On the morning of the 7th, a brigade, with Colonel Spicely in command, went back to try them again, but Scott was too sharp for us. He had slipped out and had taken other quarters, unknown to us.
On the morning of the 9th a detail was called out to guard a train of wagons. They were going after lumber with which to build winter quarters. We found the lumber at Echo Office, on General Scott’s plantation, which is near Point Coupee. We loaded the wagons and returned to camp.
In the evening a body of rebels came into our camp, bearing a flag of truce. They had come to turn over some arms and horses which they had captured from our safeguards. The citizens were getting tired of having so much of their property burned down, in retaliation of their guerrilla warfare. They also wanted two rebel officers, who had shot their lieutenant and then had come to our camp for protection.
Late in the evening our troops who had gone out to Atchafayala, returned to camp. They had had a sharp fight, losing fifteen men in killed and wounded. The rebel loss was not known, as the bayou separated the two armies. On the morning of the 10th we got on board the steamer “Chouteau”. We ran fifty miles up the river, near Fort Adams. The rebels were trying to swim cattle, which they had driven from Texas, across the river. They were trying to get them to Lee’s army. Our gunboats had thrown shell into the herd, killing a great many of the cattle.
On the morning of the 11th we marched off of the boat and marched out into a swamp. We lay in ambush all day at this place. After darkness had set in, we marched back on to the boat. On the morning of the 12th we marched out on track of the rebels. Their herd of cattle had left a good trail. We went to Black Pass. Here we captured two wagons and six prisoners. Two of them were officers. We marched back as far as Swamp Bayou. On the morning of the 13th we returned to the boat. We were all tired and hungry, for we were out of rations, and nothing grew in this swampy place, except alligators and snakes.
At three p. m. we got on the boat and started back down the river. We landed and at ten o’clock we were in our quarters. Here we learned that some sharp skirmishing had been going on since we left camp.
On the morning of the 18th we sent out a force from the bend consisting of two batteries, two thousand cavalrymen, and one thousand, six hundred infantry, to Sims’ Port, on the Atchafayala Bayou. They ran into the rebel force, drove them back and returned to camp, on the 20th.
On the 22d a wagon train was sent out after wood. It was guarded by two companies of the Second New York cavalry. They were surprised by a small force of rebels and captured. There were also twenty-two negroes, four of whom were killed. There was a force of our cavalry at the bend. They pursued the rebels, but did not catch up with them.
On the 23d heavy cannonading was heard from our gunboats on Red river, and we could see great clouds of smoke. On the 28th a national salute was fired over news received of a victory gained in the East by Sheridan’s troops.