May 6, 1863, The New York Herald
Our Cape Girardeau Correspondence.
CAPE GIRARDEAU Mo., April 28, 1863.
The gallant fight sustained by the garrison of this place two days ago has already been announced through the country by telegraph. Though the battle was not of long duration nor the losses heavy as compared with most of the actions in which our troops have been engaged, it was in reality an affair of considerable importance.
THE INVASION PRECONCERTED.
It seems that the invasion of Missouri has been for some time past in contemplation by the rebel leaders. In February General Price arrived at Little Rock, and commenced preparations for an advance toward the North. Hitherto all the invasions of Missouri, or the attempts at invasion, have been into the Southwest, striking at Springfield, as the key point of the region. The occupation of that portion of the country both by the rebel troops and our own have completely stripped it of supplies and forage. It was but recently that a portion of the army of the frontier was obliged to fall back to Rolla, in order to receive its supplies of forage from St. Louis. This exceeding scarcity of food and forage induced Gen. Price to change the usual routine and make an attack upon the Southeast. Cape Girardeau was the point to be aimed at.
COMPOSITION OF THE REBEL FORCE.
Batesville, on the White river, was made the base line for the movement, and here the rebel forces were assembled. They were gathered from various parts of Arkansas, but chiefly from Little Rock, and consisted of forces from Missouri, Texas and Arkansas. The command of the army of invasion was given to Brigadier General Marmaduke, and consisted of four brigades of about two thousand men each. The brigade commanders were Colonels Carter, Burbridge, Shelby and Green. Carter’s brigade consisted of the Nineteenth and Twenty-first Texas, Platt’s battery of artillery and two battalions of mounted men. Shelby’s brigade was composed of Missouri troops, and Burbridge’s chiefly of Arkansas men, while Green’s was variously made up. All the men were mounted, and formed that nondescript kind of soldier known among the rebels as cavalry. Most were armed with rifles and shot guns, a few of them carried sabres. Twelve pieces of artillery accompanied them.
THEIR LINE OF ADVANCE.
In their march northward, they encountered Colonel Smart small command at Patterson, and after a brief skirmish, compelled it to leave the town, and retreat to Pilot Knee. Here Marmaduke divided his forces, sending two brigades under Burbridge, by way of Bloomfield, while himself, with the remainder, pushed on through Fredericktown. At Bloomfield they expected to surprise and capture Gen. McNeil with a small force, but that officer had been prompt to report the rebel advance, and had fallen back to Cape Girardeau. The rebel advance arrived in Bloomfield only a few hours after McNeil left it – too late to make the capture they so much desired. The only alternative left them was to push on to Cape Girardeau, and attempt the capture of that point.
IMPORTANCE OF THE MOVEMENT.
The occupation of Cape Girardeau by the rebels would have been to them a very important movement. The town stands on a high bluff, overlooking the Mississippi. Four forts surround the town, two of which completely command the river, both above and below. Once in possession of these they would be dislodged with great difficulty, and only by gathering a large force against them. During their occupation they would cut off all communication on the Mississippi, and would also be able to cross into Illinois and destroy portions of the Illinois Central Railroad, only twenty miles distant. From the point of land opposite this town it is only thirty-five miles to Cairo. A force of cavalry transferred to the Illinois shore could speedily make its way to Cairo and cause an immense destruction of public property before a sufficient force could be gathered to repel them. The importance of the fight of Sunday can easily be realized by supposing the rebels to have been successful.
SKIRMISH NEAR TOWN.
On the afternoon of Saturday, the 25th, the rebels arrived within five miles of the town, and were met by two companies of the First Wisconsin cavalry, under command of Captain Shipman. A skirmish of a half hour’s duration ensued, at the end of which Captain Shipman discovered that he was surrounded by the rebels. They had purposely brought but few men forward to oppose him, in order to give the remainder of their force opportunity to get in his rear. As soon as Captain Shipman observed the movement, he headed his men and gave the word to charge. They succeeded in cutting their way through but with a loss of four men, Captain Shipman himself receiving a severe wound in the right thigh. He fell into the hands of the rebels, who afterwards sent him into our lines by flag of truce.
PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE.
General McNeil had arrived with his force from Bloomfield on Friday morning, and at once set to work to make ready for his assailants. He found the forts in good condition and well supplied with ammunition. Each of these contained a garrison sufficient for working the guns, and a small reserve force was contained in them for supplying the places of such men as should fall. The infantry consisted of the First Nebraska, the Thirty-second Iowa and 285 of the Missouri enrolled militia. The cavalry consisted of the First Wisconsin and Second Missouri, the latter being General McNeil’s old regiment. Captain Welfrey’s battery of six field guns was the only light artillery on the ground. The heavy guns in the forts were manned by Captain Mitzner’s and Captain Jacoby’s companies of Missouri heavy artillery. The whole force was less than two thousand strong, while it was known that the rebels were not far from eight thousand.
REMOVING NON-COMBATANTS.
On Saturday General McNeil notified the citizens that they must expect to hear the sound of strife around them by morning, and offered to furnish as many of them as wished to go with transportation across the river. Many took advantage of his offer, and on Saturday, the 25th of April, Cape Girardeau presented a spectacle as moving as that on the 1st of May in New York. Immense quantities of private goods were transferred to the Illinois shore for safety. The public stores were also moved as a precautionary measure in case the rebels should obtain possession of the town. It was well known that one object of their raid was to gather supplies, and it was our design to give them as little as possible. The torch was made ready to destroy what was not taken away. The steamer Mary Forsyth, on her way from St. Louis to Memphis, was seized to be used for ferrying the citizens across. Her officers and passengers showed every attention to those who were taken on board. A large number were not landed on the Illinois shore, but remained on board. At one time there were more than four hundred children on the steamer, and the noise is said to have been only equalled when all the babies at Barnum’s great show raised their voices at once.
DEMAND FOR SURRENDER.
A little past three o’clcok on Sunday morning, General McNeil, received a summons to surrender. The demand came by flag of truce, and was signed by Colonel G. W. Carter, “By orders of Major Gen. Price,” thirty minutes were given for a decision upon the reply; but it was answered in the negative in just one minute. Gen. McNeil’s friends insist accordingly that the rebel commander should give him a credit of twenty-nine minutes, to be placed to his advantage in some future affair. It was supposed that the attack would be commenced immediately upon the receipt of Gen. McNeil’s reply, but the rebels delayed it until a later hour. It has since been ascertained that they had not placed their forces fairly in position by daylight, and were, therefore, obliged to defer the assault.
POSITION OF THE TOWN AND FORTS.
To understand the fight it will be necessary to form a mental map of the location of Cape Girardeau and its defences. The town stands on a bluff on the western shore of the Mississippi, and rises from the water at a sharp incline for about a hundred and fifty feet. This bluff is composed of a series of low hills, extending back for nearly a mile from the river, where the country becomes more level. At the upper end of the town the bluff attains its highest elevation, and on this is a fort known as Fort A, which commands the river and the town itself. Back of this, and on a lower hill, is Fort B, which commands a long slope of the country inland, and is itself dominated by Fort A. At the southwestern corner of the town is Fort C, which sweeps the country before it, and is itself commanded by Fort D, situated on a hill south of the town, and overlooking the river. There is, therefore, no approach to the town that cannot be commanded by some of these forts. Fort B especially overlooks the Jackson or Fredericktown road by which the two brigades under Marmaduke advanced, and Fort C dominated the Bloomfield road where Burbridge was expected to come in.
THE REBEL POSITION.
From the Bloomfield to the Jackson road there are numerous bye or farm paths leading across, many of them passable for artillery. One mile from town is a small creek, which here runs nearly parallel to the river. On this creek the rebels formed their line of battle, being protected by the forest which lined its banks. One of their batteries was moved up on the Jackson road, while another took position on a small eminence near the Bloomfield road, but out of range of the fort in that quarter.
DISPOSITION OF McNEIL’S FORCES.
General McNeil had placed his forces outside the forts, but had so disposed them that they could fall back rapidly and surely in case the rebels came upon them in overwhelming numbers. A half mile in front of Fort C, on the right of the Bloomfield road, were the First Wisconsin and Second Missouri cavalry, dismounted for the time being, so as to act as infantry. In reserve, in rear of them, were four companies of enrolled militia, who were brought out to be used in an emergency. A short distance to the right of this force were placed three guns, of Welfrey’s battery, supported by two companies of the First Nebraska, while still further to the right, and in front of Fort B, were the other three guns of Welfrey’s battery, supported by the remainder of the first Nebraska and by the Thirty-second Iowa, in reserve. The hill on which this force was placed was lower than Fort B, so that the guns of the latter could act simultaneously with those of the light battery.
OUR LINE OF SKIRMISHERS.
Two companies of infantry, under Captains Kibble and Gillette, of the First Nebraska, had been on picket duty along the bank of the creek in the edge of the timber, and as the rebels made their advance in the morning they encountered this small force. They held their ground for some time, keeping up a brisk fire, until they found they was in danger of being surrounded, when they slowly withdrew their men to the main force, fighting as they fell back. This was the commencement of the attack, and the firing was quite brisk. As soon as Captains Kibble and Gillette fell back the rebels appeared in strong force both on the Bloomfield and the Jackson roads, as well as upon the half mile or more of ground that intervened.
REBEL BATTERY OPENING.
The rebels had a battery of rifled three-inch guns which they placed to the left of the Jackson road, and opened upon Welfrey’s battery in front of Fort Bee. The latter promptly replied and was joined by Captain Mizner in Fort B. Captain Welfrey was firing at long range for his small guns, and Captain Mizner was using his heavy artillery at distances where it is difficult to obtain much accuracy. Notwithstanding this disadvantage they managed to plant their shot and shell with such precision as to silence the rebel battery in fifteen minutes, killing nine horses, which are still lying on the ground. There are indications that several men belonging to this battery were either killed or wounded, and the report of prisoners is to that effect. Most of the ammunition thrown by the rebels from this battery appeared to be of English manufacture.
EFFECT OF OUR FIRE.
The rebel battery had been planted close to the house of a Mr. Lacy, a prominent secessionist of this vicinity, and this gentleman was thus made to suffer from the presence of his friends. I may here be permitted to remark that this gentleman, although known as a secessionist, has been one of the most prominent recipients of government favor in the Department of the Tennessee. When Gen. Sherman was in command at Memphis he gave Mr. Lacy the first permit to bring a cargo of liquors to that city, and for a short time he enjoyed a monopoly of the trade. For several months past he has been below as a cotton dealer and enjoys extraordinary privileges under General Grant. He was in Memphis at the time of the battle. His house received no less than four projectiles from artillery, one shell bursting in the pantry, and damaging the crockery to a serious extent. The windows of the house are riddled with minie balls, and give evidence of a severe engagement.
ANOTHER BATTERY.
At the same time the rebels opened on the right of our line they brought a battery to bear on our left wing, where the remaining three pieces of Welfrey’s battery were planted, supported by two companies of the First Nebraska and with the dismounted cavalry in reserve. Simultaneously their riflemen were advanced against our infantry, and brisk discharges of musketry ensued. The rebels made their usual mistake of overshooting, and it is probable that most of our muskets were aimed too high. At all events, we cannot account for such a small loss on our own side, and the finding of so few dead and wounded rebels, with such a prodigious expenditure of ammunition, except on the above presumption.
PROGRESS OF THE ACTION.
These were the positions as they were taken at the commencement of the battle, about half-past ten o’clock on Sunday morning. There was no material change during the engagement, which was of three hours’ duration. The rebel battery on the right was forced to change its position, but it was only to appear in some new locality not far away. Once one of its guns was dismounted, as could be distinctly seen by our officers who were so fortunate as to be armed with field glasses; but it was somehow slung under an axle and drawn away. Twice the rebel (dismounted) infantry attempted to come up on the left, and were repulsed and sent back to the timber on the bank of the little creek. Thus was the contest carried on. A little artillery fighting and a considerable amount of musketry. The sharp rattle and roll of the small arms would be followed by the clear ringing report of the light guns and that in turn by the dull, deep boom of Mizner’s and Jacoby’s heavy thirty-two’s in the fort. To persons in the town there was little apparent intermission in the firing. When the guns were silent in one portion of the field they were sure to be at work in another.
A REBEL GAME.
The rebels at one time set a trap – a very transparent one – in the hope of capturing some of our infantry. On a small elevation, a few dozen yards back from the edge of the timber, they planted two pieces of artillery and left them without support, supposing that our troops would rush forward and attempt to capture the guns. As there was no occasion for the withdrawal of the support, General McNeil suspected that all was not right and did not order a charge. It was well that he did not. The rebels, according to the statements of prisoners, had placed four regiments in the timber in such a way that had our men charged upon the battery they would have rushed straight into a trap. They cannot understand why we should hesitate to attempt the capture of two guns when they were apparently in such excellent position for us. This was the very reason why we did not try it. The plan appeared so very easy that a shrewd officer would at once suspect something wrong.
RIDING THROUGH THE STORM.
During a momentary lull in the fire Adjutant Cramer, of the First Nebraska, started to ride with an order from the right to the left of our line, and as our position was then somewhat in the form of a semi-circle, he attempted to lessen the distance by taking the cord of the arc. This brought him between the lines of fire; but as he was in a hollow between the two elevations, where the opposing forces were placed, the shot whistled harmlessly overhead. A few were depressed to an unwonted degree and passed uncomfortably near him, but whether they were aimed at the solitary horseman, or were merely scattering shots, it is difficult to say.
ARRIVAL OF GUNBOATS AND REINFORCEMENTS.
After the battle had been in progress an hour or more three gunboats arrived from Cairo, and were held in readiness for service in case the rebels should reach the river. A few minutes after their arrival a dense smoke was seen up the river, which was followed by the appearance of steamers with reinforcements. These reinforcements were landed at once and placed where they could be of service, but by the time they were brought into the field the heat of the engagement had passed. Neither the gunboats nor the land reinforcements were called upon to fire a shot. Their presence rendered Gen. McNeil certain that he could hold the place, and he telegraphed accordingly to General Curtis. Before their arrival he had been fearful that the rebels, from their superior numbers, would be able to get into the town, through they could hardly have occupied the forts.
THE FIRE DIMINISHING.
About two o’clock the rebels began to melt slowly but steadily from the front, and in half an hour afterward they fired their last shot from their artillery and withdrew from the field. After this there was some little firing from the small arms, but it was exceedingly irregular, and in another half hour it had ceased altogether. It was evident that they had given up the fight and were in retreat, though some were of opinion that they were changing their plan and would soon attack on a different portion of the line.
PURSUING THE REBELS.
The continued silence of the rebels at length convinced Gen. McNeil that they had abandoned the attack, and he at once sent the cavalry out in pursuit. The cavalry was on this occasion commanded by Col. LaGrange, of the First Wisconsin. Before the fight opened the cavalry had been placed in command of Col. Don Huston, Commissary of Musters, but that officer had been transferred to the superintendence of the forts, and the cavalry again given to Col. LaGrange. Col. Huston was in Fort […..] during the entire battle and rendered efficient service.
THE NEXT MORNING, owing to his small force of cavalry, General McNeil did not order the pursuit farther than to learn if the enemy had actually left. It was ascertained that they had departed in earnest, leaving many of their wounded behind with their surgeons to take charge of them. It was ascertained that they had fled by two roads, the main portion going southwest, in the direction of Bloomfield. It was thought that the balance would turn off from the Jackson road at Dallas, a small town about twenty miles out, and join the main force on the lower road:
ATTACK IN THE REAR.
On Monday Gen. McNeil started, with all his cavalry hoping to be able to harass the enemy’s rear while he was crossing some of the streams, or drive him forward into an encounter with General Vandever. It was known that General Vandever had started from Pilot Knob on Saturday, and was at Fredericktown, forty-five miles from Cape Girardeau, on Saturday night. News arrived during the day that General Vandever came upon a camp of the rebels on Sunday night, about fifteen miles from the Cape; and, after shelling them awhile, had put them to flight, with a loss of fifteen or twenty killed and wounded and about thirty prisoners. They left behind much of their camp equipage and a six mule wagon load of saddles. Quite a number of horses were taken, but, after their hard service and scanty fare, they were not very valuable.
JUNCTION OF GENERAL VANDEVER AND GENERAL McNEIL.
Yesterday Generals McNeil and Vandever joined their commands near Whitewater creek, sixteen miles out – the latter officer reaching the stream only fifteen minutes after the rebels had passed. The rebels had torn up the bridge, and as the creek is swollen and too deep to ford it became necessary to repair the bridge. When the courier left it was thought that the bridge would be passable this morning. If so the pursuit has been resumed ere this. General Vandever is the senior officer, and will therefore be the chief in command. There are indications that Marmaduke will stand about twelve miles beyond Whitewater, where there is said to be an unbridged stream that is at present almost impassable. If he should do so the chances are largely in favor of his capture or the dispersion of his forces.
REBELS LOSING ARTILLERY.
Parties living near the Whitewater say the Marmaduke had but four pieces of artillery on his retreat, and their story is corroborated by the statements of persons living along the road. It is known that they had twelve pieces when making the attack, and the conclusion is inevitable that they have abandoned eight of them on the retreat. The enrolled militia of the country is now engaged in searching for these abandoned guns. One caisson belonging to a three-inch rifled gun has just been brought in, having been found concealed in the timber. It is hoped that the entire lot will be unearthed.
POST COMMAND.
During General McNeil’s absence the post is in command of Lieutenant Colonel Pomeroy, of the First Wisconsin cavalry, and the post hospital is under Surgeon McClellan, of the First Nebraska. Adjutant Creemor, of the last named regiment is Post Adjutant, and Captain Burroughs, a resident of the town, and appointed by General Curtis, is Provost Marshal. To all these gentlemen your correspondent is indebted for many favors.
THE LOSS.
The rebels left about sixty wounded on the ground and in the houses in the vicinity of the fight, and the country people say that they carried away about as many more. Their loss in killed was about thirty. Among their wounded are four officers, one major, one adjutant and two captains. We have forty-three prisoners – among them Lieutenant Colonel Dougherty, of the Fifty Missouri (rebel) Volunteers. Our loss in the fight was five killed and twenty one wounded, being divided in the proportion of two to one between the first Nebraska infantry and the First Wisconsin cavalry.
STATEMENTS OF PRISONERS.
During the fight, two of the rebels came in and gave themselves up, stating that they were Northern men who were in Texas at the outbreak of the war. The conscription gathered them up, and they were forced to go into service. They tell frightful stories of the destitution in rebeldom. No tea, no coffee, no cloth, no slaves, no whiskey. The latter article they aver is one dollar per drink in Little Rock, the barkeeper measuring it out in a small wine glass. One of the men informed me that while in camp, near Pine-Bluff, himself and two companions obtained leave to go into town for two hours. During that time they ate twenty dollars worth of ginger cakes and drank eighteen dollars worth of whiskey, without at all thinking of […..] on a spree.”
LIVING ON THE COUNTRY.
They state that on the march up from Batesville they took no rations with them, but subsisted entirely on the country. Sometimes they had bacon, sometime cornmeal, sometimes corn, and at other times nothing. They were glad to get anything, and thought themselves fortunate with an ear of raw corn for a dinner. They predict much suffering among Marmaduke’s men on this retreat, as they stripped the country perfectly clean, on the way up, expecting to replenish at Cape Girardeau. They will find nothing whatever on the way back.
REBELS IN ARKANSAS.
These men give it as their belief that Price has twenty-five thousand men in Arkansas, in addition to the force under Marmaduke. They state that a considerable force is at Pine Bluff; but that the fortifications that were commenced there were given up. The rest of Price’s forces are at Little Rock and Fort Smith. It is the general impression in the rebel army that Price will attempt to invade the State this season, striking to Rolla and Jefferson City. The confidence of the Missouri Troops in their ability to reach St. Louis appears as firm as ever.
THE FINALE.
The prisoners will be sent to St. Louis and held for exchange. They leave tomorrow by the steamer Illinois. We are momentarily expecting news of a battle at the creek where Marmaduke is reported to have made a stand. The rebels must be so much disheartened at the failure of their enterprise after so long a march, that they will not fight with spirit. It is a matter of surprise to all our officers that they did not contest the ground with more vigor. Before our reinforcements arrived they could have taken the town, had they shown as much desperation as did Price’s troops at Corinth in October last. As it is, their failure has been complete.