Dams Dug on the Red River

Joseph Bailey

As the ships and men of Nathaniel Bank's Red River Expedition retreated, a serious problem was encountered. The water had fallen and Admiral David Porter could not get his ships over the Alexandria falls. There was only three feet of water, but the ships had an absolute minimum of 7 foot drafts. This was a major issue, since if the ships could not continue sailing, the entire fleet and army would soon fall into Confederate hands. A solution was devised by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey, who had been a civil engineer before the war. He suggested building a dam to raise the water level so the ships could sail over the rocks, and then destroy it so they could continue sailing down the river. Many officers thought this a harebrained idea, but Banks adopted it as the best option he had.

Remnants of the dam in 1984

The work was begun 150 years ago today, and for ten days the army worked hard on the dams, knowing they had little time to save the fleet. As the dam rose higher the water began to rise. But on May 9^th at 5:30 am part of the dam broke away, and the water began to quickly rush out. Several of Porter's boats were able to sail down before the water fell too low, but some were still stranded above the falls. So Bailey ordered the men to repair the dam and build two smaller ones to release the pressure. This time the plan worked. The remaining ships crossed the falls, and the dam was breached on May 13^th so the ships could sail down the river.

The dam

Bailey's Dam, as the work was called, was one of the greatest engineering feats of the entire Civil War. He was presented with a difficult problem, but was able to solve it and save the fleet and army. The government recognized the value of his service, and he received one of only fifteen votes of the Thanks of Congress given during the Civil War, and was the lowest ranking man to do so. Bailey served in the Western Theater for the rest of the Civil War, commanding at various times a brigade of engineers and a division of cavalry. After the war he moved to Missouri and was elected sheriff, and was killed on May 21, 1867 by two thieves while making an arrest. He was posthumously promoted to brevet major general as a recognition of his service to the United States.

Sailing through the dam

Farragut Runs Port Hudson

Farragut

Vicksburg was no longer the only remaining Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi. Realizing the importance of the river, the Confederates had fortified Port Hudson to the south. On a strong bluff overlooking the river, it was a formidable position. Lincoln sent new forces under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks to attack the town. Banks was a political general with little military experience, and he spent much time reorganizing the army to his liking.

Gun at Port Hudson

While Banks remained in New Orleans, Rear Admiral David Farragut set out up the river with seven ships. He planned to run the batteries late on the night of Marcy 14, 150 years ago today. Extensive preparations were undertaken to prepare the ships for battle. The first four ships were tied together in pairs, proceeding one after another up the river. The decks were cleared for action and whitewashed, to improve visibility. Chains were draped down the sides, serving as armor. The Confederates were ready and waiting, having noticed increased naval movements downriver. They had 20 guns in eleven batteries, with the crews well instructed of the plans beforehand. Heated shot was prepared to try to light the wooden ships, and outposts were established to give warning of the advance.

It was one of these outposts that sighted the Union fleet, launching a warning rocket into the air at 11:20 pm on March 14. Farragut's fleet continued on straight ahead, and opened on the Confederate batteries as soon as they came in range. The darkness was lit by fires on shore, but the river was again clouded as the guns billowed forth their thick smoke. The Hartford and Albatross, the lead ships, ran aground in the darkness right beneath the Confederate batteries. Although they were stuck there for ten minutes, they were able to make it out relatively unharmed.

The Genesee and Richmond came next. A gust of wind blew away the smoke long enough for the rebel batteries to catch sight of the ships and pour a murderous fire into the Richmond. Shots tore through both her boiler safety valves, rendering her engines useless. Unable to move, she and the Genesee floated downstream with the current. The Monogahela and Kineo, coming up next, also ran aground, and the two ships came apart. The Monogahela damaged her engine in backing off, and the Kineo took a shot to the rudder. Both ships floated down stream.

USS Mississippi

The last Union ship was the Mississippi. She too ran aground, and the Confederate batteries riddled her with hot shot. Catching on fire, the captain ordered her to be abandoned, fearing the magazine would explode. Loud were the cheers of the garrison as the ship floated downstream at 3 am, a burning wreck. She blew up two hours later in a huge explosion, seen 80 miles away in New Orleans. This battle was a great victory for the Confederate garrison. They had disabled four of the ships, destroyed one completely, with only two successfully running the batteries. They lost only three men killed and 22 wounded, versus 78 killed and 35 wounded from Farragut.  

Yazoo River Canal

The next Union attempt to capture the town was an expedition down the Yazoo Pass. It was believed that by cutting a levy the Union might be able to find a passage through the Yazoo Pass and along the Tallahatchie River to bypass Vicksburg. On February 3rd, a levee was breached sending Mississippi River water down a channel, thus raising the Yazoo River. One Union officer wrote:

By 11 p.m. the opening was 40 yards wide, and the water pouring through like nothing else I ever saw except Niagara Falls. Logs, trees, and great masses of earth were torn away with the greatest ease. The work is a perfect success.

An expedition set off down the river, but it was slow, hard going. Trees had to be felled to get the gunboats through, and obstacles placed by the Confederates had to be cleared. It would take weeks of hard work to discover if this narrow channel would prove the key to the Vicksburg Campaign.

Stuart Again Rides Around McClellan

 After successfully warding of McClellan in the Battle of Antietam and recrossing the Potomac into Virginia, Lee's army quickly recovered. Troops which had scattered returned to the army, and the men rested and refitted. McClellan, meanwhile, was characteristically slow, and weeks passed without him launching a pursuit. Lee was so encouraged that he even considered again invading Maryland. Although he gave up that idea as too dangerous, he planned for Stuart to go on another of his famous raids to get information as to McClellan's position and plans.

Stuart set out on October 9th with 1,800 picked troopers. He crossed the Potomac River and ride all the way to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, temporarily cutting McClellan's supply line. He pushed his men hard and fast, rounding up horses and getting all the information he could. 150 years ago today he returned to the bank of the Potomac River, only to find two hundred Pennsylvania infantry blocking his way. Stuart sent out skirmishers, and ordered Pelham to deploy his artillery. The cannon shots quickly scattered the Yankees blocking their way. The rebel cavalry began crossing the river, their rear guarded from Federal pursuers by Pelham's guns.

The Gallant Pelham at West Point in 1858

Stuart's raid was successful, having ridden 120 miles in 60 hours without loosing a man. He had captured 1,200 horses and inflicted about a quarter of a million dollars worth of damage. It had been very successful as far as it went, bringing new glories on Stuart and the south, and scaring and embarrassing the Federals. When Lincoln was asked about the raid he drew a circle in the ground and said, "When I was a boy we used to play a game, three times round and out. Stuart has been round him twice; if he goes round him once more, gentlemen, McClellan will be out!"

Ride Around McClellan – Day 3

Stuart's tired troops rode throughout the night under the full moon, heading toward the crossing of the Chickahominy at Forge Bridge, seven miles ahead. The prisoners were mounted on mules to speed the march. The Confederate troops began to fall asleep on their horses, slowing the column's march. At around dawn they arrived at the Chickahominy, and, instead of the slow placid ford that was expected, it was a roaring torrent. Colonel Rooney Lee dismounted and dove into the stream to see if it could be crossed. He had a hard swim, and was almost drowned before he returned to shore. “Colonel,” he was asked, “what do you think of the situation.” “Well, Captain,” he replied, “I think we are caught.” A few of the best swimmers crossed the river, including one with a message to Lee asking for diversion to be made.

Cavalry Charge later in the war

Stuart ordered axes brought up, and trees were cut down to try to cross on them, but they were too short to reach the other side. Some men built a raft, but it tipped, throwing them into the water. It was finally decided that instead of wasting more time, they had to go to the sight of the bridge which had been destroyed, and repair it in order to cross the river. Boards were brought out of a nearby warehouse and a shaky bridge was built. The troopers were able to walk across while their horses swam along side. In order to get the guns across the main beams of the warehouse were knocked down, and they were just long enough to form a proper bridge. The command was soon across, and just ten minutes after they reached the opposite bank, the outriders of the Federal cavalry rode up and opened a scattering fire. Although they had a long march back to the Confederate main body, they had escaped their worst danger.

Bridge over the Chickahominy

Stuart's expedition had been successful, and he had brought fame upon himself and his men. In his report he wrote to Lee:

The success attending this expedition will no doubt cause 10,000 or 15,000 men to be detached from the enemy's main body to guard his communication, besides accomplishing the destruction of millions worth of property and the interruption for a time of his railroad communication. The three commanders (the two Lees and Martin) exhibited the characteristics of skillful commanders, keeping their commands well in hand and managing them with skill and good judgment, which proved them worthy of a higher trust. Their brave men behaved with coolness and intrepidity in danger, unswerving resolution before difficulties, and stood unappalled before the rushing torrent of the Chickahominy, with the probability of an enemy at their heels armed with the fury of a tigress robbed of her whelps. The perfect order and systematic disposition for crossing maintained throughout the passage insured its success and rendered it the crowning feature of a successful expedition. I hope, general, that your sense of delicacy, so manifest on former occasions, will not prompt you to award to the two Lees (your son and nephew) less than their full measure of praise. Embalmed in the hearts and affections of their regiments; tried on many occasions requiring coolness, decision, and bravery; everywhere present to animate, direct, and control, they held their regiments in their grasp and proved them- selves brilliant cavalry leaders.

Later one of his aides, John Eston Cooke, said to Stuart, "That was a tight place at the river, General. If the enemy had come down upon on us, you would have been compelled to have surrendered." "No," Stuart answered, "one other course was left. To die game."

Stuart