ing of the Atchafalaya. On the afternoon of the 18th the Confederate cavalry under Wharton and the infantry under Polignac attacked and drove in Smith's skirmishers, but General Mower who was in immediate command of the Union line made a counter charge with two brigades of infantry and one of cavalry and the Confederate attack was repulsed. In endeavoring to follow up his success Mower was checked by a heavy artillery fire and withdrew to a thicket where he formed a new line and brought up artillery. The Confederates renewed the attack but were repulsed with some loss. The thicket then took fire and as this formed an impassable barrier between the two contestants Mower withdrew, leaving his dead and wounded on the field. The Union loss was 38 killed, 226 wounded and 3 missing. federate loss was 452 killed, wounded and missing, of whom 180 were taken prisoners. By the 20th the army had all crossed the Atchafalaya. Banks yielded the command to General Canby who had been ordered to relieve him; the navy and transports passed into the Mississippi; and the Red River campaign, one of the most humiliating of the war, had ended. On the return march from Alexandria the Union loss was about 165 killed, 650 wounded and 450 captured or missing. Taylor says that the entire Confederate loss in the campaign from Sabine

The Con

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Cross Roads to Yellow Bayou was 3,976.*

The sending of troops from Vicksburg to join the Red River expedition enabled the Confederates under General N. B. Forrest and others in northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee to make an attack on the Union posts in west Tennessee and Kentucky. On March 23, 1864, Forrest at the head of 1,500 troops left Jackson, Tennessee, and advanced northward some 60 miles to Union City which place he reached the next day. This was garrisoned by a force of about 500 men under Colonel Hawkins, who, contrary to the advice of his officers, surrendered at Forrest's demand. The Confederates then advanced rapidly upon Paducah, Kentucky, situated on the Ohio at the mouth of the Tennessee. The town was held by Colonel S. G. Hicks with about 700 Kentucky and Illinois troops including 250 negro soldiers in the artillery service. With the aid of two gunboats in the river Hicks resolved to defend the works. On March 25 Forrest demanded the surrender of the townf but Hicks refused. On the 26th an attack was made but Forrest was unable to capture the town and, content with the injury he had inflicted, withdrew in

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the direction of Columbus. On April 12 Forrest reached Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, about 70 miles above Memphis, which at that time was garrisoned by 19 officers and 538 enlisted men, of whom 262 were negroes under the command of Major L. F. Booth. Just before sunrise of the 12th the pickets of the garrison were driven in and fighting soon became general. About 9 o'clock Major A. F. Bradford who had succeeded to the command withdrew all the forces within the fort. For some time the Confederates attacked with no appreciable advantage. About 1 o'clock the fire slackened and a flag of truce was sent to the fort with a demand for its surrender. Bradford refused and a second flag of truce was sent with a communication allowing Bradford only 20 minutes to move his troops out of the fort, after which time, if the evacuation had not taken place, an attack would be made. Bradford again refused, whereupon the Confederates attacked and after a contest of 30 minutes captured the entire garrison. Forrest says in a message to Polk that he killed 500 and took 100 prisoners at a loss to himself of only 20 killed and 60 wounded.* This is somewhat exaggerated. About 160 white and 40 colored prisoners were taken, the killed numbering 221 and the wounded 130 out of a garrison of 557. According to Forrest "The river was dyed.

with the blood of the slaughtered for 200 yards. The approximate loss was upwards of 500 killed; but few of the officers escaped. There was in the fort a large number of citizens who had fled there to escape the Conscript Law. Most of them ran into the river and were drowned."* There is dispute as to the massacre at Fort Pillow, many claiming that there was an indiscriminate slaughter after the troops had surrendered. Pollard says: "There is no doubt that for some moments the Confederate officers lost control of their men who were maddened by the sight of the negro troops opposing them."† Stephen D. Lee in a letter dated June 28 affirms that the flag was not hauled down in token of surrender and refers "to history for numerous cases of indiscriminate slaughter after successful assault even under less aggravating circumstances. The case under consideration is an almost extreme one. You had a servile race armed against their masters. and in a country which had been desolated by almost unprecedented outrages.' Probably the Confederates. were more desperate in their fighting because in the fort were numbers of Tennessee Tories (as Forrest calls them), and between these and Forrest's Tennessee regiment there was great bitterness resulting from old neighborhood feuds.*

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of infantry, advanced and drove in the Confederate skirmishers, while at the same time Grierson's cavalry, gaining the east side of the town, attacked the Confederates in flank and forced them from the place and the hill beyond, leaving several dead and wounded. General S. D. Lee joined Forrest and assumed command of all the Confederate forces. Smith remained at Pontotoc on the 12th, but early in the morning of the 13th marched out of the town eastward for Tupelo, 18 miles distant, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Lee, informed of Smith's movement, ordered it checked before the railroad was reached; Forrest, with a brigade and a regiment, made successive assaults upon the rear, which was covered by Bouton's colored brigade and the 17th Kansas cavalry, but was repulsed and kept back; and Buford's and Chalmers' divisions attacked the train in flank, causing the destruction of a few wagons, but were driven back by Mower's division, which captured some prisoners and a battle-flag. At dark Smith camped at Harrisburg, a mile from Tupelo. Early in the morning of the 14th Lee ordered Forrest to attack Smith's left, and at 7:30 A. M. Forrest, having dismounted his entire command, made an impetuous charge, with four brigades in line, supported by Chalmers' division and Lyons' brigade. The assault fell upon Moore's division and the left of Mower's, but failed to shake either, although four successive attempts

were made. Between the assaults Forrest's artillery was very active, but was effectively replied to by two Union batteries, whose fire was so annoying that a brigade charged them, though resultlessly. After a hard struggle Forrest withdrew from Moore's front, leaving many dead and wounded. He now marched to the left, crossed the Pontotoc road, and advanced in three lines against Mower, whose men reserved their fire until the charging lines were quite near, when they opened a hot fire of musketry and canister, driving them back in disorder; but they rallied and renewed the attack. For over two hours the battle raged on Mower's front; then he ordered his division to advance, which it did, capturing many prisoners, and driving Forrest from the field about noon. The afternoon was spent in caring for the wounded. of both armies and burying the dead. About 9 o'clock in the evening Forrest made an attack upon the extreme. left of the Union line, including Bouton's colored brigade, but it was easily repulsed. At an early hour of the 15th Forrest's men advanced from the cover of the woods in front of Mower's division; Mower charged them, and they fled to their horses and rode away. Meanwhile another advance was made on the extreme left, held by Bouton's brigade. For two hours there was sharp artillery firing, when Forrest, under cover of his guns, came forward, but was met by a counter-charge, led by Smith, which

broke Forrest's line and sent it in retreat. It was now past noon. Smith's ammunition had run low, and he had a scant supply of rations. Grierson had destroyed some miles of railroad, and after the last repulse of Forrest Smith moved slowly northward about five miles, going into camp for the night at Old Town Creek. The men were settling themselves for a rest when shells from the rear fell and burst among them. Bell's brigade, with a battery, had closely followed the column and attacked; Mower turned upon them; Crossland's brigade came up and joined Bell; but both were repulsed by Mower with

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severe loss, and fell back upon McCulloch's brigade which held ground. McCulloch was desperately wounded, Forrest was wounded, and some prominent officers were killed. Smith resumed his march next morning, followed for two days by two brigades of Forrest's cavalry, and reached Memphis on the 23d. Smith had about 14,000 men engaged, and his losses, from the 11th to the 15th, were 77 killed, 559 wounded, and 38 missing. The Confederate troops engaged numbered 6,600; their losses, as reported by Forrest, were 210 killed and 1,116 wounded.*

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After the movements about Chattanooga and Knoxville there were several changes in commanders of the Confederate armies. Bragg was sent to Richmond to become chief of staff to Davis and Joseph E. Johnston was placed in command of the Confederate armies of the West; General Polk took Johnston's place as com

mander of the Department of Mississippi and east Louisiana. Johnston proceeded immediately to Dalton,

*

Official Records, vol. xxxix.; Wyeth, Life of Gen. N. B. Forrest; Battles and Leaders, vol. iv., pp. 421-422; Stephen D. Lee, The Battle of Tupelo, or Harrisburg, July 14, 1863, in Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, vol. vi., pp. 3952 (1902): Confederate Military History, vol. vii., pt. ii., pp. 200-202; vol. viii., pp. 238-241