Meanwhile Commodore Porter was in the river quite a number
of miles above Pleasant Hill where the battle was fought with more than half of
the United States Navy. General Banks got a dispatch through to him, stating
that “he was defeated and on the retreat”. This of course compelled Porter to
retreat: as the absence of the army uncovered the river banks and let loose the
whole rebel army upon him, West of the Mississippi river. That led him a lively
dance all the way down until they arrived at Grand Ecore. He states in his
report that the rebel General Green in command “had his head shot off” in a
raid on the gun boats and the management of the rebel army fell into the hands
of “drunken Dick Taylor who was entirely incompetent to conduct it”. Green
deserved all he got, for in speaking of this incident J. T. Headly says in “Farragut
and his Naval Commanders”, that the rebels had made their attack in the most
difficult part of the river where four or five of our vessels were fast in the
mud and others along side of them trying to pull them off. The advance
consisted of 3000 men commanded by General Green, their best general. He soon
found that his men could not stand our fire: but he determined not to retreat,
and forced his troops up to the edge of the banks where our gunboats fairly
mowed them down. He finally got his head shot off, and nearly all his officers
having been killed around him, the rest retreated in disorder, cut up as they
fled.
This was the victorious army that had defeated Banks the day
before, and flushed with victory, had pounced on Porter. On this day I was
detailed to take charge of a fatigue party to unload our affects off the
Shinango. At twelve o'clock noon, we crossed the river and took our position in
line in the piney woods at the breast works.
SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from
a Soldier's Diary, p. 97-9
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