The army had passed up the lake and had a fight at Franklin
on the Tache Bayou, whipping them badly and capturing two thousand prisoners.
The battle was fought on the twelth and thirteenth of April, Major Fiske of the
First Louisiana and several privates were wounded besides two or three killed.
My old regiment the thirteenth C V was said to have lost heavily in this
battle. The troops were hot in the pursuit. Three gunboats', the Estella,
Arazona, and Calhoun came down the lake with eighty prisoners, a part of the
crew of the Queen of the West, our gunboats had destroyed in the morning. The
commander of the Queen, Captain Fuller was among them. At 4 p. m. eighty more
prisoners came in on a transport. As I stood by the gang plank of the
transport, Captain Fuller was brought out on a stretcher. Seeing me with my
orderly sergeant's insigna he saluted me and I returned the salute. His feet
were scalded. Went on board the St. Mary with the wounded, steamed up the lake
ten miles and came to anchor with three gunboats. The three wounded soldiers'
wives were left behind as being too cumbersome and they return to New Orleans.
Ten miles further up meeting with obstructions in the Bayou, we were compelled
to leave the steamer and march fifteen miles to Franklin. On the way ravages of
war was seen almost everywhere. But my gun, sword knapsack and equipments were
my chief concern on account of their great weight and I was not sorry when we
arrived in Franklin. The town was full of soldiers and prisoners of war but we
found an empty negro shanty and turned in. The former occupants in their flight
had left some of their live stock which annoyed us so much that our rest was
not as quiet as might have been desired.
SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from
a Soldier's Diary, p. 44-6
