“General Orders No. 49.
(Extract.)
“For the last duty that victory imposes, the commanding general summons the bold men of the Corps to the organization of a storming column of a thousand men to vindicate the Flag of the Union and the memory of its defenders who have fallen; let them come forward.
“Officers who lead the column of victory in this last assault may be assured of the just recognition of their services by promotion, and every officer and soldier, who shares its perils and its glory, shall receive a medal fit to commemorate the first grand success of the campaign of 1863 for the freedom of the Mississippi. His name will be placed in General Orders upon the Roll of Honor.
“By command of
“MAJOR GENERAL BANKS. “Richard B. Irwin, “Assistant Adjutant-General.”
Between the three years and nine months troops from Massachusetts, engaged at Port Hudson, there was no choice as to which behaved the best. They all did well in the positions they were placed.
The entire day of the fifteenth was occupied in removing dead and wounded men to the rear. All sick and wounded who could bear transportation were sent to Springfield Landing, thence by steamers to New Orleans, for distribution in the general hospitals. Hot weather made heavy inroads on the effective strength of besieged and besiegers.
Sergeant Perry, Corporal Bryant, Privates McIntosh, Johnson, Bruce, Desper, L. Barnes, Wheeler, Flagg and Sibley, who had been in hospital at Gentilly Bayou, with six other men that were in New Orleans, rejoined Company K June 15th, in obedience to orders issued June 11th. Hospital-Steward Wood was sent with them from the camp at Gentilly. The effective strength on duty during June was: one officer, four sergeants, seven corporals, one musician and fifty privates—total, sixty-two enlisted men.
From June 14th to July 8th the duties of Company K were easy. Several men volunteered and served in the batteries, while the detailed detachments and sections of bridge work remained with each division, ready for any movement that should be ordered. News that Vicksburg surrendered July 4th was heralded to the troops early on the morning of July 7th, by a heavy artillery salute given by the left battery. This was followed by an intended salute to the enemy, at noon, by all of the Federal batteries engaged in the siege. The Confederates answered by displaying a flag of truce, and an armistice for twenty-four hours was arranged between the two commanding generals. Soldiers on each side then met each other half way between their respective lines, without arms, during the night and morning, and had a jolly good time together, until a formal surrender took place in the afternoon of July 8th.