Another case of foolhardy bravery was exhibited by a fiery Texan lieutenant, who rushed up to a field-gun, placing his hand upon it, in face of a dozen men, and demanded its surrender. Three men answered him; one with a bayonet, one with a musket ball, the other with the butt of his gun, to send him down to mother earth fatally wounded, and with curses upon his lips of the men who did their duty. He was carried to the hospital, and lived four hours.
No further hostile movement was made by either combatants on Monday, except at about dark the Confederates fired a few rounds from one field-gun. On Tuesday, June 23d, an advance was made to Thibodeaux by a part of the troops, now commanded by Colonel Cahill, to find the enemy had gone. Colonel Major with his Texans were well on their way towards the rear of Brashear City. At night the Fifteenth Maine Infantry was sent back to New Orleans.
Wednesday morning, June 24th, at eight o’clock, five companies Ninth Connecticut, under Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzgibbon, proceeded to Terrebonne Station as guard to a construction train, repairing the track for one mile beyond. Proceeding towards Chucahoula, twelve miles from Bayou Bœuff, the bridge, one mile from the station, was found to be on fire. This was extinguished, and the bridge repaired. Skirmishers were then deployed and advanced towards the station, where the enemy was found on the open land, behind buildings and fences, who at once commenced a sharp fire. Confined to the narrow track, a thickly-wooded swamp upon both sides, after engaging the enemy for one hour Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzgibbon deemed it prudent to retire, also being recalled by a signal-gun fired at La-Fourche Crossing, nine miles distant, which the lieutenant-colonel says he heard. The Federal loss was three wounded, and two men taken prisoners by the enemy.
Port Hudson still holding out, with work enough in prospect to occupy the attention of all the available forces in the Department, the troops that composed the force under General Emory, charged with the defence of New Orleans, reduced to a low number, and Brashear City lost, with all of the troops on duty between that place and La-Fourche Crossing, there existed no further necessity for holding the railroad line to Brashear. The ill-luck experienced by General Emory in losing post after post, through cowardice and inefficiency of regimental officers, surrendering without firing a gun, was not assuring as to how far he could trust the balance of his force. Prudence dictated to withdraw his troops close to the city where protection of the navy could be given.
The Confederates pushed up from Brashear, bold and fearless, offering many opportunities to inflict some hard blows against their undisciplined troops if any equally bold officers had been with the Federal soldiers. This was not the case, and on June 26th the Federal force fell back to Boutee Station, twenty-four miles from Algiers, after they had spiked and abandoned three field-guns and some old iron guns; an absurd gift to the enemy, without any valid excuse.
With the energy displayed by the enemy, which the Federals did not meet with counter efforts, it was undoubtedly sound policy to allow them to dash against the fortified defences whenever they felt so disposed. They moved quickly from place to place, leaving stragglers and scouting squads occupying all of the roads in the region of country upon the left bank held by them, looting where they could. Many of them could easily have been bagged by small forces equally as bold; by so doing thrown them into much the same state of uncertainty where to look for a blow as existed among the Federal officers.
While at Boutee Station orders from Colonel Cahill directed the Forty-Second detachment to be temporarily attached to the Fifteenth Maine and to proceed to the Metairie race-course, in New Orleans, where a camp was formed, comprised of detachments One Hundred and Seventy-Sixth New York, Twenty-Third Connecticut and Fifteenth Maine, with Grow’s battery; Lieutenant-Colonel Stickney in command of the force. These orders were countermanded on the same day and the detachment ordered to rejoin the regiment, then in New Orleans, and did so June 29th, bringing under guard to the provost-marshal some sixty prisoners taken at La-Fourche and vicinity.
On the thirtieth June the Federal force drew back to Jefferson Station, eight miles from Algiers, where fortifications of a formidable character were thrown up by large gangs of negroes. This station was an outpost to the Defences of New Orleans for some weeks, with pickets upon the roads and railroad line back to Algiers, and the river patroled by gunboats between Company Canal and Donaldsonville.
While the Confederates under General Taylor raided on the various posts in the Parishes between the Atchafalaya and the Mississippi Rivers, picking up all scattered troops found, to send them on parole to New Orleans, the garrison in the defences of the city was quite small. General Banks had drawn all the men he dared to take in front of Port Hudson, even bringing troops from Ship Island and Pensacola. To offset this General Emory had all troops in the garrison, on whatever duty, kept ready from the nineteenth June until all danger was over to move readily at any moment with two days cooked rations and one hundred rounds per man. The Second Brigade, Second Division, was concentrated as far as possible; all passes or leaves of absence were absolutely stopped; convalescent soldiers were got together and organized, and colored regiments, recruited from intelligent blacks of the city, were organized for sixty days service, under colored officers. In this manner were sufficient troops obtained to do the needed garrison duty, furnish required guards and patrol service, while the regular forces attended to the extreme outposts. The First Texas Cavalry, Colonel Davis, did all of the scouting service, under direct orders from General Emory.
This action at La-Fourche Crossing must not be confounded with the disastrous engagement of July 13th at Bayou La-Fourche, in which the Forty-Eighth, Forty-Ninth and Thirtieth Massachusetts Regiments formed a part of the Federal forces; Colonel Dudley in command.