July 3. Regiment occupied the rifle pits, supporting Holcomb’s Battery. Rebel sharpshooters very active. Gen. Grover visited the battery this afternoon. He looks anxious and careworn. Relieved from rifle pits by the 116th New York.
July 4. National salute fired at sunrise with shotted guns. This is not our usual way of celebrating our National birthday. Regiment received orders to get into line prepared to make another assault. The “Forlorn Hope” was already in position at the front. The regiment stood in line many long and weary hours, anxiously awaiting the signal gun to commence the assault. For some reason the assault was not made, and after a tedious wait we were relieved and allowed to return to camp. Another salute with shotted guns was fired at noon by Nims’ Battery. A member of Co. E, who was captured from us on May 21st at Plains Store, escaped from Port Hudson today and came back to camp.
July 5. Gen. Banks has just passed up to the front with a flag of truce. Ordered into the rifle pits at night.
July 6. Passed the night in the rifle pits. The regiment is being rapidly decimated by hard duty and exposure to this terrible hot weather.
July 7. Two rebels came into headquarters from Port Hudson, and their accounts show that the garrison can hold out but a very short time.
Official news has been received from Gen. Grant that Vicksburg surrendered on the 4th. A gunboat came down river from that place early this morning bringing the news. Communication with the army was for some reason broken and it was quite late in the day before the message was delivered to Gen. Banks. It was at once communicated to the troops in the trenches; from man to man, from company to company, from regiment to regiment the word passed, and the cheers from the men rang out and the long silenced bands filled the forests with the strains of the “Star Spangled Banner,” “America,” “Yankee Doodle” and other patriotic music. Received orders for the 48th to occupy the rifle pits and support Holcomb’s 2d Vermont Battery tonight.
Before going on duty the Lieutenant-Colonel visited Gen. Augur’s headquarters, by his request, and was particularly instructed and cautioned as to his duty. He said, “You are going into the most important position on the line, and as the ranking officer on the brigade picket line you will be expected to exercise the greatest vigilance. The information we have leads us to expect that the enemy will offer to surrender or make an attempt to break out through our thin lines, and it is expected that you will be prepared for either or any emergency. Double your outer picket line, keep your men well in hand and allow none to sleep. If any attempt is made to break out it must be prevented at all hazards till reinforcements reach you, which you may feel assured will be pushed forward to your assistance at the first alarm, and you must check the attack at the hazard of your lives; two companies from another regiment will be ordered into the rifle pits to strengthen your line.” Regiment went into the rifle pits at about 9 o’clock in the evening.
July 8. The inevitable has happened! Port Hudson has fallen! Regiment laid quietly in rifle pits till shortly after 12 o’clock, midnight, the notes of a bugle were heard in our front sounding “a parley,” and a few seconds later an officer with a small escort approached, bearing a lantern fixed to a long pole, with a white handkerchief tied beneath it to serve as a flag of truce. At the outpost the flag was halted and its object ascertained, which was the delivery of a dispatch to Gen. Banks from Gen. Gardner, in command of the Confederate forces in Port Hudson, which was immediately dispatched to Gen. Banks’ headquarters by messenger. The dispatch contained a request for official assurance as to the truth of the report that Vicksburg had surrendered. If true, Gardner asked for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to consider terms of surrender of Port Hudson, and soon a blast upon a bugle brought back the little party of Confederates with the lantern swinging from the pole and the conference culminated in an agreement to surrender, and that a commission be appointed from each side to agree upon terms.
LANDING AT BATON ROUGE, LA.,