On the seventeenth, early in the morning, while proceeding up river again in wake of three other steamers, all making fast time, the subject of seizing the transport-boat was again broached by sailors anxious and ready to try it. While on their way down the Neches River to Sabine Lake, a seizure of the boat then was talked over by the warrant officers in command of companies, but was abandoned from a want of knowledge where to go after obtaining possession. Upon the Red River there did not exist so favorable circumstances for success as there was at Sabine Lake. At the latter place they would have had to pass down the lake to Sabine Pass, and by a fort commanding the channel, before reaching the blockading vessels. Stratagem could have effected this purpose, but upon the Red River Confederate gunboats held the river to the Mississippi after the Queen of the West and De Soto were lost by the Federals. To have passed the enemy’s boats by deceit, or otherwise, would have been impossible. Frequent consultations of the men concerned in the plot failed to develop any plan of action all would give coöperation, and the attempt was wisely abandoned.
After remaining over night above the three batteries before mentioned waiting the return of a courier, sent to Alexandria early in the evening for orders, at noon a transport-boat came alongside with a detachment of two hundred and seventy-eight men, Eighth Infantry, United States Regulars, who had been basely surrendered in Texas, by General Twiggs, May 9th, 1861, on the commencement of hostilities between the North and South, and been retained in close confinement up to this time. Five or six of the men had their wives with them; one with a family of two children.
A day or two after these prisoners arrived on board, one of the women got into a wordy warfare with a private of the guard, who was abusive in speech and manner. The Confederate soldier had said to the woman that if she was only a man he would shoot her, when a private of the Eighth Regulars, who could stand it no longer, made the quarrel a personal one with himself, calling the Confederate a d——n coward, and offered to go ashore for a fight with any weapon he would name. To this bold challenge the Confederate interposed an objection, that he could not fight with a prisoner of war. Our “bold soger boy” said: “That need not interfere; I will fight you with pistols, ten paces apart, right here.” Nothing but sneers were given in reply by the soldier and his comrades of the guard, who had clustered around. In return the United States soldier taunted them all with being cowards, offering to fight the crowd in any fashion they chose, without effect; they finally slunk away. The women were not molested afterwards.
All of the prisoners were conditionally paroled on the eighteenth and nineteenth, and a flag of truce raised upon the boat, with the intention of proceeding to Vicksburg. Horses, mules and wagons were sent ashore, but a start was not made until the twenty-third, on account of trouble experienced in obtaining wood. There was a dispute on the twenty-first, between the officer of the prisoners’ guard and officers upon the steamer Grand Era, in regard to wood that had been supplied the flag of truce boat by the steamer La-Fourche in the morning, resulting finally in a compromise, allowing the Grand Era to have one-half of what was on board. Pistols were drawn amid a general cursing match in the altercation, and at one time a fight was imminent between the two factions. Just as the wood was gone the Grand Duke came alongside searching for the same article, but left without obtaining any.
At last, during the evening of the twenty-second, a boat load of sixty cords was received, about half enough for one day’s consumption, for the General Quitman used from ninety to one hundred and ten cords each twenty-four hours, when the boat steamed down river at daylight next day. After stopping at a wood pile to take on about one hundred cords more, a final start was made for Port Hudson, instead of Vicksburg as first intended, passing Fort De Russy during the day, when Romain was able to rough sketch the work. The Mississippi River was reached at half-past two P. M., and at the sunset hour a high bluff, lined with cannon and men, was dimly discernible, on account of the thick misty rain storm prevailing, which the guard called Port Hudson.
Early on the morning of the twenty-fourth the prisoners were turned over to Federal naval officers, who sent them and the General Quitman to Baton Rouge, where they landed and were made comfortable, glad to be once more within the Federal lines. Lieutenant Howerton received a torrent of abuse as the paroled men left his boat, after revenge prompted them to throw overboard all movable property they could find upon the steamer, without any attention to Howerton’s request: “Now, gentlemen, please stop.” The red-headed soldier of his command did not dare to show his ugly face, for the prisoners wanted to thrash him. Several negroes were on the river shores, above Alexandria, when the sight of blue-coated soldiers upon the Quitman conveyed an idea to them that the Federals occupied the river. They shouted and sang for “Massa Linkum’s sogers”—“take us wid yer”—in a manner that upset the temper of Lieutenant Howerton, who ordered his men ashore to capture them. They were brought aboard and made to attend boiler fires until reaching Port Hudson, when they stole a boat belonging to the Quitman and made their escape.
Cloudy, or rainy and cold weather had been experienced about every day since their arrival at Alexandria. Cooped on board river steamers most of the time, using Red River water for cooking and drinking, with the depressing effect of bad weather, caused a great deal of sickness among the men, chiefly diarrhœa. On the march, or on board river steamers, through sickness, suffering and fatigue, the men kept up their spirits wonderfully. Very little recreation in the way of foraging for food could be done upon the march, although every opportunity that presented itself was improved to the utmost, many a “porker” falling victim to their snares. Pigs appeared to be the only animal available when a foraging party went to work.
Embarking upon the Iberville, at nine o’clock on the evening of the twenty-fourth, the prisoners arrived at New Orleans about daylight on the twenty-fifth. Through some negligence they were not reported at general headquarters until the twenty-sixth, when special orders were issued, stating that “two hundred and forty men of the Forty-Second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, paroled prisoners, not having been reported to the headquarters, and on the Iberville unattended to and in a starving condition, will be taken charge of by Lieutenant Farnsworth, Fourth Wisconsin Volunteers, and conducted to the camp at Gentilly Crossing, and turned over and kept as paroled men under proper officers.”
They disembarked on the twenty-sixth, and marched to camp under escort of Companies A, B, E and F, after attending a brigade drill. Many were the heartfelt greetings exchanged all around, and for days afterwards the boys were occupied in reciting their adventures and trials.
A communication from General Sherman, commanding Defences of New Orleans, gives the status of the prisoners as follows: