felon. The houses of prominent citizens were seized and made resorts for infamous female friends of the Federal officers. Wine cellars were looted, chests and wardrobes broken open, and the clothing of whole families "confiscated." Train loads of pianos, books, family portraits, silverware, and articles of luxury or ornament were sent north to the families and friends of the officers. People were forced to decide between starvation and oaths to bear allegiance to the invader. Aged women and helpless children, ejected from their homes and robbed of their property, were forced to live on charity, being refused permission to leave the city. "Slaves were driven from the plantations in the neighborhood of New Orleans until their owners consented to share their crops with the commanding general, his brother, and other officers," writes Mr. Davis in his Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. "When such consent had been extorted, the slaves were restored to the plantations and compelled to work under the bayonets of a guard of United States soldiers. When that partnership was refused armed expeditions were sent to the plantations to rob them of everything that could be removed; and even slaves too aged and infirm for work were, in spite of their entreaties, forced from the homes provided by their owners and driven to wander helpless on the highway." Slaves were armed and then incited to insurrection, many officers being active in these crimes. It was an era of plunder and robbery in which the whole army under Butler's command |